Shakhtar Donetsk's legendary striker Viktor Grachev told us what kind of game he expects to see in the 3rd round of the Ukraine-Georgia group stage of the Nations League.
Viktor Grachev- When did it happen that we could lose to the Georgian national team? But the generation is changing, new players are coming who want to achieve something. I can't even say about our national team, what its condition is and how it will look like. It is very difficult. The Georgian national team is a stable team that has won the first two matches and is not going to go anywhere, nor is it going to give up. The question is how ready we are to play with this team today.
I have mentioned one story twice today. Once Shakhtar and I played against Dynamo Tbilisi. I think it was 1980. The head coach Viktor Nosov called me up and said: "Today you will personally play against Kipiani." And who is Kipiani, he is still a national hero of Georgia. There was no one like him 50 years ago or now. No Kvaratskhelia can compare to Kipiani. Ask any Georgian who is at least 20 years old, he will tell you who Kipiani is. So I was put to play against him. Nosov told me: "You don't have to let him do anything. Just turn him off completely and don't care about anything else."
But how do I know how to play personally? I had no idea. But I did the same thing as Kipiani. For 90 minutes, I didn't even let him move. I don't remember how the match ended, but we definitely didn't lose. That was my first introduction to Georgian football. Kipiani still remains a Georgian football hero.
Now, of course, it will be difficult for the Ukrainian national team. The situation is not easy. Georgians are satisfied with any positive result, draw or win. Frankly, even a defeat will not affect their tournament position. Another question is what kind of football will the teams play today? If we play offensive football today and what we know how to do, while controlling the game in defense, then this is one question. If Georgia imposes their game on us and turns on their pressure all over the field, then it will be a big task for us to cope with it.
But we have to show today what is probably impossible to show. We need to do everything to beat Georgia. If we don't win, we will have no chance of success in the League of Nations. I think Serhiy Stanislavovych will try to surprise Georgia with something. Both with the placement of players and tactics. Georgians are individually very strong players, it has always been so. We need to level this out and, through collective action, show that we can play. The third defeat will actually end everything for us," Grachev said.
