Tomorrow, July 27, the second leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League between Turkish Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kyiv will take place. A day earlier, in Istanbul, where this fight will take place, the head coach of the Ukrainian team Mircea Lucescu gave a pre-match press conference.
Mircea Lucescu- What will you make Fenerbahce coach Jorge Jesus think about after the last match?
- Tomorrow will be a completely different game. In the first match, we did not do very much, because there were enough problems. You all know very well what is the difference between Fenerbahce and Dynamo at the moment. Our opponent is playing at home, but we are not. The Turkish team made a lot of transfers, but we, on the contrary, lost players.
Fenerbahce has fantastic fans, and now we are supported mainly by women and children, because men are fighting the enemy in Ukraine. We don't have a home right now - we travel around Europe to train and play, while your team has an excellent training base and a training center.
So now we are different in many ways. But football doesn't take into account such things. Everything should be decided on the field, and we are ready to play the second leg.
- Jorge Jesus drew attention to the number of fouls in the last match, they say, this was your weapon to stop the opponent...
- I know what he said. This is a tactical moment. I have been in football for 77 years, and I know why you need to pay attention to the fans, violation of the rules, the actions of the referee, etc. We had many opportunities to score. Let me remind you that before these matches we had not played at the official level for eight months. We started the last match with Fenerbahce, knowing that this is a very good team, which was strengthened by quality newcomers. Therefore, we were very careful about what was happening on the field, because we did not fully know our capabilities.
The game in Lodz turned out to be good and fair. Fenerbahçe had more control of the ball, and we had much more opportunities to score on the counterattack. As for fouls, that's not true, there's nothing to talk about. Both teams played very honestly. In my opinion, the referee was more lenient towards the Fenerbahce players, and not towards us.
- How will tomorrow's match differ from the first one? Will there be an underestimation on the part of Fenerbahce?
— I think Jorge Jesus is a good coach with a lot of experience. He doesn't need to use analytics companies and platforms like Instat or Wyscout to showcase anything. I don't think there will be any underestimation on his part. He knows very well that tomorrow will be the most important qualifying match. Dynamo and Fenerbahce play well in the group stages, so I'm sure that the Turkish team is well prepared. We will also try to go further, despite the very difficult conditions in which we find ourselves.
Not only did Dynamo not play official matches for eight months, but only Ukrainian football players were gathered in our team, except for two - Kedzera and Verbich. Almost all the rest are graduates of the club academy. So it's not easy to do what other European clubs do, because big teams need to make good transfers. Fenerbahçe had such an opportunity, and the team was replenished with very skillful football players for the Turkish championship - fast and with good dribbling. We have a good organization of the game. It is not true that they had many opportunities to score in the first leg - only one for Keane. They dominated, but nothing else was created at our gates. I think the upcoming game will also be more or less even, and everything will be decided on the field.
- As you said, tomorrow's game will be a big challenge for you, but you are a welcome guest for Besiktas and Galatasaray, who coached at the time. What can you say about your return to Turkey in this context?
— My football life consists of experience and memories. I have great memories of my stay in Turkey while working with Besiktas, Galatasaray and the Turkish national team. I love this country, the city of Istanbul, I respect all the fans, because they are amazing. I experience pleasant feelings every time I come to Istanbul, wherever I go - on the streets of the city, in shops, in stadiums - everywhere. This is a very important part of my football life.
