Mircea Lucescu: We made many defensive mistakes
Sunday, April 10, 2016
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Press conference by Shakhtar head coach
- The result that has pushed further away from the Ukrainian League title. Perhaps we did not have enough strength - we have not fully recovered after the match in Portugal. We made many defensive mistakes, which I did not expect since experienced players did it... Should Ferreyra have scored at 3-2 in our favour, when he found himself one on one with the keeper, it would have been all over. We played against the team who very much wanted to take points away from us. They knew how to waste time, they fouled a lot and faked it. The referee was not up to the standard of this game. And if the future of Ukrainian refereeing is like that, they will never officiate at the European club competitions. We play there, and they should think twice. Unfortunately, we got back to the time which happened ten years ago. There was a clear foul on Marlos when he was being blocked, with the referee not awarding a free kick and a yellow card. The same thing happened near our edge, with Rakits’kyy immediately earning a yellow card! It is clear that this was interpretation only in one direction. Naturally, I am not happy with the result and the way we spent the closing minutes. We could easily control the ball and the game. Instead, they played somewhat nervously. I did not expect this from my players. I do not know, probably, the players who have such experience, cannot get that much complacent at the end of the match, with us conceding goals. Now the most important thing is to ensure that everyone recovers, and to prepare the team for the second leg against Braga. But if we don’t have good organisation of the game, we’ll find it difficult against Braga either. There should not be any room for such complacency after a good meeting. This may have an adverse effect. Tomorrow or the day after we will watch it and analyse it. Way too easily they outplayed us, with us allowing them to take too many shots on target. There were numerous chances which we failed to convert. Therefore, it was difficult to win today, although the victory was already in our hands.
- Mister, how would you comment on the recent statement by Taison for Brazilian press that he allegedly going to leave Shakhtar and Ukraine?
- I do not think he wants to leave Ukraine and Shakhtar. Maybe he has just reached a certain level, which allows him to think of a stronger league. The last players to have left, have been playing for top clubs. If he gets a good offer and the club agrees to it, why then a player cannot dream of playing in a stronger league? Moreover, he has already reached the age of 28. Everyone wants to play in a strong premiership, not in the likes of the current Ukrainian championship: with the current conference room, the dressing room, the stadium and so on... Everyone wants something better. Unfortunately, our Ukrainian championship is not progressing, rolling back instead. So the players’ will to play in a stronger league is understandable. This, again, may be the case if such proposals are available and the club approves them. Taison is our best player these days. With each match, he increasingly became the leader of Shakhtar’s attacking performance. I would like him to retain this shape until the end of the season. We will be playing every two or three days, so a lot will depend on his form. If we, just as today, encounter the teams who practise physical football, we might lose the players. Although Stal players also have their strengths, they score great goals. But in general, unfortunately, that’s not football.
- Mister, how would you comment on the recent statement by Taison for Brazilian press that he allegedly going to leave Shakhtar and Ukraine?
- I do not think he wants to leave Ukraine and Shakhtar. Maybe he has just reached a certain level, which allows him to think of a stronger league. The last players to have left, have been playing for top clubs. If he gets a good offer and the club agrees to it, why then a player cannot dream of playing in a stronger league? Moreover, he has already reached the age of 28. Everyone wants to play in a strong premiership, not in the likes of the current Ukrainian championship: with the current conference room, the dressing room, the stadium and so on... Everyone wants something better. Unfortunately, our Ukrainian championship is not progressing, rolling back instead. So the players’ will to play in a stronger league is understandable. This, again, may be the case if such proposals are available and the club approves them. Taison is our best player these days. With each match, he increasingly became the leader of Shakhtar’s attacking performance. I would like him to retain this shape until the end of the season. We will be playing every two or three days, so a lot will depend on his form. If we, just as today, encounter the teams who practise physical football, we might lose the players. Although Stal players also have their strengths, they score great goals. But in general, unfortunately, that’s not football.
