Castro: “It is very difficult to play in these conditions …”

Luis Castro, Portuguese coach of Shakhtar, spoke at the press conference prior to the game against Real Madrid on Wednesday (6:55 pm) at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium.

Discharges from Shakhtar due to Covid, if it should be suspended: “We have to comply with UEFA regulations. We must play with Madrid. Of course we don't have these very technical players, it is a nightmare what we are experiencing. Look at our team… It's not what we want, no coach would like this. But we will try our best to meet our goals. That does not take away any responsibility, we all defend what Shakhtar wants, which is a good result, a good game. Of course in these conditions it is very difficult to play ”.

Change your philosophy against Madrid: “I watched the two Ukraine matches against Spain. I congratulate you on the victory in the second game, but we must understand that Spain created many chances to score that luckily they could not take advantage of. Soccer is not only studied for the result, but for everything that happens on the field. We analyze the result and the game separately. We can do both, go on the attack or lock ourselves up. The important thing with so many casualties is not to lose style, we are doing everything possible in all the games but sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes the opponent won't let us play. But we always want the same. We want to have the ball but against such a powerful team it is difficult and we will probably have to adapt. We must see this game a little differently ”.

Bad moment for Madrid: “Madrid has won three Champions League, the last League … Talk about the situation of Real Madrid … What is it? With all those players: Modric, Benzema, Vinicius… I don't know what situation we are talking about. We must be a little serious. We cannot talk about the situation of Real Madrid with the players it has. Madrid is always dangerous. Our players must put all the energy to fight against a team like Madrid. Shakhtar will do their best to get it right. But for losing a game we cannot think that Madrid is playing poorly, with 65% of possession… Manchester, Liverpool, Barça… They have all received some thrashing lately, including Manchester City. And what happens? Madrid lost against Cádiz. Don't stop, it's a stressful situation. The world is in crisis, it is a new phenomenon when it comes to football. It is the same that has happened in other places. This is going to change, it has to change. All the big teams lost games. You have to analyze everything, but Madrid is a team that doesn't have any problems right now ”.

The Spanish journalists did not ask Zidane about Shakhtar: “Maybe it's disrespectful… The journalists could have asked how Shakhtar was going to play. We are not living our best moment, but it is a bit disrespectful. There are certain people who, probably due to lack of education, I don't know … I don't like these situations. There is nothing worse, it is very important to respect others. The coronavirus does not seem to teach everyone the same ”.

Good time to play against Madrid: “You don't have to remember the last Madrid game. It is the most recent thing in memory but it is not like that, because other great Europeans have also experienced these same circumstances. It is a physical, mental fatigue … For so many games. We have had almost no rest between one season and another. I can't think that to lose against Cádiz you have to play differently. Madrid is always a powerful team. We want to get a good result and play well. We know what Madrid is capable of. Even if we had these 13 players with us, I don't think Madrid would stop being favorites. They will bring out the best. We will have many young players who will play with desire. We must act as a team against a very strong team like Madrid ”.

Anatoliy Trubin, the team's goalkeeper, also spoke.

Debut at the age of 19 against Madrid in the Champions League: “It is a dream to be able to play against teams like this. We are preparing the game very seriously, we can only speak of positive feelings ”.

Playing against Courtois, what do you think about being compared to him: “I don't have idols. I like how various goalkeepers from various teams play ”.

Admiration for Madrid: “It is a very strong team, which has won several Champions. When I was a child I was a very Madrid supporter, I loved how he played ”.

Playing at the Di Stéfano: “We would like to play at the Bernabéu, in a normal situation, with fans. But this is what there is…”.