Oleksandr Hladkyi: 50 goals? I could've scored a lot more

18-03-15 12:03:47

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Shakhtar forward who scored a landmark goal in the encounter with Olimpik, gave an interview to the club’s official website.

- Oleksandr, 50 goals for Shakhtar – what does this milestone mean to you?
- Perhaps, it’s not that valuable. If we look at the number of my appearances and the chances I had - I think there could have been a lot more goals. There are new challenges ahead. I will move on.

- It took you four seasons to notch fifty goals. What do you make of this progress?
- I could have scored a lot more. I had enough chances which I didn’t convert. But that’s history now.

- Can you describe your first goal for Shakhtar?
- Yes, I remember it. It was a Super Cup tie against Dynamo. We played in Odesa. Fernandinho made a run from midfield and shot it on target – Rybka parried it away, while I was the first on the ball to finish it off.

- Last summer, you also marked your return to Shakhtar with scoring a goal against Dynamo. Is that a nice trend?
- Yes, that’s nice! Still, four years later, when I returned, I managed to net yet another one for Shakhtar against them. It was nice. I cannot say that Dynamo are among my preferred opponents in this regard. But it so happened that I joined the team twice, also scoring twice against them.

- They call you a fox in the box. Do you agree with that?
- Probably, yes. I play in the penalty area better than beyond it, and my long-rangers are not that good.

- What qualities should a poacher have, according to you?
- You’d better pose this question to the coach. I believe that one should always improve his skills. In particular those less developed.

- Could you elaborate?
- Maybe my starting speed is not that high. I can’t boast any great and powerful long-range shots either. I should work on that.

- What strengths of yours would you highlight?
- I do not like highlighting it. Although I think that I pretty well operate in the penalty area, can feel the ball, I can gather it and get to the shooting range.

- Luiz Adriano says that it’s easy to score goals at Shakhtar, because the teammates constantly find the striker with some great passes.
- I agree with him. We have a very strong team. Midfielders and defenders create enough chances for a forward in every match.

- What goal of the fifty is the most important to you?
- The Cup tie goal against Dynamo Kyiv in Kharkiv. We claimed a win back then. I scored in such an important match in the same city where I had started my playing career, where I took the first steps in big football, at the same stadium. Therefore, I would single out this particular goal.

- What about the one against Barcelona?
- I do not like to recall that game. So much has been said and invented about it. Even back then I would say: that’s history now, it’s over and done with. Yes, it was nice to score. But those weren’t Barcelona’s first XI, they were a semi-reserve team, so to say. That match didn’t decide anything neither for Shakhtar, nor for the Catalans. Though the club image, the prestige of the club was at stake. We wanted to play, we played - and, thank God, we managed to win back then. But, honestly speaking, I had long forgotten about that meeting, I do not like to talk much about it.

- Do you set the bar for yourself at a certain level before the start of the season?
- Of course, I do. But I always want to raise the bar during the season.

- How many goals of those fifty do you remember?
- Probably each of them. Just as I can remember every one I failed to score.

- Do you have a certain way of celebrating the goals scored: nearly always you make one or two similar movements ...
- It's probably two. I do not know, it just so happens, I do not pay much attention to it. I mark it just the way I do. It doesn’t mean anything special.

- Tell us when the fans should expect the one hundredth goal by Oleksandr Hladkyi for Shakhtar aggregately in all competitions?
- I will try to do it within about two years. I think I should manage it over this period of time. If I convert at least half of the chances I have, I could conquer this summit over the two years.

FC Shakhtar
Press Office