I’m ready to help Shakhtar for as long as they count on me
Saturday, October 17, 2026
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Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan’s press conference after the UPL match against Kolos (2-1)
– I can sum up today’s match in one word, and it’s not even “congratulations”, but first and foremost, “thank you”. I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to this victory and this journey. That includes, of course, the players, but also my coaching staff and everyone else at Shakhtar. After our previous Champions League match, we had literally three to five hours when we could celebrate a little and get some sleep before our next trip. Today, we were already back here again, having to play another Ukrainian league match. So I’m grateful to them for everything, for giving their all both on and off the pitch, and for their fighting spirit. I feel incredibly proud of everyone and of the effort they have shown throughout this journey.
– At one point, with the score at 2-0, you seemed a little unhappy with the team’s performance, despite having more possession and taking more shots. Was this because the footballers had strayed from your instructions at some point or were you demanding that they give their all?
– The main objective in any match is for the footballers I have selected in the starting line-up, as well as those who come off the bench to strengthen the team, to give their all and make us stronger with their freshness, ideas, and attacking and defensive qualities. I saw all of that today, so at certain points in the match I may have been emotional. However, overall, reflecting on all the emotions and everything we experienced, I can only thank them. Sometimes I say positive things to my players, even if you might see me as someone who is shouting. That’s just my body language; it’s how I communicate my ideas during a match.
– Both goals in the first half were scored by defenders. How important could such forward runs by defenders be, for example, in the match against Inter? I’d also like to ask about Kryskiv: you substituted him for Ocheretko immediately after his mistake led to the goal you conceded. Was that a reaction to the incident or was the substitution planned?
– I constantly emphasise that players must go beyond their usual roles. Defenders must join the attack, just as attacking players must drop deeper to help their teammates in defence. I’m convinced that football, especially nowadays, is a two-way game, and everyone must be able to do things that take them out of their comfort zone. As for your first question, we had two tactical options that we had prepared in advance. One was to bring on Vinicius Tobias for Pedro Henrique, while we were also planning to replace Kryskiv with Ocheretko. We were weighing up these two options. Bringing on Ocheretko would have allowed us to add more dynamism and aggression in midfield and make our play more dynamic because the goal we conceded reduced our lead over the opposition to just one goal. We really needed that dynamism and aggression in midfield. However, as I’ve already stressed, this was just one part of the tactical plans we had prepared in advance.
– Before today, Shakhtar’s last win over Kolos had come almost two years ago, on October 12. Had you seen this statistic before the match and did you give the players any special instructions? During your time as Shakhtar head coach, a pattern has emerged: you went a long time without beating LNZ, then you beat them; you went a long time without beating Polissia, then you beat them; and now it’s Kolos. So perhaps a new tradition is taking shape?
– I hope this becomes a new tradition that I can make part of our DNA, our mentality. You guessed correctly: I do like to emphasise these things, to break those unwanted runs and finally put these issues to rest. To some extent, I’m fighting against a past that brought us disappointment, and I like to turn things around in our favour and improve our overall statistics. That’s part of who I am.
– Inter are one of the strongest clubs in Europe. What gives Shakhtar the confidence to surprise such opponents, and are you prepared to move away from attacking football in pursuit of a result?
– In fact, if we try to surprise Inter, they will surprise us in a very unpleasant way. Of course, we will take the strengths and weaknesses of our next opponents into account, as we always do. To be honest, we haven’t had a chance to analyse them yet because all our thoughts were focused on Kolos until the final whistle of today’s match. Now we will get into the rhythm of preparing for our next opponents and return to the Champions League routine. Only then will we have a clearer idea of how and where we can exploit their weaknesses and counter their strengths. After all, Inter are one of the strongest teams in European football, opponents of an incredible level and stature, and we are fully aware of that. However, as I’ve already stressed, we want to stick to our philosophy, not back down and never stop being Shakhtar.
– Recently, your name has been linked with the possibility of taking charge of the Türkiye national team, although you have spoken about your commitment to Shakhtar. At the same time, representing your country means a great deal to you. How difficult is it to balance the responsibility you took on by managing a Ukrainian club during wartime with the considerations I’ve just mentioned?
– As I said earlier, sometimes promises take precedence over emotions and certain decisions. I can say that both of the factors you mentioned are extremely important to me. At the same time, my boundless loyalty and commitment to the club are always with me. I’m here now, and I’m ready to help Shakhtar for as long as they count on me.
– You received a yellow card during a substitution today. What exactly did you say to the referee to get booked?
– It’s because I absolutely refuse to accept situations like the one that occurred today. As I’ve stressed on several occasions, we haven’t had the chance to get a proper night’s sleep, given the travel from London and the overnight arrival, and today we had to play in another competition again. That’s why we work on literally every detail and count every minute. It was important for me to protect both Mykola Matviienko and Alan Matturro, who was making his first start. So my reaction was: why? Why couldn’t we make those substitutions? The ball went out of play three times, giving us three opportunities to stop the game, yet the referee kept insisting that play should continue. I can assure you that we account for every minute on our side, and we have a precise schedule for how much playing time we allocate to each player. The referee also told me that we had to respect their work. I agree, but if they want to be respected, they must also learn to respect us. Our schedule is already extremely demanding, with very complicated logistics and all the associated challenges. All we were asking for was a little understanding in this matter. I’ll repeat: the ball went out of play three times, and I still genuinely cannot understand why we couldn’t make the substitutions during those stoppages. That is precisely why I reacted the way I did: above all, I was looking after my players.
