FC Dynamo Kyiv head coach Mircea Lucescu answered journalists’ questions at the press conference before the Champions League group stage matchday 5 game against FC Bayern Munich.
- Bayern lost against Augsburg in the Bundesliga previous matchday. What conclusions did you make?
- All teams that feature in the Champions League had issues in domestic leagues. Augsburg did their best to succeed. They defended orderly and demonstrated decent tactical skills. Augsburg didn’t play the way they usually do in the Bundesliga. They were mostly defending and didn’t leave space. Bayern weren’t ready for that and lost.
- Was the match against Chornomorets beneficial for your team?
- I told my players that, as far as a lot of Chornomorets performers are our loanees, I wanted to see who deserves featuring for Dynamo. My team did a good job in that game.
As for loanees, I never restricted them from playing against my team even though it could be harmful for us. I know that every loanee has double motivation.
- They call Bayern gaffer Julian Nagelsmann one of the most forward-looking coaches of our time. What do you think of him?
- Nagelsmann is a great coach. He proved that in different teams and eventually reached Bayern. Being in charge of Bayern is something different. They have outstanding scouting team and extremely expensive players. This is the only way to bring Davies from Vancouver, Musiala from Chelsea and Richards from Reading. Nagelsmann is very lucky to have such team. Bayern win Bundesliga, Cups and Champions League. That’s a perfect place for coach to demonstrate what he’s capable of.
- How do you motivate players before the upcoming game?
- We face Bayern and it says it all. What kind of extra motivation do we need?
- Is the budget of a team dependable upon its football?
- A lot of factors matter: strength of a team, traditions, history, reputation and titles. All that applies pressure on opponents and referees. One can recall our match in Munich, where were doing pretty well until the penalty. Great clubs always have some privileges.
Money matters, but that’s not the major development factor. Organization, infrastructure, tickets sales, fans’ support – all that doesn’t let players fall below certain level. That’s what progress is about.
I didn’t ask my players to beat Bayern. I asked them to play the way that would let them leave the field with heads held high.
- Bayern have already got out of the group. Can this fact have an impact upon the game?
- This game is worth 3 million. Don’t you think Bayern want to win?
