I believe in my team
Monday, December 9, 2024
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Press conference of head coach of Shakhtar Marino Pusic before the Champions League match against Bayern
– Shakhtar players say that you are a very good motivator. You have the toughest opponent of this season ahead. How do you plan to motivate your team for this match? (ua-football.com)
– You do not have to motivate the players specifically for such matches. When you face one of the best clubs in the world, it is a motivation in itself. Of course, I will say some things about how to play this game and what to do, but I think everybody is highly motivated anyway, playing in the Champions League, especially against such opponents, So, the game itself is already a motivation.
– Germany is in the Christmas spirit now, everyone is preparing for the holidays. In the context of tomorrow’s match against Bayern: do you believe in miracles? (ua.tribuna.com)
– I believe in my team. All good things begin with believing in it. I think we played a lot of matches in the Champions League – both in the previous format and in this one – where we showed certain qualities and level of the game. Of course, when you face the teams that have tremendous qualities, you not only have to be 100 percent concentrated, but everything has to be 100 percent, to be almost perfect to get a good result. But, like I said, we are looking forward to such games, because it is fantastic to play them, challenge one of the best teams in the world so you can show yourself as well. And we will try to do it by following our philosophy. When I talk about our philosophy, it is actually how we always play – no matter what opponent we face at that moment, we will try. We are looking forward to play, and I have a lot of confidence in my players, especially in their character and the way they want to show themselves as well. So, let’s play!
– The match against PSV was Dmytro Riznyk’s performance with his record. What do you need in the game against Bayern for Riznyk to have less work? (ua.tribuna.com)
– We need 100 percent perfection. Of course, it is not just about one player – it is about the entire team. Because, like I always tell them, we all attack together and we all defend together. As you know, all our attacks are started by Riznik, and all our defensive actions start with three players in front. Maybe tomorrow there will be two of them, I do not know yet, I have to make up my mind about that. But you need to be perfect in everything when you play against such opponents, and everybody on the pitch has to be fantastic in all everything. Like I said, it is a great match, a great challenge for us. We are the team that have nothing to lose, we can only win in these games. And we will try to do it, of course.
– You analysed the game against PSV already with a cool head, without emotions. Tell us, why did you not manage to hold a two-goal lead while playing in the minority? (ua-football.com)
– I do not want to analyse that game anymore. It is obvious that we missed a great chance to get important points, we played an amazing game, we were in the lead for 70 minutes. And, as the opponent’s coach said, with 11 against 11, they would for sure lose and we would win. I can tell you that not many teams achieve this in Eindhoven – almost no one did it in the last two years. So, we can only be proud of our performance, what we did and how we proved ourselves. Unfortunately, red cards are also part of the game and we got one. We learned from that, and we move on. It was a great experience, but the next opponent is waiting for us, like I said, one of the best clubs in the world, so it will be even more difficult. But still, I am a determined person, I believe that we will present ourselves anyway with our philosophy and, of course, try to challenge this great team.
– Mister, this season Shakhtar will have to play in January for the first time because of the new format of the Champions League. Have you figured out how you will prepare for the next matches for more than a month? (Shakhtar Life)
– Well, it is a new format and it is very different from the previous one. The good part is that we will play these two matches in January, this is good. After the last game, we will have a break and then we will start preparing for these two final matches in the Champions League. It is a bit unusual because you start immediately with the highest level after the winter break, because our league begins very late, so we do not have official matches before we start the Champions League. So, it is for sure a disadvantage, considering the rhythm and the toughness of the games, because you cannot make up for it in friendly matches, it is very difficult. But it is good that we will have these matches. We will play twice and will have more opportunities to get points. So, we will go for it until the end.
– One more question about the defeat by PSV: were the players greatly affected by the drama in Eindhoven? (football24.ua)
– It was not a drama, it was a masterpiece from both teams. Sometimes a masterpiece happens in your favour, and sometimes it is bad. When you lose like we did in the last seconds, it is always painful, but it is not a drama. Because, one more time: what we showed there was at a high level, and I am very proud of my team and what they did. Unfortunately, having one less player, you can lose very unluckily, like we did at that moment, but no drama. Drama is in the theatre.
