Shakhtar defender talks about the match against Victoria in the National Cup and the new coach
Shakhtar Donetsk defender Efim Konoplya shared his opinion about the miners’ big victory in the cup match against Victoria (3:0), spoke about his first impressions of working with Marino Pucis, and also voiced the miners’ goals in the group stage of the Champions League.
“Shakhtar dominated on the football field throughout the entire game, but it wasn’t easy for us,” Efim noted. – Such a game on our part requires effort, confidence in our own actions, emotions and concentration. Maybe it was noticeable from the stands that everything was easy for us, but on the field you feel everything differently.
— Efim, what impressed you about your new mentor, Marino Pusic?
— So far, it seems to me that we are showing only 25% of the football that we all want to see played by us.
— Does the Bosnian coach do a lot of theory?
– Everything is as usual, there is nothing extraordinary. Before the game for the Ukrainian Cup, we looked at Victoria.
— Does he communicate with football players in English?
– Yes. We understand everything.
— Efim, Shakhtar has a match with Dynamo (Kyiv) in the UPL ahead. What are your thoughts before this meeting?
— We will definitely try to show our maximum, our best football. All my partners require each other to show maximum effort and dedication.
— In recent months, which Dynamo matches have you seen in full?
— A game in Zhitomir against Polesie and a match in Kovalevka against Kolos.
— Many experts and analysts write that Dynamo Kiev is in crisis – they are losing points and are in the middle of the standings. What’s happening to them?
— I wouldn’t say that Dynamo is in crisis. Only after the international break did something go wrong for them, but before that they were winning regularly. We were a little nervous. And yes, in the last three games they scored only one point.
— Question about your performance in the Champions League. What can your team look forward to as a group?
— The maximum is reaching the playoffs of the Champions League, the minimum is reaching the playoffs of the Europa League.
Source: Sportarena
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