Shakhtar have big victories ahead

– Darijo, Shakhtar continue to prepare for the second part of the season, and the team played another friendly match the day before. What are your overall impressions of the match against Zimbru? Can it be considered indicative for Shakhtar at this stage of the training camp?
– First of all, we began our training camp on January 3 and have played many games so far, including both friendlies and two Champions League matches, where I think we performed very well. Unfortunately, we did not advance further, but we draw conclusions, we analyse. The last game – against Zimbru – is, of course, a training camp. The most important thing is that we have no injuries and that the team are rediscovering their physical form and showing on the field what is being worked on at training sessions every day.

– You mentioned that Shakhtar’s Champions League campaign has already ended. What did the team succeed at in the tournament, and what didn’t they?
– I believe that Shakhtar should have earned more points. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Sometimes we were unlucky, sometimes we were to blame, somewhere the opponents were strong. I can’t say that this is a failure because Shakhtar have been scoring at least seven points in the Champions League for three years in a row – this is very important for Ukrainian football, for Shakhtar, as well as for the coefficient of Ukrainian football. So we will analyse everything, and the most important thing is that we become stronger after this analysis. And only time will tell.

– And to be more specific, where did Shakhtar lose key points?
– I think the key game was against PSV, and the red card was the key moment – we were playing fantastically until the red card. Unfortunately, we suffered a lot of psychological blows last season in the last minutes. The same happened with PSV: we conceded three goals in eight minutes, of course, after that it is difficult to gain strength, gain confidence and play the next game at the same level.

– All teams have faced innovations in the Champions League this season, referring to the new format. How fair and advantageous is it in general for teams like Shakhtar?
– People who made this format perhaps know more than I do. However, you probably have to adapt to it in the first year, and it will be easier in the second. It's interesting because, after the draw, everyone said that earning 9–10 points would give you a 99 percent chance of advancing to the next round of the Champions League, but it turned out that Dinamo Zagreb didn’t advance even with 11 points. It is very difficult for a coach considering that previously you had three opponents and played each team twice, but now there are eight matches – all against different teams. You constantly have to analyse a new team, prepare for new opponents, and this is a certain challenge for our team and for the coaches.

– Speaking of the Ukrainian Championship, how would you rate Shakhtar's performances before the winter break in the UPL?
– I would rate it the same as our fans – no worse and no better. Of course, no one is satisfied with our situation in the Ukrainian Premier League over the past six months: we have lost a lot of points – 15. Today, we are practically 10 points behind Dynamo Kyiv, although we still have a match in hand against Kryvbas that we need to play. And hopefully, the gap will be only seven points, but for now, we have to honestly and openly admit that Dynamo are the big favourites to win the Ukrainian Championship.

– As for the internal details of the play, what did you not like during the first stage?
– Everything went wrong for us from the very beginning of the championship. We lost 0-1 to Polissia at the Livyi Bereh Stadium, played a crazy 45 minutes in Oleksandriia but then lost 3-4, and so on. Here, we can simply say that we are all to blame and must all take responsibility for this. The first is me, then the coaching staff and finally the players. Because we lose together and win together. Of course, the fans have the right to be disappointed, I understand that, as I’m no less a Shakhtar fan than they are. But I want to say that this team won 12 matches in a row last year and won the league. In other words, this team have strength, character, and this should be a challenge for us – to try to win all the matches until the end of the championship. It will be difficult and tough because the Ukrainian Premier League is growing, with more and more good teams emerging, where presidents invest money, their hearts and souls. And we are simply grateful to them for this: that they help Ukrainian football survive in such difficult times. As for Shakhtar, we will see our reaction on February 24, when the UPL starts.

– In December, there were a lot of rumours that Shakhtar considered changing the head coach. What can you say about this situation? Did Shakhtar really consider such an option?
– It is normal and understandable that when Shakhtar lose 15 points in six months, the fans and journalists have the issue of changing the coach. And, unfortunately, the job of a coach is always such that he has to “pay the price”. No matter how much is written about it, what experts say about it, but Marino Pusic is still with us and stays with us. Because he has the full support of the club president, CEO Serhii Palkin, my support. We have done our analysis, and to be honest, I personally cannot write off all the lost points against Mister, that would be unfair. Coaching is such that it is always better to change the coach than 20 players, but if you look at where and how we lost points, I cannot blame only the coach and say that Marino Pusic is to blame for the goal we conceded against Rukh in the last minutes, against Veres in the last minutes, against Polissia, or the three goals we conceded in eight minutes against PSV, or the last-minute goal against Dynamo Kyiv. We all have to take responsibility for this together, and we are all guilty in this together. So, if there hadn’t been, I don’t know, Azarov’s bad back pass in the match against Oleksandriia, it wouldn’t have been 1-2. If Bondar hadn’t made a bad pass against Veres, it would have been 1-0. If Pedro Enrique hadn’t received a red card, we would have beaten PSV. If Kryskiv hadn’t been sent off against Dynamo... All of this, let's say, went against us. And then blaming everything on the coach – I don’t agree with that.

