2023-11-08 15:53:15
Bočić: Shakhtar’s victory over Barcelona is “just the beginning”
Croatian coach Marino Bočić praised the surprise victory of his Ukrainian team, Shakhtar Donetsk, over Spanish Barcelona in the European Champions League, describing it as “just the beginning” and an important step forward for football in Ukraine.
According to Agence France-Presse, the Ukrainian team has not been able to play at its home stadium, “Donbass Arena”, in Donetsk, which is now occupied by Russia, since 2014, but playing Tuesday’s match hundreds of miles away in the German city of Hamburg due to the war on its soil did not prevent Danilo Sekan from achieving the goal. A famous victory over the five-time European champion with a header in the 40th minute.
Barcelona still leads Group H, ahead of second-placed Porto, which beat Antwerp 2-0, but Shakhtar will play with the Belgian team on November 28, following defeating them 3-2 last month, and will be confident of achieving another win. This would enhance his chances of reaching the playoffs.
Shakhtar Donetsk won a header in the 40th minute (Archyde.com)
“It is very beautiful, but not only for me,” Bocic said. Of course, I am very happy, but I am very proud of my players and all the people at the club who worked hard to help me achieve what we achieved tonight.”
He added: “Unfortunately, because of the situation in the country, you can call this a home match, but for us it is not, because you have to endure the hardship of traveling and sometimes we need an extra day or two to recover, of course.”
He continued: “It is not that easy. It is also important for Ukrainian football to represent the country in Europe, as we did tonight.”
Even if Shakhtar fails to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, finishing third in the group will give them a ticket to the Europa League, where they can face some of the big names on the old continent, including Liverpool of England and Ajax Amsterdam of Holland.
Bočić said in this regard: “If we achieve this (qualifying for the round of 16), it will be a wonderful thing.” If this is not the case, staying in Europe would also be a great achievement, even an amazing achievement for this club under these circumstances.”
Jorge Sudakov, who was chosen as the best player in the match, revealed that Bočić whispered in his ear following the match, saying: “Trust me, this is just the beginning.”
Shakhtar Donetsk coach Marino Bočić (AFP)
Barcelona won the first match between the two teams last month 2-1 at its stadium in the Catalan capital, but this time Bočić’s team beat the defending Spanish League champions last season, who shot one ball on goal.
Shakhtar forced Barcelona’s German international goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, to make a first attempt by saving his goal from a ball shot by Mykola Matvienko.
The Catalan team’s players were forced to shoot from afar thanks to Shakhtar’s organized defense, through two attempts by German Ilkay Gundogan and Brazilian Rafinha, but without success, while Polish scorer Robert Lewandowski appeared far from his level.
The hosts took the lead 5 minutes before the end of the first half, when Georgian striker Giorgi Gochulishvili took advantage of the presence of Barcelona left-back Marcos Alonso out of position, and passed a cross towards Sikan, who beat Danish defender Andreas Christensen and scored with a header out of the reach of goalkeeper Ter Stegen.
Promising 18-year-old Newerton, Shakhtar’s latest Brazilian arrival, scored a stunning second goal late in the match, but it was ruled offside.
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