Interview about the years he was in Barcelona granted to “Athletic” o Dmytro Chygrinsky, on the occasion of the match of his current team, Shakhtar against the “Blaugrana”.
The Ukrainian stopper admitted that he wasn’t ready to wear the Catalan shirt, as he was at a young age, while he spoke in the best words about his coach at the time, Pep Guardiola.
In detail what he said:
On his transfer to Barcelona: “My biggest difficulty was that I arrived on the last day of the transfer market, so the season had already started and I didn’t have time to adapt. I had to integrate directly into the team and that was the difficult part because without knowing the language, without knowing Guardiola’s ideas… it was difficult to start playing.”
On Guardiola and how much he helped him: “Almost from day one he started helping me with Spanish lessons, for example. But to be honest, I was a little nervous. I remember talking to Guardiola and he said to me “Dmytro, I see you’re a bit confused, so don’t try to overload yourself. I know you always do extra things in the hotel where you stay, you go and do gym there, but listen. I want you to be focused on what I’m telling you.” My relationship with Pep was fantastic. He tried to help me when I had some extra pressure. Even later, when I stopped playing a lot, I was always in touch with him. I always felt supported by him. I am grateful for the support he gave me, for believing in me.”
On whether he was ready to play in Barcelona: “I probably didn’t have enough experience or calmness to see things clearly. I was 22 years old, young and inexperienced. You cannot be extremely balanced mentally. “Maybe I lost a big part of my career, but I’m sure I also gained a lot of things mentally and psychologically that were useful, not only for my football but also for my life.”
For Shakhtar’s match against Barcelona: “It is difficult to play away from home when you know that your country, family and friends are in a difficult situation. It is a challenge for us because after all things are not easy and this is our reality. We are Ukraine. It’s like we’re defending our country, our independence.”
Source: Sport Fm
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