– So the club now has full trust in Marino Pusic?
– He has always had full trust. What journalists are writing, that we are searching for or changing the head coach, are just rumours that have been circulating for a long time. But in the end, Marino Pusic is here today, he is the coach of Shakhtar. Of course, we all conducted an analysis in December, and the most important thing is that we became stronger as a result. In many games, Marino Pusic and his coaching staff have shown that he has the qualities to be a Shakhtar coach.

– This winter transfer window has become very active for Shakhtar. Many fans were surprised by the farewell to such important players as Stepanenko, Zubkov and Sikan. Why did the club take these steps in the middle of the season?
– Well, it was also our decision together with the president. Stepanenko is a club legend, he wanted to continue playing football because, in the last six months, he didn’t get as much playing time as he would have liked. The president supported his decision, discussed it with the coach, the director and me, and we granted Taras free-agent status so he could play for another club in a different league. He wants to keep playing football, that's clear to everyone. He is a footballer and a person who gave a lot to Shakhtar. But, unfortunately, none of us are eternal. Therefore, I say a big thank you to him for what he did for Shakhtar. As for Zubkov, he is a footballer who is 29 years old, he did a lot for Shakhtar during the war, at this difficult moment, he scored many important goals, assisted, was a leader. And then an offer came that suited both us and him. To be honest, he wanted to leave, he said it more than once, and somehow, it all aligned with us selling Zubkov. As for Sikan, he never pushed to leave, but an offer came in that suited both him and the club. And I believe that a team must always be selling and buying, bringing in fresh energy. This is very important. When we sold Zubkov, Kevin Kelsy and Sikan, we already had Kaua Elias on our radar as our top target for the forward position. We put everything into making this deal happen, and the president gave the go-ahead. To be honest, I’m very pleased, and everyone at the club is as well, that we signed a player of this level. Firstly, he is the most expensive forward we have ever bought in Shakhtar’s history. And I believe his potential suggests that he can become the top scorer and striker of our Shakhtar. That’s why he is with us today.

– In addition to Kaua Elias, Diego Arroyo joined Shakhtar. What do these transfers mean? Can we consider this a long-term project or are these transfers only for this season?
– If you look at the selection of Shakhtar players today, I believe and am sure that there has never been such a selection. There are two high-level players in each position. Behind Matviienko, we have the young Faryna and Diego, who recently impressed at the Copa America U20, showcasing crazy skills and remarkable qualities. Qualities that are needed for a central defender today: 190 centimetres tall, fast, plays well with the ball. I’m sure that this transfer will benefit us. He is young, he needs to work, and it takes time, just like for everyone else. But if you look at all the positions, we have two very high-level players in each one. And this is considering that our transfer policy is still not complete as of now, in February.

– So, are any transfers planned for Shakhtar before the league resumes?
– The president has given the go-ahead for another transfer, which I believe will be significant and expensive. This is a transfer that we need – either now or in the summer. We are working actively, there is a lot of work here. If everyone thinks we had a vacation, then I think that neither I, nor CEO Serhii Palkin, nor the president had one. Because there are so many calls, so much work, so much comparisons, information that we need to get to be sure about this footballer, that 24 hours were not enough for us. CEO Serhii Palkin, who is always in the office, on the phone all the time, dealing with numbers, contracts – this is also a very important job. I’m sure that the fans will respect and appreciate that we are selling and buying and making the strongest Shakhtar in such a difficult time. I’m not saying this for the first time, and even the president has said that we are not far from creating the strongest Shakhtar. And I’m sure that we have a little bit left. But the fans should also understand that sometimes time and patience are required. Sometimes, that’s what's lacking. But our team are very young. Stepanenko left – 35 years old, Zubkov – 29 years old, Sikan – 24 years old, and we became even younger. Therefore, patience is needed, support is needed, we need to be criticized, but we also need to be supported. Because we only want to do better, not worse.

– Another question about Kaua Elias. When our media office presented this player, he was introduced as a game changer. What can you say about that: is this player capable of changing Shakhtar’s performance even now?
– First of all, I want to thank our media office, because they found a very good word for this football player. He is a young footballer who has already made about 50 appearances in professional football, who played for Fluminense and won the Copa Libertadores last year, he is the member of the Brazil national team. Of course, we have to wait for him, he still needs to adapt, but I am sure that our Brazilians, who are already here, will help him adapt quickly. If you look at the adaptation of our Brazilians previously, even under the best conditions, at Donbas Arena, it took at least two years. And today you see Kevin and Marlon Gomes, who have only been here for a year, but they have already participated in the matches and helped us a lot to win the last championship. And they scored now even in the Champions League. Therefore, we do not have much time now to wait for the adaptation of new players. We still need time, but not as much as we did before. So our fans should always have patience, criticism and love for Shakhtar.

