Ruslan Rotan: Tough Copenhagen draw but Polissya ready to fight

Polissya head coach Ruslan Rotan has shared his thoughts after the draw for the second qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Conference League pitted his side against Danish giants FC Copenhagen. The two legs are scheduled for July 23 and July 30. “My first reaction? It’s an unlucky draw — when you see teams from the Faroe Islands or Estonia in the pot, you hope for something easier. But that’s football: Copenhagen it is. Two games, two battles. They want to beat us, we want to beat them. Why can we win? Because we know they’re strong, we know it’ll be tough, and our motivation will be at 100 percent. The ball is round, the pitch is square,” Rotan said. The manager also addressed the fans’ perspective: “Supporters analyze, but they don’t see the daily training work. For our players, this is a chance to climb higher, and we have to fight for it. There’s the opponent, there’s us, and there’s glory. If we win, we take the glory; if we lose, we hand it over — along with the money. It’s simple. Every player wants fame, wants to play for the national team, and these are the games that can provide that opportunity.” Rotan revealed his impressions after watching Copenhagen’s preseason matches: “First of all, the quality of their players and their organization. They’re a disciplined side, a quality team at the level of a Champions League group stage or Europa League — think Fiorentina. After those two games against Fiorentina I told the boys: remember this experience. We lost 0-3 at home, then went 2-0 up in the return leg and had a real chance to go through. We didn’t make it, but now that experience must carry over here.”