I’d like to thank the team for their fight, commitment and the result
Saturday, September 5, 2026
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Press conference of Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan after the UPL match against Karpaty (2-1)
– I’ll start by saying that it’s always very difficult to play here; there is a truly incredible football spirit. And I want to thank all the fans who came to the stadium today to create that magical atmosphere that we experienced together. It’s really pleasing for me to see that, despite everything, they are able to enjoy football, switch off for 90 minutes and smile. As for the game, I’d put it this way: we knew from the very beginning that our opponents were very well organised, had a very good coach and played good football. After all, Karpaty were top of the table after the opening four rounds before this match. So, after our disappointing result in the previous game, we had to respond, and I’m pleased that we managed to show that reaction today. The result is very important for us in the context of the continued fight for the title. I want to be honest: there are many things about the way we played today that I’m not happy with, and of course I’ll continue to analyse these aspects in detail with the team. However, in terms of the fight, commitment and the result we achieved, I’m extremely happy and I want to thank the team.
– After today’s game, do you see Karpaty as potential title rivals in the long term? And one more thing: Shakhtar have obviously found it difficult to get into the season, so are the team physically and mentally ready ahead of the trip to Eindhoven?
– First of all, I can say that Karpaty are a truly top team, as I emphasised, with a very good coach, and I believe they have the potential to maintain the kind of intensity we saw today over the long term, in big games of different levels. Of course, they can be considered one of our main rivals in the fight for this season’s title. As for our setup and, specifically, how we are getting into the season, we can look at last season as an example: at the start of the 2025/26 season, we sold Kevin and Sudakov, and this summer we also let go of some very important players – Konoplia and Bondarenko. We have a whole group of young players who need time to integrate. Our system is genuinely complex; it requires a lot of effort to understand it and hone all the details until they become automatic. At the same time, I’m very pleased with the progress of many of the new players, such as Mendoza, Karavaiev and others we signed in this transfer window. They have even exceeded my expectations in terms of how quickly they have managed to integrate. So I’m genuinely happy with where we are at the moment. Despite certain aspects still not being fully refined, I’m confident that we’ll make up the lost ground over time.
– Last season, in an interview, you said that your worst memory was seeing Karpaty knock Galatasaray out at this stadium. Your first dropped points also came against Karpaty at the Ukraina Stadium. Today, finally, you have won, so can you now say that this stadium has given you some good memories as well?
– Yes, finally I can have some good memories of this stadium. As I said in my first answer, the football spirit of this arena is truly incredible. I’m really happy to have seen more than 10,000 fans in the stands today, as it seemed to me. Honestly, I can say that this is more important than a title for me – seeing children in the stands, seeing people who can smile and switch off for a while, experiencing this emotion and this joy. In my career, I played in a Champions League final, which I lost unfortunately. But I can assure you that no final of any tournament is worth more than a smile. And a smile is definitely worth more than a victory.
– Mister, every match, whoever Shakhtar are playing, we comment on and analyse the team’s form and whether they are ready for the Champions League. Having seen the team today, would you say they are ready for PSV?
– Do you want me to tell you the truth or motivate the players?
– Motivate the players.
– As I’ve already emphasised, these are two completely different types of football. Honestly, at this level, it’s no longer simply about winning or losing. Playing at one o’clock in the afternoon under the blazing sun against a team as well organised as, for example, Epicentr is very difficult. I can assure you that even Iniesta or Busquets, despite their experience, would have found it difficult to play in such conditions. Our goal and dream is to finish among the top 24 in the Champions League league phase. Just yesterday, we were drawing up our plan through to the end of September, until the international break, and I can assure you there isn’t even much room in the schedule for sleep. However, we have to give everything, first and foremost for the people who continue to live through the realities of war – and this is what we can do. This is our dream, and it really won’t be easy, if only because we will have to play our home matches thousands of kilometres from home. I can assure you that if we were playing at the Donbas Arena, I would set finishing in the top eight as our target. You were able to see what kind of boost the support from the home stands gave our opponents. Karpaty were simply driven on by their fans, in the best sense of the word, and that worked in their favour. Our main objective is to represent Ukraine in the Champions League. To some extent, my players are still not as ready as I would ideally like them to be. We are lacking enough quality in our first touch, and we also overcomplicate things in the final third. We have to improve these aspects. And I have no doubt about my players’ potential. Last season, they carried the league title on their shoulders, with each of them playing 20 matches during the season in both the UPL and European competitions. At the same time, they gained experience of playing every three days and securing difficult victories. I continue to believe in them, and I’m sure that this faith will pay off and that they will be able to bring joy to all of us.
