Shakhtar coach: I’ve only been at the club for two months, but it feels like two years

Marino Pusic spoke about the crazy intensity of events that happened to him after moving to the Ukrainian champions.

Donetsk Shakhtar will play a charity friendly match in Japan today, December 18. On the eve of the meeting, the traditional press conference of the main participants of the match took place.

Pitmen head coach Marino Pusic also answered questions from reporters. First of all, the specialist thanked the Japanese club Avispa Fukuoka for organizing the meeting. According to the specialist, such a match is very important, given the events in Ukraine.

“First of all, I want to thank you, the Japanese people and the Avispa Fukuoka club, for the invitation and for a great job. It’s always a pleasure. Thanks from all of us, especially from my players, club employees and the people of Ukraine. This is a wonderful initiative, and we are very grateful that we are here. Of course, we came to play football and want to show people what Shakhtar is , to show a good game so that the audience can enjoy it. And we hope that there will be more charity events in the future, but without terrible reasons like war, we all hope that everything will end soon, but organizing such charity events for people is always a wonderful initiative, again, we are very grateful for it.

The circumstances, of course, should not have a football club or an athlete. Because of this situation, the conditions are not easy, but there is an incredible strength: the strength of spirit, the strength of brotherhood between the employees of the club, who for a very long time live and work as a family, is doing a great. work together to help the team and I, the coach, focus on the main task – playing football. And we thank them for it. The situation is not perfect, as I said, but we hope that it will end soon. However, these situations raise an important question: what can we do here and now to find the best way out of this situation? And the answer to that is to play the best football possible, to be as successful as possible and bring joy to the people and, above all, to make the country proud by representing it on the European stage. It is a duty, but at the same time a very good duty, because we know why we do it. I also have great respect and admiration for all the people at the club who work under these circumstances. It is truly incredible. I’ve only been at the club for two months, but sometimes it feels like two years have passed – it says a lot about the intensity of our work together in these conditions. And when I see these people, how hard they work, how dedicated they are to the club, how my players work with good spirit, travel often, try to represent their country and club, but above all to country, in European competitions, I am very happy with them I’m proud.

As you said, this is a charity game, which is very important and for which we are very grateful. Organizing such matches is not easy and it is not easy to travel to play them. But we do it with love. Therefore, we are very grateful for these opportunities and we will try again to show people a good game that they will all remember, and we will try, what is important, to draw attention to the situation in Ukraine. I hope that the world will help solve these problems, and people will live the way everyone should live – in peace and prosperity. We are all hoping and praying for it. As you know, sometimes there are no words to describe the situation, you can try to find words, but in reality they will not be enough. But, again, let’s do something good tomorrow to remember this game for this good cause. And we hope that this war will end soon so that people can live in peace and harmony. And I also want to add that the world has a human responsibility to help solve these problems, and it should not forget about this responsibility. It’s not just our obligation as a club, players and coaches – to play charity matches, to draw attention to this situation, for other countries it’s bigger – it’s about humanity. It is the duty of the whole world, everyone should act accordingly.

So, we know you won the Cup, and we congratulate you on it. We know that the team took 7th place in the Japanese championship, which, in my opinion, is a very good achievement. We also know that the team plays dynamic football and loves to fight in every episode, but we will know more details in tomorrow’s meeting. I hope it will be a great game with lots of great moments for the audience to enjoy. Both teams are here to create something special.

So, football is a global phenomenon, and this is its great feature. As a coach, I have great experience working with some Japanese players. The latest example is Ueda at Feyenoord. Knowing Japanese football players, I can only express my admiration for their passion, desire for development, attitude to work, as well as personal qualities, which, of course, are different for all. Many Japanese footballers play at a very high level, at the level of the Champions League. As I already said, I had a very good experience working with them. As for Shakhtar signing a Japanese player in the future, I’d say it’s possible, but I don’t know for sure yet. We should discuss the next transfer window, which will be our actions. We will see. In any case, we hope that football players from other countries will find it possible to play in Ukraine. So, the circumstances are not always easy, but you can play, you can prove yourself, even at a good level in a proper club like Shakhtar,” Shakhtar’s official website quoted Pusic as saying.

We remind you that Shakhtar’s application for the match against Avispa Fukuoka was recognized earlier.

New Correspondent.net on Telegram and WhatsApp. Subscribe to our channels Athletistic and WhatsApp