We tried, but we did not succeed
Friday, February 23, 2024
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Press conference of head coach of Shakhtar Marino Pusic after the away match of the UEFA Europa League against Marseille
– How do you feel after this defeat: what are your impression and did you expect it?
– First of all, I want to congratulate the opponent because they deserved to win. At the same time, we started the match very well, controlled the game, created chances, scored a goal – we were on the right track to a good result. And up to a certain moment, everything was going pretty well for us, which is not easy with such opponents who have a lot of individual qualities, physical strength and support of the fans in the stadium. As a team we did pretty well in the first 20–25 minutes, but unfortunately we made a mistake and the opponent immediately took advantage of it with good transitions, and after that the energy of the game changed and we were not able to play our game anymore, which was a little bit disappointing to me. But okay, I can understand this part, because it is not easy to get back into the game after that. Altogether, we started the second half with 1-1 – it is still a result, it is still a game. And even at the start of the second half we were good in ball possession. Marseille were pretty opportunistic: with a long-range pass, a second goal, physical aspects, etc. Actually, I do not know if we had many goal-scoring chances, basically not, but the same applies to the opponent: the fight continued throughout the game until we made another mistake and they scored and made it 1-2. And, you know, at that moment we wanted to change something, we were ready for it, but shortly after that we conceded the third goal – out of nothing, also due to a mistake. So football is a game that depends on mistakes. Unfortunately, we made three of them, which is too much against this opponent, in this stadium. And in general I think that Marseille deserved to win this game. It is unfortunate for us because we started this game perfectly, like I said already – you cannot start the away match against Marseille better. But this is football: those who made less mistakes will probably have a better result. And this is what happened.
– The stadium was very loud, even when Shakhtar scored. Did it bother you, since you are not used to it in Ukraine?
– Yes, of course, there is a big difference between playing in an empty stadium and this match in a full stadium, but that is not an excuse because we played a lot of European matches and showed a good result. So I am not going to use that as an excuse, absolutely not. The important thing is that you as a team have to manage the energy in the stadium, which we did very well in the first 20 minutes. And if you make mistakes, if you give the opponent a chance to fight back out of nothing, then this energy changes. Yes, they supported very loudly, we know that, but there is always a moment when they do not want to support anymore, because if you lead and control the game, the energy turns against you. So actually we gave the energy to the stadium and to the opponent. It is not an excuse for us, absolutely not. Like I said, we stopped playing our game after the first conceded goal, but it was still 1-1 when we came back after the first half. But one more time, if you continue to give energy to the opponent’s team and the stadium, it is going to be very difficult.
– Why did you make substitutions only 10 minutes before the end of the match and not earlier?
– Actually, at that moment nothing special was happening in the game: we were preparing substitutions for the last part of the match, but all of a sudden, we got this goal, 2-1, also out of nothing. So, at that moment it was not about substitutions, but about individual qualities. Then we wanted to bring in other players to turn the game around, but soon afterwards, we conceded a third goal – also out of nothing, because of an individual mistake. Sometimes you have to be lucky with that part, but we were unlucky tonight. Sometimes the game goes like this, but one more time, we made too many individual mistakes to change anything.
– Shakhtar are out of the European Cups, and you travelled from Ukraine and back a lot. Are your goals for the rest of the season include achieving a double by winning the Cup and the Premier League? How do you think the fans will attend the matches and how will your players react?
– I will be very happy if the fans return to the stadiums, because you play football and other sports for the people, and for the players it is always good, it is motivating. So I will be very happy if it happens. And of course, there are two goals: the domestic championship and the Cup, which is very important for us. We have tough competition, we are now focused on that. And as for travelling, of course it will save our energy, although it is unfortunate, because we wanted to stay in Europe. But it is what it is, so we have to focus on our domestic competitions and compete with other teams for the number one spot, and also try to achieve something in the Cup. I have to say one thing, and I have already said it to my players: if we summarize this European campaign, we can only be proud, and I can only be proud of my team – what we showed, how we presented ourselves under very difficult circumstances. And we tried, but we did not succeed. I am very proud of my team and the employees of the club, who work very hard to support us, to help us in everything we do – in travelling, in organisation. We showed again that Shakhtar is back at the European level, and we, of course, will try to progress in the future.
