Igor JOVICEVIC: “Shakhtar has nothing to lose, they have weapons”

On the eve of the Pitmen’s match against Barcelona in the Champions League, former Shakhtar head coach Igor Jovicevich, who is currently working with Al-Raed in Saudi Arabia, talked about what he expects from the match and what the Donetsk team is currently facing.

“Ukraine suffers greatly from the war, but [украинцы] We are more united than ever. Football is a symbol of resistance; “Life must go on, but football never dies.”

“There is a lot of nervous tension. [тренировать сейчас «Шахтер»]Because every day it means living in basements with sirens, alarms, explosions… and at the same time you have to be successful in sports because a club like Shakhtar pushes you. Let me emphasize this: it is a great value to be able to think about how to fight against big teams like Real Madrid or Leipzig. [в прошлом розыгрыше Лиги чемпионов]and also truly survives.

“Barcelona’s first team is missing eight players for this game, so everything is balanced here. Shakhtar have nothing to lose: this is a big stage to show good football. Barça is always Barça and they are the favourites. Shakhtar have weapons: ambition and energy, because they know who they play for, that’s clear. This is additional motivation. They have a lot of talent,” Jovicevic emphasized.

The match between Barcelona and Shakhtar will be played in Spain today. It starts at 19:45.