Romanian specialist – about the first match of the playoffs of the Champions League qualification
Dinamo head coach Mircea Lucescu shared his expectations from the first match against Benfica in the playoffs of the Champions League qualification. He noted that everything is possible in football.
“Benfica have a great infrastructure, they have the opportunity and the finances to invite high-level players. We will have to fight in duels with them. Now Dynamo don’t have the opportunity to make transfers, we don’t play at home. The team trains on the same field with the children, the players live in a hotel without their families,” Lucescu said.
“However, despite these difficulties, Dynamo achieved very good results in the confrontations with Fenerbahce and Sturm. And we hope to continue playing in the Champions League group stage. This is important for Ukraine, and the players feel it. Many Ukrainian fans, mothers with children gather at our matches. They want to feel unity, being away from Ukraine in the status of forced refugees. We are responsible to them and will try to give them positive emotions.”
“Benfica are a great team. As I said, in the summer they were reinforced by fantastic young players Florentino and Neres. The quality of the squad has increased significantly, the Portuguese demonstrate very spectacular football. Benfica have more opportunities than Dynamo at the moment. However, everything is possible in football.”
“It is very unfortunate that we lost Sidorchuk and Garmash for disciplinary reasons. These are the most experienced players on our team. But we will try to compensate for their absence with other performers. I expect a very difficult fight. However, we are ready for it.”
“No one but ourselves can feel the situation in which we find ourselves. What we go through, in what conditions we work and with what difficulty we keep the team at a high level. But when the players enter the field, they turn into real professionals and give themselves completely to the cause. Therefore, I am grateful to my wards.
“With Benfica we cannot play attacking football. They have a lot of fast skilled players who know how to beat and create free zones. Individually, they are very strong. But football is unpredictable and that’s why it’s so beautiful. Before the start of the match, it is never possible to say with certainty who will emerge victorious. Benfica has a class advantage, but Dinamo plays with their hearts.”
The first match between Dinamo and Benfica will take place in Lodz on 17 August. The beginning is at 22:00 Kyiv time. The main referee of the meeting is the German Felix Zweier.
Source: Sportarena
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