Sudakov: This is now the most important game in my life

Shakhtar midfielder Heorhii Sudakov speaks on his expectations from the match with Leipzig.

– Heorhii, how did the team prepare for the game? And what do you expect from tomorrow's meeting?
– We had a very difficult game with Oleksandriia accompanied by air raid sirens. First of all, it's mentally difficult but I think we showed a good game. The boys got tired but I had more time to rest. As Mister said, it is very difficult, because we move every three or four days – by plane or by bus in which we travel for six hours. Personally, it is very difficult for me: I have been living without a family for the last month and a half, I do not see my child. This is, above all, psychological fatigue. However, thanks to a strong mentality, a strong team, we prepare for each match to the maximum, we believe in ourselves, our team, each of us. We are ready to fight from the first to the last minute and from the first to the last match.

– In a recent interview, Valerii Bondar said that Sudakov and Bondarenko are the most underrated Shakhtar in the press. How do you assess your role in the team and can you say that the match with Leipzig is the most important game for you?
– Speaking of underrating. I think if people watch football and really understand it, they don't underrate. Although many people who just visit the site, look at who scored the goal, and they talk about that player. We now have our star – Mykhailo Mudryk. He is talked and written about a lot and, maybe, our work is somewhat not taken into due account. However, I cannot single out someone – we have a very strong team, and if someone falls out, our "body" will fail, it will be very difficult. For our team, each player is important – it does not matter whether he is a substitution or in the starting line-up. Everyone is counted on and everyone is trusted. As for the importance of the match, I have not yet encountered the fact that I can reach the 1/8 of the Champions League final in my career. But I am a young player, and everything goes in stages for me. Every six months or a year there is period when I play important matches. And if we talk about today's stage, then, yes, this is now the most important game in my life.