Shakhtar defender talks about his return from injury and the upcoming match with Dynamo
Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar has recovered from a serious injury – a broken collarbone and is already playing in the starting lineup again. After the quarterfinal match against Victoria, in which the Miners won a landslide victory, Valeriy spoke about his recovery, changes in the team under Pusic, and his mood for the game with Dynamo.
– How is your health now?
— I missed 2.5 months. It was very difficult, but I want to say thank you to my wife, my partners, and the medical staff for their help. There were times when I couldn’t get out of bed myself. We walk this path together, both in good moments and in difficult ones. I am very glad that I was able to return to duty, to my favorite team.
— You played three matches in ten days – against LNZ, Barcelona and Victoria. How would you rate these games?
— There is room to grow. I’m always dissatisfied with myself. We can always play better. A wonderful coaching staff came to us with great ideas that coincide with ours. All the guys are very excited that we can show beautiful football. What has already changed in our game in two matches under Pusic: we play the ball, try to find a free player, find space and take advantage of this space. We also want to leave our forwards one-on-one with the opponent’s full-backs in the third zone. Our offensive line players are excellent at beating the enemy.
— Let’s return to international affairs. Why did Shakhtar have such different halves in Barcelona?
— Many factors had an impact. At first, Darijo Srna was the acting head coach, and the day before the match with Barcelona, Marino Pusic became our mentor. Yes, there were noticeable differences in our play; after the break we played more confidently. It’s quite possible to play against Barcelona, and it doesn’t matter what line-up the Catalan club will take to the field in the return match in Hamburg.
– But Robert Lewandowski will already start there…
– Let him play. This is a great opportunity to show us your capabilities against the backdrop of such masters. We will try to show in certain parts of the match that we are better as a team than Barcelona.
— In the cup match against Victoria, you managed to score quickly and had no further problems. How would you rate Shakhtar’s performance in this meeting?
— We planned to open an account faster. We needed to score in the first 15-20 minutes of the game and feel confident in our abilities. We also wanted to prevent the opponent from running into quick counterattacks and counting on something.
— On Friday, Shakhtar will have a fight with their eternal rival, Dynamo Kyiv. What are your thoughts before the class?ichnim?
— A couple of days ago in Kyiv I saw Nikolai Shaparenko. We talked to him. Dynamo are very committed to this game. I know that Vanat will not play. This is a problem for our opponent, because Vlad is in good shape. We need to look at our game. A draw will not suit us, because we want to become champions.
Source: Sportarena
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