Mentor of Epicenter and the youth team of Ukraine – about the playoff round of European cups for Ukrainian clubs
The head coach of Epicenter and the youth team of the country Sergniy Nagornyak assessed the draw for the starting rounds of the European Cup playoffs for Shakhtar and Dnipro-1, as well as the matches of the UEFA Youth League for Rukh and the Pitmen.
– How would you rate the European Cup playoff draw? Dnipro-1 in the Conference League will meet with AEK Larnaca, who won against Dnipro in the qualification of the Europa League and who met with Dynamo Kyiv in the group round.
– There is every chance for Dnepr-1 to take revenge. AEK in the Europa League qualification beat Dnipro twice (2:1 and 3:0). And then I was a little surprised. But, when the championship of Ukraine began, Dnipro-1 added and now it is the leader of the UPL. Dnipro-1, which is already in a slightly different state, will have a very good chance to get even with AEK and advance to the next round of the Conference League. The Dnipros are absolutely capable of doing this.
— Shakhtar will play against French Rennes in the Europa League. What do you think of this opponent?
— We were all euphoric after Shakhtar defeated Leipzig 4-1 in the first round of the Champions League group stage. Then the Pitmen had a good home game against Real Madrid (1:1). But in the match of the sixth round with Leipzig, when the coach decided to play for the result, there were problems. Believe me, Rennes is a very difficult opponent. This is a very good team. I’ll tell you for sure: it will be very difficult for Shakhtar. This is undeniable, there are no questions at all. Rennes has very good players who play for the French youth team. For Rennes plays the golden generation of the French youth team. Shakhtar also has a young team. The more interesting matches will be. Our youth will play against their youth. It will be very interesting!
– What do you think, will Mudrik’s factor, which can move to another club, affect the outcome of the confrontation?
– In the midfield of Shakhtar, Bondarenko, Sudakov and Stepanenko look good and very cool. But Mudrik is still a small cherry on the cake. He gave results in many games. If the miner sells him, then it will be just super for the player. But for the team it will be a bit of a problem.
— What can you say about the UEFA Youth League draw? Shakhtar will play with Hajduk from Split, while Rukh will face Inter Milan.
– With the Polish Zaglebie Rukh it was difficult for one simple reason. I know a little about the psychology of young men. It was difficult for them to play for the result at the official level. They struggled, but overcame the Poles (1:0, 0:0). And Galatasaray was taken apart by the Lviv team in two matches (3:1, 3:1). Inter is a big name. But I do not think that our guys are inferior to them in some way.
It will be difficult for the miner with Hajduk. We know very well that Hajduk in Split and Dinamo Zagreb have very good schools. Schools work very well in Croatia. It will be interesting to watch these fights. But I will say unequivocally: both Shakhtar and Rukh have good chances of reaching the next round.
Source: Sportarena
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