“Our club can actually win”

The Europa League semi-final second leg between Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro and Italian Napoli, which is to be held on May 14 at Kyiv Olimpiisky NSC, has been sold out completely. According to the press service of the Sports Complex, a full house is expected. A week ago, in the first leg, Dnipro managed to secure a 1:1 draw in Naples, thanks to the goal of Yevhen Selezniov.

The moral and psychological state of Dnipro has been somewhat lowered by the recent match against Zoria in Ukrainian Championship. They lost 0:2 to the team from Luhansk, going down to the third place in standings. However, as sports experts agree, the parallels between these matches are not quite appropriate, as Myron Markevych, head coach, and the entire Dnipro team, stake on Europa League in the end of the season. “The match with Zoria has nothing to do with Napoli, because the lineup was noticeably different for that game. It appears that the club management have their stakes on Europa League. It is the first time Dnipro has made it to the semi-final of a continental tournament – a historical opportunity for the club, no one knows when they would have it again,” stated in a commentary to The Day Artem Frankov, football expert and editor-in-chief of Football magazine. “Tomorrow’s match is a unique chance for Dnipro players to prove themselves, and I think they are not distracted with the recent defeat. It is only Napoli in their thoughts now. This match is a watershed of an entire era of the club’s history. Our club can win actually, but only with an absolute commitment on every position. Morale is also very important. It is a job for coaches – the guys, on one hand, should not be afraid of the titled competition, and on the other, should not burn themselves out. And, of course, a bit of football luck will also be required. Ukrainian fans are waiting impatiently for this match. I’d say the fans want the time to accelerate so that the game would begin sooner.”

It is the first time Dnipro plays in the semi-final of a European tournament, and they retain good chances of going to the final stage. Prior to that, their largest success in UEFA tournaments was the quarter-finals of Champions Cup in 1984/85 and 1989/90 seasons.