Srna, Fomin, Zubov and borshch

15-03-10 19:17:50

On 15 March Darjo Srna and Ruslan Fomin participated in a not altogether usual press-conference at the Donbass Arena. This time those were not sports columnists who were asking them questions, but young fans, active members of School Club.

Question to Ruslan Marmazov, FC Shakhtar press secretary:
- How Shakhtar team was started and who were its foundators – the players themselves of the head coach?
Ruslan Marmazov: - Is that a question to me?
- Yes, it is!
- Great. Darjio is telling me that the team’s history dates back to 1936, and its foundators were related to physical culture; the football players would not have made a team all by themselves, of course, and as for the current team, it was started by our President, Rinat Akhmetov, Shakhtar coaches and players.

Question to Darjio Srna: - How did you train for the game with Metalist?
- As usual.
- Were there any particular tasks to fulfill?
- No, the basic training routine does not vary, regardless of the rivals. Two days before the game we have theory training – we watch videos with games played by the opponent, and during the next day we watch our latest match, analyzing our mistakes and our strong points.

- What feelings did Ruslan have about his first goal in Shakhtar?
- Ruslan Fomin: - When I bagged my first ball into the Donbass Arena net those were fantastic feelings thanks to the atmosphere at the stands.

- Did you have any peculiar and funny encounters with your fans?
Darjio Srna: - I can say only good things about our fans, they always support us, both when we win and when we lose, we really appreciate that!

- Ruslan, how did you join Shakhtar?
- It was in 2004 when I still was playing for Arsenal, Kharkiv, the team played in the Second League. I then was capped that was coached by Yuriy Kalytvyntsev. I think it was then that Shakhtar noticed me, and in 2004 I signed the contract with our team.

- Wouldn’t you like to join some more prestigious and popular European club?
Ruslan Fomin: - I wouldn’t. For now.
Darjio Srna: - Any football player wants to increase their level, but as for Shakhtar, the team has been developing in leaps and bounds during the last 5 years, we won UEFA cup. That’s why I would like to stay with Shakhtar to contribute to the team’s achieving better results than in the last year.

- Darjio, what did you feel holding the UEFA Cup in your hands? And how did you train for the finals?
- When you lift the cup… I will never forget that. As for the training, we had been approaching the finals step by step, and the clash with Dynamo (Kyiv) was the toughest one. When we came to Istanbul, we were certain in our victory even then, even when we conceded the goal. You know, we deserved that, all of us – our president, our supporters, our Donetsk, our Ukraine!

- Is it heavy?
- Its weight is 12 kilograms
- Darjio, how did your career begin?
- In Croatia where I lived, we had a lot of football, basketball and handball fields in the neighborhood. I tried myself on any of them, but I performed best at football ones. I have been playing continuously, and here I am in Shakhtar (smiles).

- Darjio, how do you manage to get your courage back walking onto the pitch for the next game after a failure?
- Oh, this is challenging my friend, it is… (laughs). Shakhtar is a team that walks away from the field with victory after 90% of fixtures, therefore losing points always comes as a shock. Therefore we have to work more in the next game, and the main thing is that all the players agree with that.

- Astronauts smash a bottle of champagne on the spacecraft; do you have any rituals to be observed before going onto the pitch?
Darjio Srna: - No, we first drink the champagne and then smash the bottle (laughs)
Ruslan Fomin: - Frankly speaking, I do not observe any rituals. Darjio, do you have any?
Darjio Srna: - Any football player has them, and so do you, you just don’t feel like talking about it (smiles). I have some, but it’s a secret.

- Darjio, how do you plan to overpower Dynamo?
- We will induce Dynamo play a tie and then will beat them in Donetsk! (laughs)

Question: Darjio Srna: - What is the memorable match in your career?
- The UEFA Cup finals in Istanbul.

- Why Kobin was replaced so fast in the fixture with Metalist?
- Ruslan Fomin: - The injury.

- Darjio, when did your career in Shakhtar begin?
- I have been with the team since 7 July 2003 when I signed the contract.

- Dajio, which Shakhtar match was the most challenging in your career? And why?
- That was yesterday’s match. Since the beginning of my career? It was the UEFA Cup semifinals with Dynamo. Because that was derby, it was a struggle for Donetsk, Donbass and Ukraine in general, and if we had been defeated back then I wouldn’t have recovered until now.

- Darjio, what is your favorite Ukrainian dish?
- Borshch! Cook some borshch for me, and I will pop up for the dinner!

- What should one eat to become a real football player?
Ruslan Fomin: - I think the first thing to observe is regime. Eat yoghurt, apples and borshch!

- Ruslan, if you were not a football player, which career would you pursue?
- I would be a chef, honestly, I can cook most anything.
Darjio Srna: - Ask him when he’s gonna cook me some borshch?

Ruslan Fomin: - Come over to my place, I will.

- Darjio, is Croatian football any different from Ukrainian?
- The level of football here is somewhat higher than in Croatia. Ukraine has some of very serious squads, the presidents of which admire football and invest a lot of money in clubs. And the country itself is richer than Croatia.

