Our players know how to be a team and how to win
Sunday, August 9, 2026
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Comment from Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan after the UPL match against Epicentr (2-0)
– Mister, congratulations on the win! How would you assess the team’s performance today?
– There’s not much to say about the team today – the lads were incredible. This was a great level of play! It was hot and the pitch was dry. After being watered, it dries out within five minutes and the ball slows down. Despite this, the team showed great defensive balance. The boys really wanted to have possession and control the game. I demanded a lot from the players so that they could show their best, but it’s not easy for them because we are at the end of our five-week preparation period. We decided to take this risk. My sincere congratulations to the team – they were excellent today! It’s not easy to win after four or five hours on the bus from Lviv and then more than another hour on the road to get here. Congratulations and bravo!
– Compared with the first game, you made several changes to the starting XI. Was this planned rotation or were there other reasons?
– We cannot just immediately put players who have not played before into the starting XI. That’s why we need to be one team, one family. Today Alaa, Traore and Ocheretko played; tomorrow it could be different. I need all my players, and everyone who comes onto the pitch has to give their maximum. For example, last week Kaua Elias scored a hat-trick, but today Traore started. Next week, Luca or Kaua Elias could play in his position. We need 24 players who are all at the same level. That is how we achieved success last season. I tell my players: remember how you won, we need to remain a family. Players can become more valuable and achieve their goals only when the team achieves its objective. Of course, individual performances are important, everyone understands that, everyone wants to play, but in modern football, with these journeys and this schedule, it is impossible. We need the whole team to be one family.
– The first half ended 0-0. What did you change or say to the players at half-time to make the second half different?
– In terms of doing the right things, sometimes in football you don’t get the score. We didn’t change anything. We told them to keep going in the same way. They simply needed to be more attentive in their reactions because we missed a lot of chances, and there were even more of them in the first half. I think we played much better in the first half. Sometimes managing means not interfering at all. Our players know how to be a team and how to win. Sometimes, on the pitch, they are even more of the bosses than I am.
– There’s not much to say about the team today – the lads were incredible. This was a great level of play! It was hot and the pitch was dry. After being watered, it dries out within five minutes and the ball slows down. Despite this, the team showed great defensive balance. The boys really wanted to have possession and control the game. I demanded a lot from the players so that they could show their best, but it’s not easy for them because we are at the end of our five-week preparation period. We decided to take this risk. My sincere congratulations to the team – they were excellent today! It’s not easy to win after four or five hours on the bus from Lviv and then more than another hour on the road to get here. Congratulations and bravo!
– Compared with the first game, you made several changes to the starting XI. Was this planned rotation or were there other reasons?
– We cannot just immediately put players who have not played before into the starting XI. That’s why we need to be one team, one family. Today Alaa, Traore and Ocheretko played; tomorrow it could be different. I need all my players, and everyone who comes onto the pitch has to give their maximum. For example, last week Kaua Elias scored a hat-trick, but today Traore started. Next week, Luca or Kaua Elias could play in his position. We need 24 players who are all at the same level. That is how we achieved success last season. I tell my players: remember how you won, we need to remain a family. Players can become more valuable and achieve their goals only when the team achieves its objective. Of course, individual performances are important, everyone understands that, everyone wants to play, but in modern football, with these journeys and this schedule, it is impossible. We need the whole team to be one family.
– The first half ended 0-0. What did you change or say to the players at half-time to make the second half different?
– In terms of doing the right things, sometimes in football you don’t get the score. We didn’t change anything. We told them to keep going in the same way. They simply needed to be more attentive in their reactions because we missed a lot of chances, and there were even more of them in the first half. I think we played much better in the first half. Sometimes managing means not interfering at all. Our players know how to be a team and how to win. Sometimes, on the pitch, they are even more of the bosses than I am.