Shovkovsky: The new format of the Europa League obliges us to play to win every game in order to take the highest possible places

Head coach Dynamo Alexander Shovkovskiy gave a press conference on the eve of the opening match in Europa League against Lazio.

“What are my expectations from the new format of European Cups? In general, this is my first experience of playing in European tournaments as a head coach, so I don’t know how it was in previous times. But this format is undoubtedly very interesting, there have already been many statements about this, including regarding the heavy workload that falls on the football players, who not only defend the colors of their clubs, but also play for their national teams. And we already have echoes of the fact that this schedule is very difficult, and the players simply do not have enough time to recover.”

“It should be added that for our team, as well as for the Scandinavian countries, this format is quite inconvenient, because in January the teams do not yet play matches in their national championships. This also creates additional burdens and difficulties, and we should not forget about the problems associated with our logistics in connection with the situation that is happening in our country. But at the same time, it is very interesting to see how this new format will be implemented. There will be more matches against teams that practice different styles, and Lazio is a team that represents one of the strongest leagues in Europe and fights for the highest places in it. This season, the Romans have won twice, lost twice and tied once in the domestic arena. We are following their performances, and tomorrow we expect an interesting match.”

“How do we plan to exploit certain problems in Lazio’s defense? In all the matches Lazio has played in Serie A, they have scored in each one, but at the same time conceded in each one. In the last match, it was two penalties, and the latest rule changes can be the subject of much debate, whether they were there at all. But for us, first and foremost, it is important how the team builds its game in defense, in attack, what are the team’s strengths, what are its weaknesses. We convey this to our players, and this is what we base our strategy on.”

“You must also understand that the situation in our country adds to the difficulties. We calculated that 19 hours had passed from the moment we left the club base until we arrived at the hotel in Hamburg.”

“Since I played against Lazio in Rome as a footballer, don’t you think it’s a plus that tomorrow’s match is not on their territory? You have to understand that these are completely different situations – when you play and when you prepare the team for the match. That’s the first thing. Secondly, a lot of time has passed since then. And the format has changed, now there is no away goal advantage. Now all teams are planning and preparing, and the new format obliges them to play to win every game, to take the highest possible places, to continue to fight for the trophy itself in the future.”

The home match for Dynamo against Lazio will take place in Hamburg tomorrow, September 25. The match will start at 22:00. The match will be refereed by Greek referee Tasos Sidiropoulos, and the live broadcast of the game will be on MEGOGO — the match will be commented on by Sergey Lukyanenko and Gleb Skripchenko.

Let us recall that Lazio suffered a defeat from Fiorentina (1:2) before the match with Dynamo. The Kievans tied with Rukh (0:0) in their last game in the Ukrainian championship.

The general stage of the LE will start on September 25-26, 2024, and will end on January 30, 2025. Points will be counted in the general table. The eight best teams will go directly to the 1/8 finals. The remaining eight tickets will be played out in the knockout round among the teams that took 9th-24th places. The teams that took 25th-36th places will stop competing in European cups.