- I attend classes in acrobatics and I make a lot of progress. Mum and dad said to me: ‘Keep up the workouts, if you succeed we will be only happy’. And what did your parents tell you when you declared that you were going into football?
Ruslan Fomin: - When I joined football group mum told me to devote more time to my studies. But s I continued to be carried away still more and more mum realized that it was really important for me. She supported the idea of my being busy with football rather than hanging out god knows with what crowd.
Darjio Srna: - (smiles) And my mum would say ‘Go to school’, while dad said ‘Go play football’. I was not too keen on studying, therefore I chose football. If to be serious, then naturally my parents wanted me to study. School was always on the first place. When i started showing my talent, studying shifted to the sidelines.

Question to Darjo Srna: - Have you ever played truant from classes, and if yes what was the reason?
Darjio Srna: - I missed few classes!

Question to Ruslan Fomin: - How did it feel yesterday to clash with your ex team mates?
Darjio Srna: - Yesterday he thought he was playing for Metalist.
Ruslan Fomin: - By and large it felt like playing with any other team. Although, of course, I had largely inspired to send a goal into Metalist’s net. I never succeeded though, but I think I will have this opportunity some day.

- What do you do part from playing football?
Ruslan Fomin: - I play billiards and bowling…
Darjio Srna: - I like playing tennis. I was injured while playing bowling once – a fracture of a muscle. I stopped playing bowling ever since.

- What was the team’s reaction to getting thrown out of Europa League and how far did you plan to go in this tournament?
Ruslan Fomin: - Shakhtar always sets difficult tasks for the players. Of course we wanted to to duplicate the success we wanted to play with Juventus and move on. Of course we were all disappointed although we had little time for feeling frustrated as we had a clash with Vorskla three days later. We needed to shift our attention to national level.

Question to Darjio: - How did you come to Shakhtar captain?
Darjio Srna: - First we voted and Chygrynskyy won. Fernandinho and I took the second. It was two years ago. After an away Cup game with Vorskla . Lucescu gave me the captain’s armband and said: if the team wins, you will be the captain’. We defeated Vorskla to 1-3! (laughs). All in all, after that game with Vorskla I became the team’s captain.

- Who was the favorite football player in your childhood?
Ruslan Fomin: - I liked the way Thierry Henri played the game.
Darjio Srna: - And I was all for Gennadiy Zubov! Honestly. When I just came to Shakhtar, Zubov was a super star and a great player. Among European players I liked Roberto Bagio, Messi. And on Ukrainian level that was Zubov.

- Vytsenets and his colleague from juniors attended the match with Vorskla in fan sector. Do you plan to visit fan section?
Ruslan Fomin: - I will not decline an invitation if I receive one.

- You’ve been living in Donetsk for a year. Can you remember anything funny about your visit to Donetsk?
Ruslan Fomin: - I had such a funny incident. When I first came to Donetsk I got lost on my way back home from the training base. It took me an hour and a half to get home, I don’t even know where I was wandering…
Darjio Srna: - As for me I have always had a convoy accompanying me home, so I couldn’t possibly get lost.

Question to Darjio Srna: - Are you married?
Darjio Srna: - Not yet, but in a couple of months I will be.

- How hard should one train to get onto Shakhtar lineups?
Darjio Srna: - First of all, you’ve got to be talented. Secondly, you need to be good at school, unlike me (smiles). And of course, you need to believe in yourself and work hard.
Ruslan Fomin: - I agree. And the most important thing is of course having a strong health.
Darjio Srna: - Exactly, and then they will notice you and take on Shakhtar lineups.

- Was it your idea to devote yourself to football or did anybody take you to football group?
Ruslan Fomin: - My friends in Kharkiv joined junior football team Shturm. Once they invited me to join them in a training. I accepted the invitation, although I hadn’t even had a uniform by then. I liked the experience. I also played back-lot football. I would play ball days away with my friends in the back yard.

Question to the captain: - What does Shakhtar need to win in the Championships’ League?
Darjio Srna: - (laughs) Ronaldinho, Messi… Firstly, it takes the ability to play as a team and good head coach like we have now as well as a considerable amount of luck. That’s it.

Question to Darjio: - Are you satisfied with School Section supporters?
Darjio Srna: - This is the best support ever! We are all very flattered. Thank you.

- When during qualifying competition to the world championship the national teams of Ukraine and Croatia you told reporters that if your team does not win you will leave the cap. Why didn’t you keep your word?
Darjio Srna: - Because I never said that. I jokingly mentioned in front of my Shakhtar colleagues that if my team does not win I will leave football for good. They must have told this to all Ukrainian reporters, and shortly after Croatian mass media wrote about that…

- What is your dearest dream?
Ruslan Fomin: (taking the tips from the auditory) To build a house, to plant a tree and to raise a son.
Darjio Srna: - I had a dream to hold the UEFA Cup in my hands and it has already come true.

- What about the cup of the Champions’ League?
Darjio Srna: - O-o-o-oh… this is going to happen later.

- What do you feel when walking onto the Donbass Arena field?
- I feel great! The atmosphere, fans, the stadium – simply superb! Of course I would like the stadium to be fully booked during every match.
Darjio Srna: - I fully agree!

Question for Ruslan: - How old were you when you discovered a talent of a football player in yourself?
Ruslan Fomin: - I have been playing football since 10. And I haven’t felt that I was a promising player until I turned 14 when I left Shturm and joined Arsenal. It was like leaving Metalist to join Shakhtar.

To sum it all up the captain of Hirnyky promise that today’s conference was not the last one. Shakhtar players are seriously planning to hold such meetings with children a well established tradition.

FC Shakhtar
Press Office