– Our youth team, who will play in the UEFA Youth League play-offs, are also developing very actively. What are your thoughts on the advancement of our young players to this round, was it expected or is it luck?
– So far as Shakhtar U19 are concerned, this is not a random result: gaining 10 points out of 18 means a lot. This shows that the coaches have done a good job and that our Academy is on the right track. You know that Tsukanov, who plays there, made his debut for us, we took Drozd, Oharkov – these are players who stayed with the first team, participated in the training camp. Hoffenheim U19 is the strongest team in Germany, the champions of the country, so it will be difficult. Oharkov broke his arm and will not play. But I saw Bielik three days ago in Turkey and told him that they have to play our game, and if they lose, they lose in our way. But I am sure that we have a chance. Of course, it is very important for Ukrainian football, for Shakhtar, for our Academy, that we play in the UEFA Youth League.

– What are Shakhtar U19’s ambitions?
– No less than those of the first team – to win the league, to go as far as possible in the UEFA Youth League. They are now in first place in the UPL with a 5-point lead, and I am sure that Bielik will not give the first place to anyone.

– You regularly speak with the president of our club. What is his mood in general after the first part of the season, and does he ever criticize you?
– Well, what do you mean by criticism… We are one family. And when I said that we lose together and win together, it is true. Of course, the mood of the president, my mood, the mood of all of us after the last game against Polissia… I just did not expect us to lose to Polissia in the fourth game in a row, in the last minute, without even scoring a goal. This is some kind of mysticism, this is not our team, so to speak. This is not the first time, not the second time, not the third time, but this is the fourth time. This is a psychological stress, and thank God that we will not play against Polissia again this season. Because I was under a lot of psychological pressure, taking into account the fact that we are a much stronger team than Polissia. Of course it was unpleasant, we wanted to end the year on a good note, beautifully, because I know how our president worries about this club, this team. He calls 10 times a day: how is the team, how are newcomers doing, how did they arrive, how are you? There a few such presidents who worry about their club, their country in a difficult situation. Where missiles fly every day, the facilities, which he owns, are hit every day. But he does not give up. And we know exactly what we are doing. And the president knows exactly what he is doing. And believe me, we are doing everything to make Shakhtar strong and successful. And as I said, Dynamo are the favourites of this championship, but we will still fight. We will not give up just like that.

– The president of the club has not attended the team’s matches in person for 11 years. Should we expect to see Rinat Leonidovych in the stands in the near future?
– Yes. You know, dreams change. It used to be a dream of playing at the Donbas Arena, and we still have it. But the current dream is for our president to get to the stadium and watch the game of his favourite team. And believe me, he struggles – it is not easy. And there are games when I do not watch Shakhtar because I flew somewhere for work, I watch them on iPad or TV and tell myself: why did you take a flight? I am more stressed when I watch the game on TV than in person. And only then I realized what it means to be the president of the club, what it means to love your team and your club when you cannot watch your team and your players. You understand that players joined and left the club, and the president did not even see them.

– When can we see him in the stands?
– I promise the fans that after the war we will do everything so that our president to watches Shakhtar in person. I cannot promise because this is his decision after all. But I think this is the team’s dream, the dream of our fans – to see the person who has done so much for Ukrainian football, for Shakhtar, for Ukraine, to see him watch his club and his team live.

– Also, our entire team and fans are living the dream and hope of returning home, but Shakhtar have been playing very far away from Donetsk for 11 years already. If you do not return soon, do you plan to build a new home stadium for the team but in another city?
– We have only one stadium, it is Donbas Arena. First let’s wait for the end of the war, and then we will all have such emotions… Just, unfortunately, I experienced the war when I was a child, and I will never forget the last day of the war: when peace is declared, you understand that you are born again. And people had emotions, which they hid somewhere deep inside during the war, that they simply became free, they began to love, respect this peace, this air, today more than ever. People will value peace and small things after the war much more than before the war. So let’s wait until the end of the war, and then let our emotions tell and show what needs to be done next. And until this day we need to thank our defenders for what they are doing for our Ukraine, for our country – they are doing everything so that we have peace tomorrow. Glory to Ukraine!

– Glory to the Heroes! And finally: what question would you personally like to hear during our conversation?
– No, I just want to tell our fans that we are suffering no less than they are. And when I spoke, I spoke from my heart and soul, I said a lot of things on behalf of the club and on behalf of the president. And I would not be able to say so much if we were not on the same path all together – the coach, the director, the president, me – I would not have given such an interview. And you would feel it immediately, 100 percent. I wish Shakhtar all the best and know that we have big victories and great results ahead of us together with our fans.