– First of all, I want to congratulate the opponent because they deserved to win. At the same time, we started the match very well, controlled the game, created chances, scored a goal – we were on the right track to a good result. And up to a certain moment, everything was going pretty well for us, which is not easy with such opponents who have a lot of individual qualities, physical strength and support of the fans in the stadium. As a team we did pretty well in the first 20–25 minutes, but unfortunately we made a mistake and the opponent immediately took advantage of it with good transitions, and after that the energy of the game changed and we were not able to play our game anymore, which was a little bit disappointing to me. But okay, I can understand this part, because it is not easy to get back into the game after that. Altogether, we started the second half with 1-1 – it is still a result, it is still a game. And even at the start of the second half we were good in ball possession. Marseille were pretty opportunistic: with a long-range pass, a second goal, physical aspects, etc. Actually, I do not know if we had many goal-scoring chances, basically not, but the same applies to the opponent: the fight continued throughout the game until we made another mistake and they scored and made it 1-2. And, you know, at that moment we wanted to change something, we were ready for it, but shortly after that we conceded the third goal – out of nothing, also due to a mistake. So football is a game that depends on mistakes. Unfortunately, we made three of them, which is too much against this opponent, in this stadium. And in general I think that Marseille deserved to win this game. It is unfortunate for us because we started this game perfectly, like I said already – you cannot start the away match against Marseille better. But this is football: those who made less mistakes will probably have a better result. And this is what happened.
– The stadium was very loud, even when Shakhtar scored. Did it bother you, since you are not used to it in Ukraine?
– Yes, of course, there is a big difference between playing in an empty stadium and this match in a full stadium, but that is not an excuse because we played a lot of European matches and showed a good result. So I am not going to use that as an excuse, absolutely not. The important thing is that you as a team have to manage the energy in the stadium, which we did very well in the first 20 minutes. And if you make mistakes, if you give the opponent a chance to fight back out of nothing, then this energy changes. Yes, they supported very loudly, we know that, but there is always a moment when they do not want to support anymore, because if you lead and control the game, the energy turns against you. So actually we gave the energy to the stadium and to the opponent. It is not an excuse for us, absolutely not. Like I said, we stopped playing our game after the first conceded goal, but it was still 1-1 when we came back after the first half. But one more time, if you continue to give energy to the opponent’s team and the stadium, it is going to be very difficult.
– Why did you make substitutions only 10 minutes before the end of the match and not earlier?
– Actually, at that moment nothing special was happening in the game: we were preparing substitutions for the last part of the match, but all of a sudden, we got this goal, 2-1, also out of nothing. So, at that moment it was not about substitutions, but about individual qualities. Then we wanted to bring in other players to turn the game around, but soon afterwards, we conceded a third goal – also out of nothing, because of an individual mistake. Sometimes you have to be lucky with that part, but we were unlucky tonight. Sometimes the game goes like this, but one more time, we made too many individual mistakes to change anything.
– Shakhtar are out of the European Cups, and you travelled from Ukraine and back a lot. Are your goals for the rest of the season include achieving a double by winning the Cup and the Premier League? How do you think the fans will attend the matches and how will your players react?
– I will be very happy if the fans return to the stadiums, because you play football and other sports for the people, and for the players it is always good, it is motivating. So I will be very happy if it happens. And of course, there are two goals: the domestic championship and the Cup, which is very important for us. We have tough competition, we are now focused on that. And as for travelling, of course it will save our energy, although it is unfortunate, because we wanted to stay in Europe. But it is what it is, so we have to focus on our domestic competitions and compete with other teams for the number one spot, and also try to achieve something in the Cup. I have to say one thing, and I have already said it to my players: if we summarize this European campaign, we can only be proud, and I can only be proud of my team – what we showed, how we presented ourselves under very difficult circumstances. And we tried, but we did not succeed. I am very proud of my team and the employees of the club, who work very hard to support us, to help us in everything we do – in travelling, in organisation. We showed again that Shakhtar is back at the European level, and we, of course, will try to progress in the future.