Former striker of Shakhtar Donetsk Andriy Vorobei assessed the Pitmen's pre-season matches under the guidance of newly-minted head coach Ihor Jovicevich, and also spoke about the match between Dynamo and Benfica.
- After successful friendly matches in the Netherlands, Shakhtar lost to Roma 0:5 in a friendly match at Stadio Olimpico. What can you say about this game?
- Roma is, of course, a very serious opponent. And, probably, Roma will really fight for the Scudetto this year. The Romans had a good team and they needed some time to play. Now Roma is in good shape. And now Shakhtar has a young team with almost no foreign players. In this game, it was difficult to expect anything from the Pitmen. And, I think that the account is natural. Roma and Shakhtar are now on different continents. This is if we talk about this match.
- Didn't this match remind you of that meeting of the Champions League-2000/2001, when Shakhtar lost 1:5 to Lazio in Rome? The same five conceded goals?
— No, these are different matches. That Lazio was stronger than today's Roma. And then we had a well-coordinated team. There was a team, there was a simulated team. Therefore it is difficult to compare. Yes, we lost big then. But this is probably not the same comparison. Because the current miner, I think, needs more time somewhere. In such a short period of time, the Miners returned all those rented. Everyone who could. The team, I think, needs another year and a half to be able to demand something from it. Now Shakhtar urgently needs to create some kind of team in order to play somehow.
- What do you think about Mudrik, who showed himself well in sparring, as well as about other leaders?
- Let's be frank, Shakhtar now has a young, raw team. Yes, there are leaders. Such as Stepanenko, Pyatov, Trubin. Pyatov is generally experienced, he is in charge of the goalkeeping department. There are the same Matvienko and Krivtsov who have already gone through fire, water and copper pipes. And there is raw, unruly youth. Yes, they played in the Ukrainian championship, but this is a completely different level. It's one thing to play in Kolos or Desna, it's another thing to play in Shakhtar. Now there is such a grinding of players to each other. There are old leaders, there is a young Mudrik, who, I think, will be one of the team leaders this year. Everything should be based on these football players, and they should pull the youth behind them, which should slowly grow. It is difficult to expect any results from Shakhtar this year. This may be the team of the future.
- Do you think Zubkov will strengthen the Pitmen?
- Zubkov is, of course, an experienced guy who plays in the national team of Ukraine and played abroad. We also expect leadership qualities from him.
- Shakhtar with Jovićević for the first time and won in sparring. The Pitmen defeated Al-Adalh (1:0) and Domzale (3:0). But what to expect from a team in European competitions?
- If the line-up that is now remains, then it will still need time. Let's see! This team needs to be given time. This season, you should not expect any results from Shakhtar in European competitions. Yes, in the championship of Ukraine it will be necessary to fill the bumps, play, show the result. But in the Euro arena, it seems to me, it will be very, very difficult for the Pitmen.
- What do you think about Dynamo, which will play against Benfica in the Champions League qualification? Do the people of Kiev have a chance?
— There are always chances. For Dynamo, the situation is a bit different. The Kyiv team still has a team. Yes, some players have left. But for Dynamo, this is not such a loss when compared with Shakhtar. Almost the entire team left the Pitmen, and the bet was on legionnaires. Dynamo retained its leading players, and the Kyivans retained a coach who, I think, knows how to play with any team in the world.
Yes, Benfica is definitely the favorite of the confrontation, and the Portuguese will be stronger, but, you understand, this is football. You can have a huge advantage in the game, but lose by the result. I think Dynamo is improving from game to game and will probably look a little better on the pitch than in the confrontation with Sturm. Let's hope so. And we hope that Dynamo will still qualify for the Champions League.
- As you say, we hope for luck and Bushchan!
— Yes, fart and Bushchan! The main thing is that Bushchan does not let you down.
Dmitry KOTKOV