The Pitmen will play Porto on September 19 in the first round of the Champions League
Head coach Shakhtar Patrick van Leeuwen spoke about the team’s preparation for the match with Porto in the first round of the group round Champions League.
“As coaches, we always keep a close eye on the teams that are interesting to watch to find out their qualities and style of football. In past seasons, Porto have always been one of the teams that I have looked out for because they have similar ideas to me about football and developing players to ensure they can play in the first team. Also, all these years in football, we have friends who work with Porto, so it’s always nice to meet them.”
“Some of the defenders have been out for a few weeks now and I think other players have done a good job in their positions during this time. We will miss them, but we have enough quality players to continue to improve. Riznyk came with the team, so everything is fine with him.”
“How can Shakhtar help Ukraine through football? For us, this is the only way to help: to inform people around the world about the situation in Ukraine, giving our players the opportunity to participate in international competitions. There are two goals – to play football and spread information about current events in Ukraine.”
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Donetsk Shakhtar’s squad for the match against Porto did not include three central defenders – Nikolai Matvienko, Valery Bondar and Dmitry Chigrinsky. Defender Pedrinho and midfielder Anton Glushchenko are also not on the roster for the next match.
The Miners’ first match in the group stage of the 2023/24 Champions League will take place in Hamburg at the Volksparkstadion on September 19. The meeting starts at 21:00 local time (22:00 Kyiv time). The match will be judged by the Italian team of referees led by Davide Massa.
Source: Sportarena
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