STEPANENKO: “I would like to say that we will win 6 matches and get out of the group”

Midfielder and captain of Shakhtar Taras Stepanenko At the press conference he held, he shared his expectations for the Porto match, which will be played in Hamburg, Germany, on September 19 at 22:00.

– Is the new European campaign uncharted territory for you or do you know you are ready based on what you did in the group stage last season?

– It’s hard to say what will happen. When I heard that we would play in Hamburg and that nearly 37 thousand season tickets were purchased, I knew that these matches would be great matches for us. We love playing in front of an audience and feeling supported. We know how the German people support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. There are a lot of Ukrainians living in Germany, so I believe we will have good support tomorrow and in the group stage of the Champions League. I hope we will do our best and get positive results.

– Shakhtar performed well in the last season of the Champions League. Can we expect an equally good performance in this too? How do you think the team has changed with so many new young players joining the team from different countries? Are they ready to play?

– Of course, I always want to say that if we win all six matches, we will get out of the group and everything will be great. But I am cautious about any predictions and try to be honest and forthright about myself and others. I believe that we have a very good, strong team, a new coach with new requirements for the players and the team, and we are starting to get used to these requirements. All young people are also starting to get used to these requirements. It seems that Champions League matches have a completely different intensity. You are playing against teams that are more experienced and have more intense football, and I felt this in the national team matches as well.

I can say that the team is ready, the team will do its best to get results. We are all ready: we want to play in the Champions League and get results. And it is very difficult to predict how it will happen. I think no one expected such a result from us last year, but we went out and did it. You are asking this question because you already expect something from us this year. We want to do everything possible for Ukraine to experience the European spring. Therefore, there is no need to talk, but you need to work, adapt to each match and do what the coach wants.

– I want to ask about your attitude towards Port.

– Yes, they asked my opinion about the opponents after the draw. I answered in Ukrainian, then it was translated into English and then into Portuguese. And this morning I woke up and saw so many disturbing messages on Instagram. I don’t know what happened during the transfer. I even recorded some of them on my phone, it was pretty funny. I think the loyal Porto fans are just defending their team, I like that. But this is actually just a misunderstanding. Throughout my career, I played against Portuguese teams Porto, Benfica and Braga, these are very strong teams. I said this about the port too.

We watched the last matches of the championship, where there were three wins and one draw. They looked great and played very well in the Champions League last season. There are many technical players in this team, very experienced players like Pepe, who is 40 years old. That’s incredible! Of course, we respect Porto, but we strive to play our football tomorrow and deliver a great performance for our country and our people.

– As I know, for some players this will be their first match in the Champions League. Did a coach’s guidance change your life when you started your football career? As captain, what do you say to these guys in the locker room?

– Before my first match in the Champions League, the manager met me in the elevator and said: “You are ready!” he said, that’s all. If you play for Shakhtar you have to be ready. And if you’re not ready, you won’t be playing here. We have a good team spirit, we are a good team, everyone tries to help each other. If anyone plays tomorrow if Mr. decides so, they will do their best and enjoy the game.