Ukrainian forward of “Roma” Artem Dovbik talked about the difference between the Italian championship and the Spanish championship, where he played for “Girona” before moving to his current club.
“When I moved from “Girona” to “Roma”, I didn’t think about the significant difference in how teams defend, how the defenders act against you. I thought that in the top leagues, defenders were more or less of the same level. But it turned out to be different.
If, for example, in “Atletico” or “Barcelona”, one or two defenders work with you, then in the Italian championship there are four or five, and no matter where you move, they are always with you, and one of them is always on your leg.
I felt this difference very strongly. Especially when passes come from the flanks: in such situations, the ball is completely uninteresting to my opponent; their task is just to constantly watch me, control me, and do everything to ensure that I cannot break free from them. In this regard, defenders in Serie A are very uncomfortable. And they are all very combative,” — said Dovbik on the air of the YouTube channel of Ukrainian commentator Igor Tsyganik.