Heorhiy Sudakov: Shakhtar have always been and remain UPL favorites"

Shakhtar midfielder Georgy Sudakov spoke about the changes in the team.

“It has not been seen for a long time that the entire team was made up of our own pupils plus Stepanenko, who has been in the team for more than 10 years. I think that now there will be more attention to our team from fans and journalists, coaches of the youth and national teams.

We have been in the first team for a long time. I am two years old, Misha Mudrik is more than three years old. We train hard every day, whether there are legionnaires or not. It is clear that there was higher competition with foreign players. Now they are gone, and we feel that we have more responsibility, and we become more team leaders.

You have to take the initiative - not only in football moments, but also in everyday matters. Yes, now we got a chance, but I won't say that it's somehow unexpected. We also have to fight for a place with the legionnaires. I don't think much has changed. We just have more responsibility now. If earlier there were more experienced football players, now the result will depend more on us.

We all believe in our strengths and know what kind of football players we are. I am 100% sure that everyone on the team is ready to compete with any club. I think that we have been and remain the favorites in the Premier League. Let's see what happens in the Champions League. Last season, they did not score so many points, although there were 9 foreign players in the squad. We'll see what happens now.

I think that this situation will go to our advantage - at least this is an impetus for us. If earlier, out of 11 players in the starting lineup, 9 legionnaires entered the field, then many criticized Shakhtar and the structure of the club in general. I think it will be interesting to follow the team and young Ukrainian players now. Precisely, there will be another football. And then everything depends on us.

Now we are building a new team. We also have competition. It may not be the same as before, but the club will at least rely on its players. If before they bought and sold Brazilians, now they want to educate footballers so that they play in the first team and show results,” Sudakov said.