Special game
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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Press conference of head coach of Shakhtar Marino Pusic after the UPL match against Kryvbas (2-1)
– Please tell us, how satisfied are you with the performance of your players today? (Domashnia hazeta)
– Today was a special game in special circumstances. In such moments, in such games, it is all about the result. And we came for the result and got it, and I think we also deserved it. Although the last couple of minutes were quite tricky, but that is normal. A specific and exciting game to watch. An exciting match, which we played pretty well until the break. At first we controlled the game completely, scored a good goal, were dominant on the ball. It was very good from our side. After the break, the opponent started to act more actively. I would not say that it was an offensive play, rather more opportunistic – through long balls, kicks from the sides and crosses. And they are very strong in this. They are a good team, good opponents, let me say that. I think a very important moment in this game was our third goal. Looking back at that episode, it should have been a goal. This is a referee’s mistake. I praised the referees after the game, but if you watch that moment now, which everybody can do, it becomes clear that it was a bad decision. And it could have been a crucial decision during the game. If the score is 3-0, then the game is over, the opponent no longer believes in victory. But this goal was disallowed. I will remind you what should have been done: if you are not sure after the scored goal, you should consult the VAR referee. You cannot just disallow that goal – it is against the rules. It is unbelievable. When I recall that episode, I get really mad. This is wrong. I think he is a good referee, but his two decisions today are not. It could have been worse. The score could have been 2-1 after the penalty. I saw Bondar use two hands, but, my friend, you can give this kind of penalties 15 times a game. It is too easy. I have played football at a certain level and I have been coaching teams for a very, very long time: this is very bad, very, very bad. I will talk to him about it. You cannot do this to my team. You cannot do this to any team. But enough complaining about the referees, like I have been doing all along – let’s get to the game. This is an exciting match. Like I said, Kryvbas is a good opponent, a strong, opportunistic team. They prefer vertical football, so it is not easy to defend against them: long balls, second ball, a lot of crosses – they are good at it. They scored a goal with a good cross and a good header. We did not defend very well, I admit. All credit to the opponent. It is exciting, of course. We had opportunities on the counterattack, they had opportunities in the scrimmages. Altogether I think we deserved to win. And, like I said, I use a lot of words now to explain my feelings and the situation to you. But this game is all about winning. And we won it, got three points and are going home. And that is it.
– Does this give you the inspiration to fight for the “gold”? (Domashnia hazeta)
– Yes, of course. We have this obligation. One more time, it will all be done when it is really done. And until then, we will do our best to compete for first place. We are determined to fight until the end. We have six more matches to go. Anything can happen. We will play against a direct competitor as well. I am very curious about how everything will go. We are playing very well. We had bad luck in a few games when we drew, unfortunately. Then we completely lost our chance to catch up. But if you look at how my team is playing, even today, in these circumstances, on a difficult pitch, I think we are playing well. We are in good shape for this last part of the season.
But to finish, today it is important to mention, given the circumstances, the situation in the country in general, and also in this region, in Kryvyi Rih. It is really unbelievable what happened – 20 people died. And now I want to express my condolences to the people of Kryvyi Rih, to all the families who lost their loved ones. There are no words to describe it. And we, Shakhtar, are going to the scene of the tragedy after the game to put flowers, express our condolences one more time and realise that this is what is important in life, not just football.
– Can you summarize this entire match between Kryvbas and Shakhtar, which lasted 228 days? How difficult is it to prepare the team for 40 minutes instead of 90? And how do these constant air raid alerts and breaks in the game affect the team? (sportarena.com)
– This game was as long as your question. We played this match, I do not even know how long. Several months. Yes, it is a very long time. It is not easy to prepare for such games. I told your colleagues that I had a similar experience in the Netherlands, although we were leading 3-0 against Ajax and had to play 35 minutes. It is a different resumption than when you have to come back to 1-0 and 40 minutes to go, when the game is still undecided. How to prepare? I will say that it was not easy. Pretty simple, but at the same time pretty difficult. You need to start the game very focused, give 100% from the first seconds. But you also need to have a game strategy. And you know our style – we want to press very high, control the ball, play all the time. And, of course, if the opponents are opportunistic, like today, it is not easy to defend against them, we were even in a low block sometimes. So I think we did well given the circumstances. The pitch is not at a top level either, let me say that. So I am very proud of my players – the way they worked today.
