Marino Pusic and his staff have done a lot of important things for Shakhtar
Sunday, May 25, 2025
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FC Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin spoke about the decision to end cooperation with head coach Marino Pusic
– Serhii Anatoliiovych, please comment on the news about the completion of the contract with head coach Marino Pusic.
– First of all, I would like to thank Marino and his coaching staff for the time they spent at Shakhtar. It is important to remember: Marino joined the club at a difficult time – in the middle of the season in a country where war is ongoing. This shows his courage, character and professionalism. Together with him we won three trophies out of four possible. We are sincerely grateful to Marino for his contribution to the development of the team.
– But Shakhtar always compete only for the top places, right? And, unfortunately, this season we did not manage to win the title – the team finished in third spot for the first time in 30 years.
– Not only Marino Pusic took third place. We all took third place. We are all responsible for the result – both in victories and in defeats. This season was not easy. After 2022, we lost a significant part of the key players and actually started building a new team from scratch. This process is still ongoing. Experienced performers left the team – Zubkov, Sikan, Stepanenko. Instead, we signed many young and talented players who are still adapting and gaining experience. It would be difficult for any coach to work in such conditions. Could we have performed better? I think so. But there were many factors that prevented this.
– Why was it decided to end the cooperation?
– After a deep analysis, we came to the conclusion that the emotional and psychological stress is extremely high in the current conditions. On the one hand, the pressure for the result, on the other, the restructuring of the team, constant changes, martial law. What Ukrainians are already somewhat used to is a serious challenge for a foreign specialist. Therefore, we decided that it would be right to put an end to it now. At the same time, I want to emphasise: Marino Pusic, Mario Stanic and their staff have done a lot of important things for Shakhtar, and we are sincerely grateful to them for that.
– When can we expect news about the new head coach?
– You will find out everything soon.
– First of all, I would like to thank Marino and his coaching staff for the time they spent at Shakhtar. It is important to remember: Marino joined the club at a difficult time – in the middle of the season in a country where war is ongoing. This shows his courage, character and professionalism. Together with him we won three trophies out of four possible. We are sincerely grateful to Marino for his contribution to the development of the team.
– But Shakhtar always compete only for the top places, right? And, unfortunately, this season we did not manage to win the title – the team finished in third spot for the first time in 30 years.
– Not only Marino Pusic took third place. We all took third place. We are all responsible for the result – both in victories and in defeats. This season was not easy. After 2022, we lost a significant part of the key players and actually started building a new team from scratch. This process is still ongoing. Experienced performers left the team – Zubkov, Sikan, Stepanenko. Instead, we signed many young and talented players who are still adapting and gaining experience. It would be difficult for any coach to work in such conditions. Could we have performed better? I think so. But there were many factors that prevented this.
– Why was it decided to end the cooperation?
– After a deep analysis, we came to the conclusion that the emotional and psychological stress is extremely high in the current conditions. On the one hand, the pressure for the result, on the other, the restructuring of the team, constant changes, martial law. What Ukrainians are already somewhat used to is a serious challenge for a foreign specialist. Therefore, we decided that it would be right to put an end to it now. At the same time, I want to emphasise: Marino Pusic, Mario Stanic and their staff have done a lot of important things for Shakhtar, and we are sincerely grateful to them for that.
– When can we expect news about the new head coach?
– You will find out everything soon.