The Ukrainian striker opened up to the Serie A League channels: “The defenses in Italy are tough to deal with, but I am ready. I love scoring, even if I barely touch the ball.” “And football without pressure isn’t football.”

Artem Dovbyk is the true indispensable of this Roma, having scored 50% of the Giallorossi’s goals this season. A good impact for the former Girona centre-forward, who revealed himself in an interview with the official channel of the Serie A league from his origins to his ambitions with his new jersey. “I know I am the first Ukrainian to play for Roma, there is always pressure in such clubs. But I am fully prepared for this, the main thing is that the team believes in me, the coach and everyone supports me. “I received a warm welcome, soccer without pressure isn’t soccer, you always need to be motivated. This is adrenaline, I play much better under pressure.”

Why are you called ‘The Machine’? “I’m called that because they see how hard I work in training, everyone calls me ‘Beast’ or ‘The Machine’, it’s easy to answer”.

Rome has a great tradition of center-forwards: how do you feel about being compared to Dzeko, Batistuta and the others? “I know that Roma has had great forwards like Dzeko, Lukaku, Batistuta. “But they were themselves, they played their own way – I want to be the ‘new Dovbyk’, to show what I’m capable of and do my best here.”

“Your idol was Shevchenko, what memories do you have of him in Italy? What advice did he give you?” “Everyone knows Shevchenko in Ukraine, he’s the best in our country’s history, he won the Golden Ball.” “He gave me advice when he was coaching the national team. Afterwards, I used that advice to be more aggressive, strong, and hungry in the box.” “The Italian defenses are a complicated test for all forwards. How many goals do you want to score?” “I know that Italian defenders are tough to face, there is the catenaccio, it won’t be easy but I’m ready. For me, it’s a new challenge, but I believe that if you work hard, everything comes together on the field. That’s why I have to work hard. “I don’t set myself a number of goals to achieve, I don’t like doing such things,”

You have a powerful shot, you attack well in the depth, what is your best quality and what makes you happy on the field? “I believe it is to be in the penalty area, to finish on goal, shooting is the most important thing. “I excel at attacking, even with my back to the defenders, these are my best qualities.”

What does scoring a goal mean to you? “I love scoring goals, maybe I don’t touch the ball many times, but scoring is always better than not scoring.” Considering the mid-field upwards, Roma has many creative players. How do you build understanding with them? “We aim to work on it in training, having so many such players will help me. And I will support all my teammates as best as I can.”

Roma’s ambitions for this season? “First of all, all fans want Roma to play in the Champions League next year. I will do everything to achieve this goal and play in the Champions League next year.”

Can you tell us about your origins? “Cherkasy isn’t a very large city, it is extremely beautiful and is situated near the capital, Kiev. That’s why there is no better place for me. “I will always go back there, my relatives live there and for me it’s the best place in the world.”

How did you start playing? “It was my own decision, my parents found out a week later and I started training. “They have always supported me and did everything to help me become a footballer,” he reveals. He’s a huge fan of surfing and martial arts. “In Ukraine, I trained to box. I had many boxer friends who invited me, so I trained with them for about a year.”

What intrigues you about Italy?

“I don’t know Italy very well, but it’s a beautiful country with fabulous food. “I hope that over time, I will be able to see many wonderful places in Italy.”