– Today was a special game in special circumstances. In such moments, in such games, it is all about the result. And we came for the result and got it, and I think we also deserved it. Although the last couple of minutes were quite tricky, but that is normal. A specific and exciting game to watch. An exciting match, which we played pretty well until the break. At first we controlled the game completely, scored a good goal, were dominant on the ball. It was very good from our side. After the break, the opponent started to act more actively. I would not say that it was an offensive play, rather more opportunistic – through long balls, kicks from the sides and crosses. And they are very strong in this. They are a good team, good opponents, let me say that. I think a very important moment in this game was our third goal. Looking back at that episode, it should have been a goal. This is a referee’s mistake. I praised the referees after the game, but if you watch that moment now, which everybody can do, it becomes clear that it was a bad decision. And it could have been a crucial decision during the game. If the score is 3-0, then the game is over, the opponent no longer believes in victory. But this goal was disallowed. I will remind you what should have been done: if you are not sure after the scored goal, you should consult the VAR referee. You cannot just disallow that goal – it is against the rules. It is unbelievable. When I recall that episode, I get really mad. This is wrong. I think he is a good referee, but his two decisions today are not. It could have been worse. The score could have been 2-1 after the penalty. I saw Bondar use two hands, but, my friend, you can give this kind of penalties 15 times a game. It is too easy. I have played football at a certain level and I have been coaching teams for a very, very long time: this is very bad, very, very bad. I will talk to him about it. You cannot do this to my team. You cannot do this to any team. But enough complaining about the referees, like I have been doing all along – let’s get to the game. This is an exciting match. Like I said, Kryvbas is a good opponent, a strong, opportunistic team. They prefer vertical football, so it is not easy to defend against them: long balls, second ball, a lot of crosses – they are good at it. They scored a goal with a good cross and a good header. We did not defend very well, I admit. All credit to the opponent. It is exciting, of course. We had opportunities on the counterattack, they had opportunities in the scrimmages. Altogether I think we deserved to win. And, like I said, I use a lot of words now to explain my feelings and the situation to you. But this game is all about winning. And we won it, got three points and are going home. And that is it.
– Does this give you the inspiration to fight for the “gold”? (Domashnia hazeta)
– Yes, of course. We have this obligation. One more time, it will all be done when it is really done. And until then, we will do our best to compete for first place. We are determined to fight until the end. We have six more matches to go. Anything can happen. We will play against a direct competitor as well. I am very curious about how everything will go. We are playing very well. We had bad luck in a few games when we drew, unfortunately. Then we completely lost our chance to catch up. But if you look at how my team is playing, even today, in these circumstances, on a difficult pitch, I think we are playing well. We are in good shape for this last part of the season.
But to finish, today it is important to mention, given the circumstances, the situation in the country in general, and also in this region, in Kryvyi Rih. It is really unbelievable what happened – 20 people died. And now I want to express my condolences to the people of Kryvyi Rih, to all the families who lost their loved ones. There are no words to describe it. And we, Shakhtar, are going to the scene of the tragedy after the game to put flowers, express our condolences one more time and realise that this is what is important in life, not just football.
– Can you summarize this entire match between Kryvbas and Shakhtar, which lasted 228 days? How difficult is it to prepare the team for 40 minutes instead of 90? And how do these constant air raid alerts and breaks in the game affect the team? (sportarena.com)
– This game was as long as your question. We played this match, I do not even know how long. Several months. Yes, it is a very long time. It is not easy to prepare for such games. I told your colleagues that I had a similar experience in the Netherlands, although we were leading 3-0 against Ajax and had to play 35 minutes. It is a different resumption than when you have to come back to 1-0 and 40 minutes to go, when the game is still undecided. How to prepare? I will say that it was not easy. Pretty simple, but at the same time pretty difficult. You need to start the game very focused, give 100% from the first seconds. But you also need to have a game strategy. And you know our style – we want to press very high, control the ball, play all the time. And, of course, if the opponents are opportunistic, like today, it is not easy to defend against them, we were even in a low block sometimes. So I think we did well given the circumstances. The pitch is not at a top level either, let me say that. So I am very proud of my players – the way they worked today.