– The turning point of the season? I think that the turning point in the current season was the first break at the match of the national teams after the match with Vorskla, in which we spent a very high-quality segment. Already then, the team began to understand the game that was required of it. We lacked physical condition, so sometimes there were not enough players for the whole match. This pause became a turning point for us, because we had the opportunity to improve this aspect, focused on physical training. Eventually it paid off. You have already had the opportunity to see what kind of football we want to play, and for this you need a very high level of physical fitness.
Best match of the season? I can honestly say that every Carpathian match was of high quality and really interesting. I will not recall frankly unsuccessful matches of our team in the autumn part of the season. Did the match of the first round against Veres seem like this… Also the first half against Kryvbas in the second round. We are satisfied with all other matches.
Jean Pedroso? In my opinion, he is a player with a unique profile for world football. He is physically strong, has good speed, is calm on the ball and, despite being right-footed, does quality work with both feet. Many clubs around the world are looking for such a player. It is very difficult for me to put a monetary value on it. I can assure you that Zhan has great prospects and I would like to have as many such performers as possible in our team. By the way, Zhan has Ukrainian roots. His ancestors were Ukrainians.
Igor Neves? Everyone wants scored goals and created moments from a striker. We are working on making it look better. After the unscored penalty, the entire stadium supported him, started chanting slogans in his support. His wife was crying in the stands. In the locker room, I told the guys that this is how the fans supported the whole team. Using Igor’s example, the fans showed the support they are ready to provide to every football player. I believe that this is the moment for which, in principle, you need to play football. He feels our support, so he gives his all in training and in matches. If the players are committed to the club, they will receive support and respect from the whole club. As for the young performers in the forward position, we have promising players from the U-19 team. There are Dmytro Forsyuk and Matvii Burenko. Forsyuk looks very good at his level, but physically he is not yet up to the level of the first team. It takes time.
Positions on the field that need strengthening? We agreed with the club management that we will not look at the position of the player, but will consider him based on quality indicators. We have to raise the level of our team. First of all, we will be looking for players to strengthen our attacking link.
The importance of support in home matches? Of course, when we play in Lviv, we get extra effort. But we also want to look good on the opponent’s field. It is necessary to work on the mental component – to feel the same confidence in away matches. We should not have lost many unsuccessful away matches. I think that in some matches we lacked experience. The most vivid examples are matches with LNZ and Zorya. We had to win these matches. We will work on this aspect.
Team strengths and weaknesses? We are most concerned about the final phase of the attack. Analyzing our statistical indicators, I can state that we should be in a higher position. In many components, we are better than our neighbors in the tournament table. We create a lot of chances from positional attacks, but we are not satisfied with the finishing. We have added in many components, particularly in pressing. In the first matches, the opponents took advantage of our mistakes, but now our team looks good in this component.
A change of captains? During the first few rounds, we changed captains. Later, we came to the conclusion that it was not appropriate and decided to hold a vote. I believe that it was done correctly, because now we got a real leader on the field who leads the team.
Bruninho and Stanio? Bruninho is a very high-quality player who must be fought for. Everything will depend on our leadership and scouting department. He showed progress in many components and turned into a very quality player. As for Stenio, he has great prospects. If he believes in our ideas and changes, like the rest of the foreigners, he will turn into a very high-quality player. Currently, he is at the stage of forming himself as a person and a football player. Stenio is a very young player with a fiery temperament that needs to be worked on.
Source: sport.ua