The veteran coach says a number of his star players want to set the record straight in the Champions League after their nation’s World Cup humiliation at the hands of Germany
Shakhtar Donetsk boss Mircea Lucescu says his side’s Brazilian stars want to avenge the World Cup thrashing by Germany when they take on Bayern Munich.
The host nation were humiliated in the semi-finals of last summer’s tournament by the eventual winners, who triumphed 7-1 en route to lifting the trophy.
Bayern stars Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger all started that victory against Brazil, and Lucescu – who boasts Brazilians including Douglas Costa, Alex Teixeira and Luiz Adriano in his side – says a win for Shakhtar would go some way to laying the World Cup ghosts to rest.
“We have 13 Brazilians who dream of revenge against Bayern’s German players for their national side’s World Cup defeat,” Lucescu told a press conference.
“We will be heroes if we beat them and qualify for the next stage.”
Shakhtar skipper Darijo Srna insists his team-mates will not be overawed at the prospect of facing Pep Guardiola’s charges this week.
“It’s great that we’ll play in Lviv against one of the best teams in the world. We are not afraid,” he said.
“We know a lot about Bayern but I think every football fan in the word knows this team very well. Of course, they are favourites but anything can happen in football.
“We are positive about the upcoming game. We hope to get a good result for our club and for our fans who are in a difficult situation in Eastern Ukraine. This is additional motivation for us.”