– You do not have to motivate the players specifically for such matches. When you face one of the best clubs in the world, it is a motivation in itself. Of course, I will say some things about how to play this game and what to do, but I think everybody is highly motivated anyway, playing in the Champions League, especially against such opponents, So, the game itself is already a motivation.
– Germany is in the Christmas spirit now, everyone is preparing for the holidays. In the context of tomorrow’s match against Bayern: do you believe in miracles? (ua.tribuna.com)
– I believe in my team. All good things begin with believing in it. I think we played a lot of matches in the Champions League – both in the previous format and in this one – where we showed certain qualities and level of the game. Of course, when you face the teams that have tremendous qualities, you not only have to be 100 percent concentrated, but everything has to be 100 percent, to be almost perfect to get a good result. But, like I said, we are looking forward to such games, because it is fantastic to play them, challenge one of the best teams in the world so you can show yourself as well. And we will try to do it by following our philosophy. When I talk about our philosophy, it is actually how we always play – no matter what opponent we face at that moment, we will try. We are looking forward to play, and I have a lot of confidence in my players, especially in their character and the way they want to show themselves as well. So, let’s play!
– The match against PSV was Dmytro Riznyk’s performance with his record. What do you need in the game against Bayern for Riznyk to have less work? (ua.tribuna.com)
– We need 100 percent perfection. Of course, it is not just about one player – it is about the entire team. Because, like I always tell them, we all attack together and we all defend together. As you know, all our attacks are started by Riznik, and all our defensive actions start with three players in front. Maybe tomorrow there will be two of them, I do not know yet, I have to make up my mind about that. But you need to be perfect in everything when you play against such opponents, and everybody on the pitch has to be fantastic in all everything. Like I said, it is a great match, a great challenge for us. We are the team that have nothing to lose, we can only win in these games. And we will try to do it, of course.
– You analysed the game against PSV already with a cool head, without emotions. Tell us, why did you not manage to hold a two-goal lead while playing in the minority? (ua-football.com)
– I do not want to analyse that game anymore. It is obvious that we missed a great chance to get important points, we played an amazing game, we were in the lead for 70 minutes. And, as the opponent’s coach said, with 11 against 11, they would for sure lose and we would win. I can tell you that not many teams achieve this in Eindhoven – almost no one did it in the last two years. So, we can only be proud of our performance, what we did and how we proved ourselves. Unfortunately, red cards are also part of the game and we got one. We learned from that, and we move on. It was a great experience, but the next opponent is waiting for us, like I said, one of the best clubs in the world, so it will be even more difficult. But still, I am a determined person, I believe that we will present ourselves anyway with our philosophy and, of course, try to challenge this great team.
– Mister, this season Shakhtar will have to play in January for the first time because of the new format of the Champions League. Have you figured out how you will prepare for the next matches for more than a month? (Shakhtar Life)
– Well, it is a new format and it is very different from the previous one. The good part is that we will play these two matches in January, this is good. After the last game, we will have a break and then we will start preparing for these two final matches in the Champions League. It is a bit unusual because you start immediately with the highest level after the winter break, because our league begins very late, so we do not have official matches before we start the Champions League. So, it is for sure a disadvantage, considering the rhythm and the toughness of the games, because you cannot make up for it in friendly matches, it is very difficult. But it is good that we will have these matches. We will play twice and will have more opportunities to get points. So, we will go for it until the end.
– One more question about the defeat by PSV: were the players greatly affected by the drama in Eindhoven? (football24.ua)
– It was not a drama, it was a masterpiece from both teams. Sometimes a masterpiece happens in your favour, and sometimes it is bad. When you lose like we did in the last seconds, it is always painful, but it is not a drama. Because, one more time: what we showed there was at a high level, and I am very proud of my team and what they did. Unfortunately, having one less player, you can lose very unluckily, like we did at that moment, but no drama. Drama is in the theatre.