Shakhtar's new head coach Roberto De Zerbi gave an extensive interview to RMC Sports, in which he spoke about his vision of football, the training process, as well as the importance of the top ten on the football field.

- I came across a 2003 interview when you were a Foggia player. One of the first answers: " Almost 20 years later, when you became a coach, it seems to me that the word “pleasure” has accompanied you throughout your football life..

- I don’t want to do work that I don’t like. I felt it when I was a player and now that I became a coach. When it comes to football, I always put pleasure first..

- The fact that you are a striker, or rather, sometimes you played a striker, and sometimes a playmaker or a second striker, influenced your views on the game and the search for beautiful football?

- It played a huge role. On the field, I wanted to enjoy the game. This required possession of the ball.. This is what I am now, as a coach, trying to reproduce in my work.. I want my team to have possession of the ball, to lead the game, to have top-notch players in a better playing position. It is clear that I am trying to bring what I was a player to my coaching work.

- When you were a teenager on Milan's youth team at 90, you saw Sacchi lead the first team. Sakki presented his football very aesthetically.

- The DNA of this Milan was in me as a player and still remains as a coach. Milan of those years won, playing better than others, with insanely talented players. I used it all for the rest of my career.

- This line-up included Savichevich and Boban. You recently said you adored Roberto Mancini and Francesco Totti when you were young. Not forgetting Roberto Baggio. All 10s... and as a coach you pay a lot of attention to this type of player in your teams.

- I think that my teams cannot play without " If you look at my teams, there are at least two or three dozen at the same time. There are several types of " There is someone who builds the game a little lower, like Maxi Lopez, Stefano Sensi and Manuel Locatelli, but there are still “tens” outside the center, like Domenico Berardi, who starts from the right flank, or the same Djuricic, “ten” of a different format. I think about the “top ten” not in terms of positioning on the field, but rather on a psychological level, based on his intuition. In Sassuolo, we sometimes played 5 players, which can be described as “ten”, but with different characteristics. And it's the same at Shakhtar. I have Solomon, Mudrik, Alan Patrick, Pedrinho, Tete, Marlos. In my vision of the game, they're all number 10. They don't all have the same profile. For example, Alan Patrick is more creative, Pedrinho is more like Djuricic, Tete is more like Berardi, Solomon is more like God.. They are all high quality players who add unpredictability to the team..

- A very important word in your football vocabulary is courage. The courage of ideas, the courage of applying them on the field. How to teach players courage?

- You can't learn this without mistakes and defeats. If You Can't Handle Difficulties, You Can't Demand Courage. The mistake should not shape the player and prevent him from trying something on the field again. Another way to teach courage is to say that the one who plays with courage will be on the pitch on Sunday, and the one who does not have the courage will sit on the bench with me..

At the end of the day, it's pretty simple. This concept should be conveyed by the coach.. The coach must also be consistent.. If on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we prepare for the game, but on weekends we come and play differently, this is not normal. It's too easy to play in training, take risks, ask for courage and change your approach on weekends, before the game.

- This is easier to teach to players who are already willing to take risks and are not afraid of difficulties.

- Management is also about making decisions about working with leaders, who should leave and who should stay. To play football the way I understand it, but this applies to all coaches, I need players with very specific characteristics.. Not everyone can do specific things, and this is true not only for football, but also in everyday life..

- There was a feeling that in Sassuolo every player has a chance, even a top player who played four matches can sit in reserve two games in a row.

- I want to have two players per position. I train all players equally. I have no base and take. Of course, every team has three or four more important, stronger players, because we are not all the same, but by training them all with the same interest, making them feel that they are all important to me, we manage to maintain, individual and collective. Another thing is that I don't like it when players only play when I need them..

It's fairer for me if they play outside of the obligations that may be required in a given situation, for example, injury or disqualification..

- A player who knows this feels that his self-esteem in the team is improving.

- In my relationship with my players, they are all on the same level. But in the field they are not all equal. This is not a question of democracy, because the hierarchy is built in a world between those who have more experience, who are stronger, who are more ready to play..

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