Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu has noted his Brazilian players want “revenge for the defeat in the [2014 FIFA] World Cup" against Germany, when they face Bayern Munich.
The Seleção were humiliated by their German counterparts, who ran out 7-1 winners against the tournament hosts at the semi-final stage and went on to beat Argentina in the final.
Speaking ahead of Shakhtar’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash with Bayern, Lucescu was eager to point out the number of Brazilians at his disposal and believes they are motivated by the World Cup defeat.
"We have 13 Brazilians in our team," he said, as reported by Shakhtar’s official website. ‘We are probably the most Brazilian team in Europe.
"There are six World Cup winners playing for Bayern. Indeed, all of our young Brazilians want to prove themselves and take revenge for the defeat in the World Cup, when the Brazil national team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Germany."
Shakhtar will host Bayern at Lviv Arena due to the ongoing conflict in the area surrounding their Donbass Arena in Donetsk.
The German visitors, who beat Hamburger SV 8-0 on Saturday, could field six players who won last summer’s World Cup, including Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng, Mario Götze, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