– It’s been a very difficult week for Kyiv and for Ukraine as a whole. But football can bring people together and give them a chance to switch off. Do you feel that you are managing to give Ukrainians hope?
– I have to say that seeing certain things, talking about them and actually living through them are completely different experiences. You can say the same in the context of life in Ukraine during a full-scale war. As for today’s match, for example, I could have rested Riznyk and given Kiril Fesiun a chance to play, but he was dealing with some personal issues involving his girlfriend, so he had to travel to Kyiv to support her. It’s pleasing for me to see that the Ukrainian people continue to live and fight. The most important thing is that they do not accept reality as it is. They believe and know that it is wrong because it is. Yet, despite all these brutal circumstances, they continue to enjoy life and try to get the most out of it. And most importantly, they remain unbowed, and I’m sure they will remain so until the very end. In all 20 matches we played in the Conference League last season, I emphasised at every pre-match press conference just how sincere Ukrainians are in their determination and their struggle. I can assure you that I will continue to do so, but now in the Champions League. On the football pitch, there may be a little rivalry between us, but as soon as the final whistle goes, we all continue to represent Ukraine. It doesn’t matter which football club it is – whether LNZ, Dynamo, Polissia or Karpaty next season. We all continue to send an important message to the world. I sincerely wish all the Ukrainian teams success in the next round of European competition qualifiers. And most importantly, we must remember that we have a great opportunity to continue reminding the world of the injustice taking place in Ukraine.
– There is a tactical plan, a specific system and the manager’s instructions. But how important is a player’s footballing intuition when, at a certain moment, they need to move away from the tactics and make an instinctive decision?
– Today, in the pre-match meeting with my players, I told them that at certain moments they have to move away from the tactics and say to me: “Mister, leave this to us.” When you are a Shakhtar player, you have to make the most of the talent God has given you and your individual skills. You have to shoot, shoot from distance. Today, there was even a moment when I was talking too much, and Karavaiev said: “Mister, that’s too much.” And I said to him: “Sorry, you’re right.” It’s very important that the players don’t forget that they are individuals and make use of their strengths. At this level, that’s what I expect from them. At certain moments, moving away from the tactics is genuinely the best decision you can make to bring enjoyment and pleasure to the game. Football is a game of passion and emotion, and there is no other game in the world quite like it in that respect.
– After today’s game, do you see Karpaty as potential title rivals in the long term? And one more thing: Shakhtar have obviously found it difficult to get into the season, so are the team physically and mentally ready ahead of the trip to Eindhoven?
– First of all, I can say that Karpaty are a truly top team, as I emphasised, with a very good coach, and I believe they have the potential to maintain the kind of intensity we saw today over the long term, in big games of different levels. Of course, they can be considered one of our main rivals in the fight for this season’s title. As for our setup and, specifically, how we are getting into the season, we can look at last season as an example: at the start of the 2025/26 season, we sold Kevin and Sudakov, and this summer we also let go of some very important players – Konoplia and Bondarenko. We have a whole group of young players who need time to integrate. Our system is genuinely complex; it requires a lot of effort to understand it and hone all the details until they become automatic. At the same time, I’m very pleased with the progress of many of the new players, such as Mendoza, Karavaiev and others we signed in this transfer window. They have even exceeded my expectations in terms of how quickly they have managed to integrate. So I’m genuinely happy with where we are at the moment. Despite certain aspects still not being fully refined, I’m confident that we’ll make up the lost ground over time.
– Last season, in an interview, you said that your worst memory was seeing Karpaty knock Galatasaray out at this stadium. Your first dropped points also came against Karpaty at the Ukraina Stadium. Today, finally, you have won, so can you now say that this stadium has given you some good memories as well?
– Yes, finally I can have some good memories of this stadium. As I said in my first answer, the football spirit of this arena is truly incredible. I’m really happy to have seen more than 10,000 fans in the stands today, as it seemed to me. Honestly, I can say that this is more important than a title for me – seeing children in the stands, seeing people who can smile and switch off for a while, experiencing this emotion and this joy. In my career, I played in a Champions League final, which I lost unfortunately. But I can assure you that no final of any tournament is worth more than a smile. And a smile is definitely worth more than a victory.
