“It’s very difficult to think about football”: Shakhtar Donetsk coach about the game with Porto

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Patrick van Leeuwen today revealed that Tuesday’s Champions League debut opponents Porto are one of the international teams he follows, including sharing his philosophy.

“I always look closely and very carefully at foreign teams. FC Porto is always one of those that I pay attention to because they have the same ideas about football as I do, especially in youth development, in giving them opportunities. In the main team. I also have many friends who have worked and are working at the club, so I follow it closely,” he admitted at a conference dedicated to this challenge.

Because of the war in Ukraine and the Russian invasion, Shakhtar will have to play outside the country, this season in Hamburg, after playing in neighboring Poland last season.

“The club decided to hold the European Cup in Hamburg after considering several options. This time in Warsaw it was less interesting. Ticket sellers say it was a good decision. We are very happy with the change,” the coach said, recalling. that there is a large community of Ukrainians in the region.

In connection with the armed conflict, Van Leeuwen recalled that Shakhtar “plays for the whole country,” believing that on the field it is not just about a sporting competition.

“It’s much more difficult to think about football when we have problems with simply moving from city to city. The clubs that participate in the Ukrainian championship are doing everything possible to offer football to their compatriots. We play for the whole country,” they clarified.

The coach will again see Luis Gonçalves, with whom he worked at Shakhtar (at that time the Portuguese was the coordinator of athlete scouts, and the Dutchman was in charge of the club’s academy) and with whom he really wants to meet again.

“I’ll be happy to see my friends again and that’s why Porto is a club I try to follow closely,” he confirmed.

Captain Taras Stepanenko praised FC Porto fans for their fierce defense of the club on Instagram, in an incident in which he accused a “translator” of misinterpreting his words that the Portuguese team was “unstable and easy to deal with”. “

“This is a great team, just like Benfica and Braga. We watched Porto’s last games and they performed well as Champions last season. Pepe, at 40 years old, is an absolutely incredible player. respect for “Port,” he assured in a good-natured tone.

The move from Poland to Hamburg for the Champions League games was seen as positive: “When it became known that we would play in Hamburg, about 37 thousand tickets were sold for each of the games. This is very good”.

“There are a lot of Ukrainians living here, and we all know that the Germans helped Ukraine a lot. We want to give a good response on the field and achieve good results,” he added.

Shakhtar Donetsk hosts Porto in the third match of the opening match of Group H of the Champions League.