Shakhtar’s head coach has talked to the press on the eve of the game against Juventus in the group stages of the Champions League.
- Mister, you have known Andrea Pirlo well since a young age. What will you change in your tactics or will it remain the same as in the previous matches played by Shakhtar?
- During my spell at Brescia, Pirlo made his debut in this team when he was fifteen and a half years old. I did that to show Andrea’s talent and that he could have a very good career. He was really making a quick progress. At this point, I think Pirlo, thanks to his game over the years, has earned the Golden Ball. Now Juventus are enjoying a great time, because they have a well-organized team, a good group. Now the Turin team are the same as they were many years ago – one of the strongest teams in Europe from all points of view. They know perfectly well both strong and weak points. We and they are strong, so the upcoming match will be very difficult for both teams.
- The previous two matches have seen Juventus playing against rivals such as Fiorentina and Roma. In the first game they didn’t play very well, and in the second one, on the contrary, they were great. What is the real Juventus, in your opinion?
- It was very difficult for Juventus to play against Fiorentina. The players ran a lot, and Fiorentina could have won. But Juventus have shown who they are – a great team. As for Roma, they let the opponents do whatever they wanted. When you play with this team, you need to look at all the players, not at someone in particular. That is why Juventus beat Roma in such a way.
- Tomorrow, after a break, the Champions League will return to Turin. The stadium is expected to be packed, and everyone understands how motivated Juventus will be. Will Shakhtar be more focused on defence or did you not consider this option?
- The game is played by the teams, not the fans. The tactics won’t undergo changes because of that. Indeed, they have been looking forward to this game, because Juventus has not played in the Champions League at home for a long time. So the game will be very difficult. Juventus are a strong team. The fans will help them, but we do not have to change our tactics for this reason.
- Have you found the Juventus weaknesses? Could you name three strongest players in the Juventus squad? If a penalty-kick is awarded against Juventus, who will step up to the spot?
- Strong players? The entire team is strong. But if you want to hear some names, then I would mention Buffon, Bonucci, Pirlo and Vucinic. They are all very different, but very strong in their own way. As for the best player, for me, it is Pirlo, of course. (Laughing.) Regarding the third part of the question, we will see: the most important thing is that the team should play well, which will enable to create such moments. The players themselves have to choose. I'm not here to talk about it.
- What do you make of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s performance? Does he have what it takes to play in Serie A?
- I have long been aware of Mkhitaryan’s game – for five or six years. He is a very strong player; he scores a lot of goals and can play anywhere. Besides the fact that Shakhtar are a team of high European level, it is also a very young side. We have many players aged 22-23. And almost everyone has grown with me in the last few years, namely the likes of Willian, Adriano, Teixeira, Costa, Rakitskiy... The team are young, but they have the experience of playing in European tournaments. I hope that tomorrow will be a good game and there won’t be such problems as in last year's game with Porto. Hopefully, the crowd won’t affect the referee.
- How important will this game be in the context of Shakhtar’s chances in this competition?
- In my opinion, Juventus are now the best team in the group. Since Shakhtar plays well at home, we hope that we will play well away from home as well. We have a difficult group with the opponents representing very high level. I think the main challenge will be against Juventus and Chelsea. But this is only the second round, so we shouldn’t make any conclusions yet.