Champions are made on the pitch
Sunday, May 13, 2018
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Shakhtar head coach Paulo Fonseca reflects on the game vs Veres and the early league title
- Good evening. We won a tough game. We scored very early and got somewhat complacent, although we could have converted many more scoring chances. It’s a pity that we haven’t finished it with a bigger score. In the decisive league meeting, the emotional component is always important, with Shakhtar claiming another title today.
- In the first half, your team moved off combinational football, relying on long-range shots. Was that a game plan?
- No, in the first half of the match we were missing something: we lost the ball when we shouldn’t have had. The early goal factor also affected it. Perhaps they thought that everything had already been decided, but it wasn’t so in actual fact.
- Was the ending nervous for Shakhtar?
- No. In the second half, Veres didn’t create any danger near our goal - we controlled the game all the time. On the contrary, we had multiple chances, when it was necessary to score.
- After last year's title game vs Zorya, you said that this is the most important trophy for you at that time. And what place belongs to today's gold medals?
- This year, we’ve won all three trophies, last year we claimed two equally important ones. I'm just thrilled! This is the victory of absolutely everyone working at Shakhtar, of our president, of our fans. I want to remind you of the captain Darijo, who has always been with us and is very important to us; about Bernard who spent a fantastic season with us. Let me talk about some important things. In the league, the more sincere team have deservedly succeeded. This season, everyone tried to do their best to prevent Shakhtar from becoming the champions. The episode with this match proves once again what I'm talking about right now. One team is trying to make a circus of the Ukrainian league, and today they managed to find clowns for it. But we didn’t give them any opportunities in the tournament, where they really try to do everything to overthrow Shakhtar. What happened before today's match was a clownish trick: a really poor and dirty game of someone who thinks that you can do everything - even what’s forbidden. And we showed that matches are won on the pitch. And that champions are made on the pitch. Throughout this year, I’ve felt that we must fight against them all. And even like that, we did it all - to the chagrin of some and to the happiness of our fans. We are the champions! We won three trophies this season. I know that many people got upset at that moment. They played dirty, and we played it right, and only on the field, we managed to win.
- Due to the story involving Veres, you missed some fans in the stands, who were reading today that the opponents wouldn’t show up for the match?
- I always say that Ukraine has a huge potential for top-level football. But tell me please, how can we bring people to the stadiums while having such episodes? It's impossible. I'm a football man, but I felt disappointed. It’s very difficult to motivate people in the presence of such dirty stories. In two weeks’ time, Kyiv will host the Champions League final. What image does the country project about Ukrainian football? It's actually very sad. I believe and hope that very many people will work, so that such cases no longer exist, but there are other people: they think that money can buy everything and everyone. In any case, the sporting truth triumphed. The winners are the ones who proved stronger on the field, who have always been sincere and serious.
- What’s the significance of the last-round match against Dynamo in Kyiv for Shakhtar?
- Our ambition is to win it. One thing will happen: we will enter the stadium as the champions. Whether someone likes it or not - you can say anything, but we will enter this pitch already as the champions. And so you shouldn’t have any doubts that we will go there to win. We want to show what football is like and what our club is like, seriously and sincerely.
- The Champions League knockout phase and three trophies this season have attracted the interest of many European clubs in you. Have you already thought about your future?
- I always think about it, and in the coming days, you will learn everything about that. I don’t hide the fact that I'm happy here. We win virtually everything possible. I like the club, the people who work here, the life in Ukraine. I should continue to think about it, and in a few days, you will learn the news.
- Don’t you pity the jacket and shirt after such a stormy celebration?
- Yes, of course, I'll change soon. The dressing room plays host to a big celebration - the guys and the club deserve it. The year was difficult but fantastic. And I must dedicate this outcome to its main builders – my players, the coaching staff and absolutely everyone who works with us.
- In the first half, your team moved off combinational football, relying on long-range shots. Was that a game plan?
- No, in the first half of the match we were missing something: we lost the ball when we shouldn’t have had. The early goal factor also affected it. Perhaps they thought that everything had already been decided, but it wasn’t so in actual fact.
- Was the ending nervous for Shakhtar?
- No. In the second half, Veres didn’t create any danger near our goal - we controlled the game all the time. On the contrary, we had multiple chances, when it was necessary to score.
- After last year's title game vs Zorya, you said that this is the most important trophy for you at that time. And what place belongs to today's gold medals?
- This year, we’ve won all three trophies, last year we claimed two equally important ones. I'm just thrilled! This is the victory of absolutely everyone working at Shakhtar, of our president, of our fans. I want to remind you of the captain Darijo, who has always been with us and is very important to us; about Bernard who spent a fantastic season with us. Let me talk about some important things. In the league, the more sincere team have deservedly succeeded. This season, everyone tried to do their best to prevent Shakhtar from becoming the champions. The episode with this match proves once again what I'm talking about right now. One team is trying to make a circus of the Ukrainian league, and today they managed to find clowns for it. But we didn’t give them any opportunities in the tournament, where they really try to do everything to overthrow Shakhtar. What happened before today's match was a clownish trick: a really poor and dirty game of someone who thinks that you can do everything - even what’s forbidden. And we showed that matches are won on the pitch. And that champions are made on the pitch. Throughout this year, I’ve felt that we must fight against them all. And even like that, we did it all - to the chagrin of some and to the happiness of our fans. We are the champions! We won three trophies this season. I know that many people got upset at that moment. They played dirty, and we played it right, and only on the field, we managed to win.
- Due to the story involving Veres, you missed some fans in the stands, who were reading today that the opponents wouldn’t show up for the match?
- I always say that Ukraine has a huge potential for top-level football. But tell me please, how can we bring people to the stadiums while having such episodes? It's impossible. I'm a football man, but I felt disappointed. It’s very difficult to motivate people in the presence of such dirty stories. In two weeks’ time, Kyiv will host the Champions League final. What image does the country project about Ukrainian football? It's actually very sad. I believe and hope that very many people will work, so that such cases no longer exist, but there are other people: they think that money can buy everything and everyone. In any case, the sporting truth triumphed. The winners are the ones who proved stronger on the field, who have always been sincere and serious.
- What’s the significance of the last-round match against Dynamo in Kyiv for Shakhtar?
- Our ambition is to win it. One thing will happen: we will enter the stadium as the champions. Whether someone likes it or not - you can say anything, but we will enter this pitch already as the champions. And so you shouldn’t have any doubts that we will go there to win. We want to show what football is like and what our club is like, seriously and sincerely.
- The Champions League knockout phase and three trophies this season have attracted the interest of many European clubs in you. Have you already thought about your future?
- I always think about it, and in the coming days, you will learn everything about that. I don’t hide the fact that I'm happy here. We win virtually everything possible. I like the club, the people who work here, the life in Ukraine. I should continue to think about it, and in a few days, you will learn the news.
- Don’t you pity the jacket and shirt after such a stormy celebration?
- Yes, of course, I'll change soon. The dressing room plays host to a big celebration - the guys and the club deserve it. The year was difficult but fantastic. And I must dedicate this outcome to its main builders – my players, the coaching staff and absolutely everyone who works with us.