Stepanenko: We must do everything to give people and ourselves a holiday and enter the European spring

Captain Miner Taras Stepanenko commented on the results of the group stage draw Champions League. The Pitmen made it into Quartet H, where they will play Barcelona, ​​Porto and Antwerp.

“Very satisfied! There is a team from Spain – Barcelona, ​​and it’s great. What will happen to Porto – I guessed it. And Antwerp is a team with which you can play and get results. Therefore, in principle, we can say that the lot is good, and it depends only on us how we will perform. After all, I think there is every chance to compete and qualify from the group so that the Ukrainian team, Shakhtar, has a European spring. However, saying is one thing and doing is another. Therefore, we should work very well,” Stepanenko said.

“Last year we weren’t given any chances at all, but we played well and made it out of the group, or we could even reach the playoffs of the Champions League – everything was decided in the last match. Therefore, to say now that we will definitely leave the group is disrespect for our opponents. We must understand that now all the teams are very strong, everyone is strengthening. And we have a war going on in the country, so there are a lot of young guys in the team, and not everyone has the experience of playing in the Champions League. But I think that we have a very good team, a good team, the guys are progressing. And, at a minimum, we must do everything to give people and ourselves a holiday and enter the European spring. It’s hard to say if we’ll make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League or the Europa League, but you always have to set big dreams and goals. So we can fight to get out of the group.”

The first round of the Champions League group stage is scheduled for September 19/20. Matches of the sixth round will take place on December 12/13.

Shakhtar are leading the UPL with 11 points after 5 rounds. Patrick van Leeuwen’s team will play the next match on September 2 against Minay.