Under the leadership of De Zerbi, Konoplyanka played in only three matches of the first season 2021/22
Ex-winger Ukrainian national team Evgeniy Konoplyanka commented on his period of performances for Miner under the guidance of an Italian specialist Roberto De Zerbiand also spoke about the difficulties in their relationship.
“Did I have an insult towards De Zerbi? You know, yes. As a football player, I was sportingly angry because I didn’t play, no one even wanted to give me a chance. I fought with him in training. He wanted to annoy me so that I would say something sharp and leave the team. And I know all this, and asked: “What do you want from me? Tell me to my face.” That’s what he said to his face.”
“We spoke to him like men, I warned him: “Just don’t be violent in front of everyone.” We had such skirmishes on the field, which the guys saw… But in professional terms, skirmishes. It wasn’t like I asked him to close his mouth or anything. I did everything. If he went too far somewhere, I told him: “Let’s show a little respect,” but he wanted to hurt me somehow.”
Konoplyanka played for Shakhtar from 2019 to 2022. Roberto De Zerbi led the team for the first part of the 2021/22 season before leaving the club following the full-scale Russian invasion.
Under the Italian specialist, Evgeniy Konoplyanka played only three games for the Miners – one in the UPL and two in the Champions League.
In addition to Shakhtar, during his career Evgeniy played in Dnipro, Seville, Schalke and Cracovia. Konoplyanka played 87 games for the Ukrainian national team, scoring 21 goals. The winger participated in the 2012 and 2016 European Championships and wore the blue-and-yellow captain’s armband.
With Dnepr, the midfielder reached the final of the Europa League (2014/15), and with Sevilla he triumphed in the 2015/16 Europa League. The 2017/18 season brought the Ukrainian silver medals in the Bundesliga. In the 2019/20 season, Konoplyanka became the champion of Ukraine as part of Shakhtar.
The player’s last club was Cluj. Since January of this year, Evgeniy remained without a club after leaving Romania. For Cluj, the midfielder played in four matches last season, spending a total of less than an hour on the field. And already in July, the Ukrainian officially retired.
Konoplyanka is currently working in two areas. Evgeniy became the creator of the esports organization kONO.ECF, and also opened a scouting agency together with Roman Zozulya.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
