Today, July 20, the first match of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League between Dynamo Kyiv and Turkish Fenerbahce will take place. And a day earlier in Polish Lodz, where this fight will take place, head coach of the Ukrainian team Mircea Lucescu gave scheduled pre-match press conference.
Mircea Lucescu and Emil Caras- How would you rate the conditions in the training center where Dynamo were preparing for the game against Fenerbahce?
— Everything was great, good conditions, field. After the match, we will return there to continue preparations for the second leg against Fenerbahce.
- The Ukrainian national team also held its important matches at this stadium. Is it for this reason that you decided to host Fenerbahce here?
- We decided to play in Poland, because we know that here we are provided with the support of the fans. There are a lot of Ukrainians here, so we are guaranteed a good atmosphere during the home match, which will help us try to get a good result.
— You opposed the coach Jorge Jesus in the last European Cup season. How can you characterize the style of his teams?
- It is incorrect to say that I played against Jorge Jesus, the Dynamo team played against the Benfica team. As for Jesus, I can say that he is a very qualified, experienced specialist. I am impressed by the way he leads the teams, I like the style of play of his teams. I know that he knows me just as well. We prepared for these matches based on the game of his team, as well as based on our confrontation with his Benfica last year.
Last season, Benfica under the leadership of Jesus showed a good result, they beat Barcelona twice. I note that Fenerbahce is also a very good team, which, moreover, has strengthened this summer with experienced players. The eldest of Fenerbahce's newcomers are 29-30 years old, they played in the European top championships. For example, Joshua King, Lincoln, Bruma, William Arao.
But we also have a good team that has been playing together for about two years. I hope that my players will be able to forget about the horrors that are happening in Ukraine for the duration of the game and concentrate on the upcoming game.
This game is very important not only for us, not only for Dynamo fans, but for the people of Ukraine, who expect victory from our team. At the same time, I understand that this match is also important for Fenerbahce, because the club has invested heavily in the team and expects it to advance to the group stage.
— You worked in Turkey for a long time. Do you have special feelings before the upcoming fight?
— My thoughts and feelings are not important in the current situation. All my thoughts are about tomorrow's match, the Dynamo game and the team's fans. What happened during my work in Turkey is already history. Only the best memories, since I spent quite a lot of time here, I had very good relations with local fans. Every time I come to Turkey, I can be sure that the fans of all clubs - Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Fenerbahce - will treat me with respect. And I treat them with exactly the same respect.
- How difficult is it to prepare a team for relegation matches in the Champions League without playing practice in the championship?
- It's quite difficult. We did not have a permanent base, on the contrary, we traveled around Europe as part of a charity tour. It was very important, because in this way we could rally the refugees from Ukraine so that they could feel like part of the family on the stands of the stadiums. I can only thank my players who played for Ukraine.
We also tried to give football players equal practice in these matches so that they would come to the games with Fenerbahce in good condition. It was not easy, because many of our guys played in the national teams until June 15. They needed rest, after which they joined us at the training camp. It took us three matches to bring the guys to a common denominator, and two were left for purposeful preparation. I think that at the moment the team is in good shape.