– At one point, with the score at 2-0, you seemed a little unhappy with the team’s performance, despite having more possession and taking more shots. Was this because the footballers had strayed from your instructions at some point or were you demanding that they give their all?
– The main objective in any match is for the footballers I have selected in the starting line-up, as well as those who come off the bench to strengthen the team, to give their all and make us stronger with their freshness, ideas, and attacking and defensive qualities. I saw all of that today, so at certain points in the match I may have been emotional. However, overall, reflecting on all the emotions and everything we experienced, I can only thank them. Sometimes I say positive things to my players, even if you might see me as someone who is shouting. That’s just my body language; it’s how I communicate my ideas during a match.
– Both goals in the first half were scored by defenders. How important could such forward runs by defenders be, for example, in the match against Inter? I’d also like to ask about Kryskiv: you substituted him for Ocheretko immediately after his mistake led to the goal you conceded. Was that a reaction to the incident or was the substitution planned?
– I constantly emphasise that players must go beyond their usual roles. Defenders must join the attack, just as attacking players must drop deeper to help their teammates in defence. I’m convinced that football, especially nowadays, is a two-way game, and everyone must be able to do things that take them out of their comfort zone. As for your first question, we had two tactical options that we had prepared in advance. One was to bring on Vinicius Tobias for Pedro Henrique, while we were also planning to replace Kryskiv with Ocheretko. We were weighing up these two options. Bringing on Ocheretko would have allowed us to add more dynamism and aggression in midfield and make our play more dynamic because the goal we conceded reduced our lead over the opposition to just one goal. We really needed that dynamism and aggression in midfield. However, as I’ve already stressed, this was just one part of the tactical plans we had prepared in advance.
– Before today, Shakhtar’s last win over Kolos had come almost two years ago, on October 12. Had you seen this statistic before the match and did you give the players any special instructions? During your time as Shakhtar head coach, a pattern has emerged: you went a long time without beating LNZ, then you beat them; you went a long time without beating Polissia, then you beat them; and now it’s Kolos. So perhaps a new tradition is taking shape?
– I hope this becomes a new tradition that I can make part of our DNA, our mentality. You guessed correctly: I do like to emphasise these things, to break those unwanted runs and finally put these issues to rest. To some extent, I’m fighting against a past that brought us disappointment, and I like to turn things around in our favour and improve our overall statistics. That’s part of who I am.
– Inter are one of the strongest clubs in Europe. What gives Shakhtar the confidence to surprise such opponents, and are you prepared to move away from attacking football in pursuit of a result?
– In fact, if we try to surprise Inter, they will surprise us in a very unpleasant way. Of course, we will take the strengths and weaknesses of our next opponents into account, as we always do. To be honest, we haven’t had a chance to analyse them yet because all our thoughts were focused on Kolos until the final whistle of today’s match. Now we will get into the rhythm of preparing for our next opponents and return to the Champions League routine. Only then will we have a clearer idea of how and where we can exploit their weaknesses and counter their strengths. After all, Inter are one of the strongest teams in European football, opponents of an incredible level and stature, and we are fully aware of that. However, as I’ve already stressed, we want to stick to our philosophy, not back down and never stop being Shakhtar.
– Recently, your name has been linked with the possibility of taking charge of the Türkiye national team, although you have spoken about your commitment to Shakhtar. At the same time, representing your country means a great deal to you. How difficult is it to balance the responsibility you took on by managing a Ukrainian club during wartime with the considerations I’ve just mentioned?
– As I said earlier, sometimes promises take precedence over emotions and certain decisions. I can say that both of the factors you mentioned are extremely important to me. At the same time, my boundless loyalty and commitment to the club are always with me. I’m here now, and I’m ready to help Shakhtar for as long as they count on me.
– You received a yellow card during a substitution today. What exactly did you say to the referee to get booked?
– It’s because I absolutely refuse to accept situations like the one that occurred today. As I’ve stressed on several occasions, we haven’t had the chance to get a proper night’s sleep, given the travel from London and the overnight arrival, and today we had to play in another competition again. That’s why we work on literally every detail and count every minute. It was important for me to protect both Mykola Matviienko and Alan Matturro, who was making his first start. So my reaction was: why? Why couldn’t we make those substitutions? The ball went out of play three times, giving us three opportunities to stop the game, yet the referee kept insisting that play should continue. I can assure you that we account for every minute on our side, and we have a precise schedule for how much playing time we allocate to each player. The referee also told me that we had to respect their work. I agree, but if they want to be respected, they must also learn to respect us. Our schedule is already extremely demanding, with very complicated logistics and all the associated challenges. All we were asking for was a little understanding in this matter. I’ll repeat: the ball went out of play three times, and I still genuinely cannot understand why we couldn’t make the substitutions during those stoppages. That is precisely why I reacted the way I did: above all, I was looking after my players.