da Ucránia com amor

"Ukrainian journalists on the UEFA Champions League group stage draw results:

The Futbol magazine, Artem Frankov:

- Shakhtar have nice chances to take at least the second position in the group. Neither Celtic nor Benfica are stronger than the Miners. Scottish clubs have given up – we all remember the results Celtic gained three years ago. Benfica, just like the rest of Portuguese clubs came through reorganisation process this summer. They lost their key players: Fabrizio Miccoli, Simão, Katsouranis, and they practically got nobody to replace them. Moreover, they dropped their head coach after two matches only. And Milan – well, Milan is beyond competition. Talking about match calendar, well, it is most appropriate for Shakhtar. What can be better than to accept Benfica at home on matchday 6? Ithink this will be the team Shakhtar will have to compete for the second position. It will be a big misfortune if Shakhtar take a position below second.

The Sport Arena, Eduard Kiselyov:

It is not a secret to reveal if I said that there are no weak opponents at the group stage. It will be very interesting to meet Celtic and Milan once again and try to take revenge on them for the defeat we suffered in 2004. Although, the defeat from Celtic was a relative one: we were struggling for the third place and we took it. But we all remember the match in Glasgow where Shakhtar had to finish with nine men and they managed to deliver an impressive performance, but the free kick decided on the outcome of the match and not in our favour. Well, andit’s been always very interesting to play against Milan. By the way, it’s gonna be Shakhtar’s third visit to the San Siro under Mircea Lucescu. And we are going to discover the Portugal we don’t know. It interesting, but the three teams we are about to face are representing three different football styles: classic football played by Milan, British style performed by Celtic and Benfica’s Brazil-like manner of performance. So, it will be interesting to play against them all. It will be interesting to see how Shakhtar are going to oppose all these teams, especially their Italian and Brazilian players.

Andriy Peti, The Salon Dona I Basa:

- Milan are in the spotlight, for they are the current title holders. Benfica and Celtic are not that tough compared to the Italian side, but a lot will depend on confrontation results between the Miners and these clubs. Playing in the Champions League, every team must be ready to encounter serious resistance. Lucescu’s team will have to gain as many points as it is be possible to take another step forward. "

(retirado do site oficial do Shakhtar)