– Mister, every match, whoever Shakhtar are playing, we comment on and analyse the team’s form and whether they are ready for the Champions League. Having seen the team today, would you say they are ready for PSV?
– Do you want me to tell you the truth or motivate the players?
– Motivate the players.
– As I’ve already emphasised, these are two completely different types of football. Honestly, at this level, it’s no longer simply about winning or losing. Playing at one o’clock in the afternoon under the blazing sun against a team as well organised as, for example, Epicentr is very difficult. I can assure you that even Iniesta or Busquets, despite their experience, would have found it difficult to play in such conditions. Our goal and dream is to finish among the top 24 in the Champions League league phase. Just yesterday, we were drawing up our plan through to the end of September, until the international break, and I can assure you there isn’t even much room in the schedule for sleep. However, we have to give everything, first and foremost for the people who continue to live through the realities of war – and this is what we can do. This is our dream, and it really won’t be easy, if only because we will have to play our home matches thousands of kilometres from home. I can assure you that if we were playing at the Donbas Arena, I would set finishing in the top eight as our target. You were able to see what kind of boost the support from the home stands gave our opponents. Karpaty were simply driven on by their fans, in the best sense of the word, and that worked in their favour. Our main objective is to represent Ukraine in the Champions League. To some extent, my players are still not as ready as I would ideally like them to be. We are lacking enough quality in our first touch, and we also overcomplicate things in the final third. We have to improve these aspects. And I have no doubt about my players’ potential. Last season, they carried the league title on their shoulders, with each of them playing 20 matches during the season in both the UPL and European competitions. At the same time, they gained experience of playing every three days and securing difficult victories. I continue to believe in them, and I’m sure that this faith will pay off and that they will be able to bring joy to all of us.
– It’s been a very difficult week for Kyiv and for Ukraine as a whole. But football can bring people together and give them a chance to switch off. Do you feel that you are managing to give Ukrainians hope?
– I have to say that seeing certain things, talking about them and actually living through them are completely different experiences. You can say the same in the context of life in Ukraine during a full-scale war. As for today’s match, for example, I could have rested Riznyk and given Kiril Fesiun a chance to play, but he was dealing with some personal issues involving his girlfriend, so he had to travel to Kyiv to support her. It’s pleasing for me to see that the Ukrainian people continue to live and fight. The most important thing is that they do not accept reality as it is. They believe and know that it is wrong because it is. Yet, despite all these brutal circumstances, they continue to enjoy life and try to get the most out of it. And most importantly, they remain unbowed, and I’m sure they will remain so until the very end. In all 20 matches we played in the Conference League last season, I emphasised at every pre-match press conference just how sincere Ukrainians are in their determination and their struggle. I can assure you that I will continue to do so, but now in the Champions League. On the football pitch, there may be a little rivalry between us, but as soon as the final whistle goes, we all continue to represent Ukraine. It doesn’t matter which football club it is – whether LNZ, Dynamo, Polissia or Karpaty next season. We all continue to send an important message to the world. I sincerely wish all the Ukrainian teams success in the next round of European competition qualifiers. And most importantly, we must remember that we have a great opportunity to continue reminding the world of the injustice taking place in Ukraine.
– There is a tactical plan, a specific system and the manager’s instructions. But how important is a player’s footballing intuition when, at a certain moment, they need to move away from the tactics and make an instinctive decision?
– Today, in the pre-match meeting with my players, I told them that at certain moments they have to move away from the tactics and say to me: “Mister, leave this to us.” When you are a Shakhtar player, you have to make the most of the talent God has given you and your individual skills. You have to shoot, shoot from distance. Today, there was even a moment when I was talking too much, and Karavaiev said: “Mister, that’s too much.” And I said to him: “Sorry, you’re right.” It’s very important that the players don’t forget that they are individuals and make use of their strengths. At this level, that’s what I expect from them. At certain moments, moving away from the tactics is genuinely the best decision you can make to bring enjoyment and pleasure to the game. Football is a game of passion and emotion, and there is no other game in the world quite like it in that respect.