FC Dynamo Kyiv head coach answered journalists’ questions before the game against AEK Larnaca FC.
- How important is this game to you?
- It’s a very important one. We need to win after defeat in Istanbul to fight for the right to feature in euro cups in spring.
The game won’t be easy. Our opponents can count on all their players while many of ours are missing. I have to repeat that we don’t have a permanent location and have to move to a new place constantly. But we’ll keep fighting.
I think AEK are really good team with a lot of foreign players. Basically they have only one performer from Cyprus – Nikos Englezou. As for the rest, many of them have significant experience in decent clubs. AEK had some really good games in euro cups this season.
As for our team, we’ve come here from Lviv. The trip here took about seven hours. I hope Ukrainians, who live here, and Polish football admirers will come to support us.
- Obviously you’ve already analyzed AEK. What are their strengths and leading players?
- EAK have decent midfielders including Oier Sanjurjo and Gus Ledes. In the defensive line they have Tomovic and Milicevic, who played in Italy for a while. Mikel Gonzalez performed in the La Liga. Other players are also of good level.
- How will the loss of Shaparenko influence your team?
- Not only have we lost Shaparenko. We’ve also lost Denys Popov, who’s a very important player for our team. Bushchan had a surgery yesterday. He’ll be out for a month and a half. Shaparenko will be out for seven. We also can’t count on Shepelev, who’s got injured.
We had a very tough game in Istanbul. I don’t know why Fenerbahce players acted that way. It was more like corrida. I don’t understand where such hostility comes from. I think international matches must be different. Fans were throwing stuff on the field. That’s not normal. There must be fair play principle in European competitions. I was very disappointed with that game. We lost three key players.
- Mister Lucescu, you’re one of the most experienced coaches. How do you deal with players’ mentality under these circumstances?
- It’s hard. It was a mistake not to have a permanent location, where players could bring their families and be with them. Every three days we move to a new location. We must talk to players and explain that they must do their job for themselves, their families, the club and Ukraine. That’s not easy under these circumstances, but they must carry on. The tough period will end sooner or later, but we must maintain high level.
