Exclusive interview: Oleksandr Kucher

06-02-15 15:24:32

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Shakhtar defender told us about the details of the team’s work in the winter training camp and about Shakhtar’s mood ahead of the encounters with Bayern.
 
- Shakhtar have already played three games within the Spanish training camp. Are you happy with the opponents’ level?
- We played against the teams from different leagues: the Spaniards, the Croats. The matches were interesting, because the opponents played diverse football. The Croats played more aggressively, the Spaniards - more skillfully. That is, different playing manners alternate.
 
So, with discussing the Spanish part of the training camp, kicked off the interview with Oleksandr Kucher. You can learn about the Shakhtar defender’s impressions of the tour of Brazil, about the ability to counteract Lewandowski and Mueller in the meetings with Bayern, and about many other things, by watching the video of this interview. Meanwhile, we bring you its highlights.
 
- Fans called the match with Internacional, Brazil the most interesting and outstanding during Shakhtar’s tour. Which of the five games would you highlight yourself?
- Hard to say. All games were interesting, and the support was really huge. It’s very nice to play in such an atmosphere. We played against the clubs of different class, given their standing in the Brazilian league table. Nevertheless, we didn’t feel a big difference between the matches. I was very impressed by the Flamengo fans. And in the match with Atletico Mineiro, the support was excellent. At different stadiums, they support their sides differently. But most importantly, the audience lively reacts to the developments, rather than just sitting and watching.
 
- Players frequently say that they would like to hear the fans singing in the stadiums. And what would you like to see in the stands?
- It’s great when the stands are filled and they somehow react. No matter whether that’s due to the actions of the referee or a player, due to the shots on target or because of mistakes. It gets you going. It's nice when they create a certain atmosphere in the stadium. No matter whose fans are those.
 
- This year's training camp is unusual, given the tour of Brazil. Has the training system changed in connection with the innovations? Maybe physical loads are distributed differently now?
- I wouldn’t say that something has changed significantly. Previously, we also gathered together,  doing some running exercises for a week. Then we went somewhere. This time, however, we arrived in Brazil and ... ran around the beach for a week. So we underwent the same physical loads, but in a hot climate. Yeah, maybe we had little less fo them. But just because we worked in hot weather. At the end of the day, it was the same routine: we got the required loads continuously.
 
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