Former Shakhtar Donetsk footballer Oleksandr Sopko shared his expectations for theUPL TV telegram channel about the Shakhtar match against Antwerp in the Champions League.
Oleksandr Sopko (photo: V. Perehnyak)- I'll be pleasantly surprised if the players can come together and play good football. The result can be suffered and endured. But for me, it will not be a victory. Because I want a breakthrough in terms of the quality of the game.
- How should you set up the team?
- Here I would appeal to the players themselves - you all want to play in Europe. So you have to show all your best qualities. But this will only matter if they play as a team. If they come out with this attitude, they will have a chance to stay on the radar of European clubs. If not, the selectors will simply erase them from the memory of their computers. I'm afraid that the young people will get confused again and will not fall apart.
- In the match against Porto, everyone was surprised by Sikan's appearance as a left winger. How can you explain it?
- I can't understand who advised me to use him there. He has zero productivity and efficiency, but at least he runs and pushes. And at least he does not pose a threat to his goal. Because he is sometimes dangerous at both goals. Unfortunately, he is more dangerous at our goal.
- What can we expect in the line-up this time?
- You need to know the condition of the players. They need to forget all their discontent and misunderstandings this evening. Everything will depend on van Leeuwen. I think this game could be crucial for him in terms of his prospects. So he has to prove himself - as a diplomat, as a psychologist, and as a tactical coach.
- What are your main concerns?
- The defence line. A team game should always be built from the defence. The more reliable your defence is, the easier it is to set up offensive actions. Therefore, in this game, first of all, each player needs to think about winning battles, rebounds, safety net and helping each other. This attitude will give the necessary emotion and energy for the game. But if our strongest defenders are those who are not even in their second or third years of youth, this does not indicate the strength of the team.
