Honored coach of Ukraine Myron Markevych shared his expectations for the match of the final, 8th round of the main stage of the Champions League between Donetsk’s Shakhtar and Dortmund’s Borussia.
Myron Markevych. Photo — fckarpaty.org.ua— Myron Bohdanovych, Shakhtar approaches the match against Borussia with only mathematical chances for the playoffs. Do you think the team should think about them before going out on the field?
— Well, I think not. The chances are illusory. Realizing them will be almost impossible. So the main thing is where they play and with which team. In such a situation, it’s important to show yourself and try to earn points.
— Bookmakers assess Shakhtar’s chances of winning at 1 to 7. Do you agree?
— No, that’s too much they’re giving. Borussia is not in that state right now. The team is “adrift.” They haven’t been performing well in the Bundesliga either. They also changed coaches. So no.
Of course, Borussia has an advantage since they are playing quite well at home. However, it’s such a thing. The favorite doesn’t always win.
— How should Shakhtar play to count on points?
— Well, they need to play just like against Brest (2:0). They were good defensively, which is why they won. There were no mistakes that they had previously made — they were easy to score against. And at Brest, actually, there weren’t any moments. They need to play just as well defensively and break out into counterattacks. Especially since there are players who can run ahead.
— In the aforementioned first official game of Shakhtar in 2025 against Brest, besides improving the defense, did you see any qualitative changes in the actions of the miners?
— Well, there was more struggle, especially in the midfield. The whole problem was that they allowed the midfield to pass too easily, and practically no one played in recovery besides the defenders. Here it’s already visible that they want to take the ball and don’t let the opponent receive it calmly.
Thus, they need to play here as well: very tightly, not letting them gain momentum, and not losing the struggle. That’s all.
The strikers that Shakhtar had are not for the Champions League. They played correctly almost without a striker. The main thing is that there are fast players ahead. When the team plays on counterattacks, it always yields results. There’s nothing terrible about it.
— So Kelsi and Sikhan are not players for the Champions League?
— I don’t want to offend the footballers. I understand how difficult it is to find strikers these days. Especially to bring them to Ukraine.
But… In the Ukrainian league, it’s somewhat acceptable. They can do something there. However, the level of the Champions League is completely different now.
— Who, in your opinion, should lead the team?
— It’s hard to say. Here they all need to understand where they are playing. The team is currently positive. I believe that if the team plays reliably defensively and doesn’t lose the struggle, especially in the midfield, we have good chances.
Dmytro Venkov
