Sports Director of Shakhtar – about the new coach and summer transfers
Sports director Miner Dario Srna commented on the appointment Patrick van Leeuwen as head coach of the team. The Croatian also revealed that the Pitmen would sign several rookies in the summer off-season.
“This is a man who has come all the way in football, and today deservedly became Shakhtar’s coach. A representative of the Dutch school, one of the best in the world, he showed the result with Maccabi: I remember that we worked with Luis Castro then, played against them, it was very difficult for us. With Zorya, he also made a very, very big result: they scored the same number of points with Dnepr-1, and this should also be respected. Now we are trying to take the next step, and we are sure that this step should bring us even more benefits,” Srna said.
“Firstly, this is a person without emotions, cold, lost or won – always the same emotions. And I say again that Patrick started his journey, so to speak, from scratch, and today he is Shakhtar’s coach. And that says a lot – that he deserves it. Now Patrick has his chance.”
“From today we have a new head coach, a new coaching staff, so we move on. We will do everything to strengthen the team and take another step forward in the Champions League. We are waiting for our collections, which pleased us again yesterday. We cheer for them and hope that they will play in the final. Yesterday I spoke with Sudakov, Trubin, Misha Mudrik, Ruslan Rotan, and said that we only come to the finals. Therefore, we are waiting for our collections so that the whole team can gather, because today there are not enough 10-12 players. Plus there will be reinforcement.
“Patrick knows not only our footballers, he knows all Ukrainian football, the level of our Premier League, he knows the Ukrainian mentality. Therefore, today it is the most logical and correct choice. We have invited a lot of young players to this training camp, who have proven themselves and have shown that they deserve to try their hand at the first team. Everyone has a chance, the competition is very high and will grow every day. Whoever deserves this place will stay and wear the Shakhtar jersey.”
Van Leeuwen signed a contract with Shakhtar until June 30, 2025. As head coach of the team, the Dutchman replaced Igor Jovicevich.
Van Leeuwen became the 36th coach in Shakhtar’s history. Last season, he led Zorya, with whom he took third place in the Ukrainian championship.
The miner has already arrived in the Netherlands, where he will hold a summer training camp. The Pitmen plan to play five test matches.
The Donetsk club became the champion of Ukraine in the 2022/23 season. The Pitmen got into the third basket of the draw for the next Champions League group stage.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
