Shakhtar defender speaks about the postponed match of the 12th round of the UPL with Chernomorets
Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar assessed the postponed match with Chernomorets in the 12th round of the Ukrainian championship, the actions of the Brazilian legionnaire Miners Marlon, and also complained about his performance this season.
– With victory. It seemed that Shakhtar beat the Odessa team too easily?
— Maybe it seemed so from the stands, but I would note the performance of the Odessa Chernomorets players. Their players preach modern football and know how to play one-on-one. This is all energy-intensive football that requires a lot of strength and energy.
The Odessa team has a lot of quality players – today we saw how they went from defense to attack. Chernomorets is a very good team in the Ukrainian Premier League, which plays interesting football. I wish them to grow in the future and show good results. There are few such teams in the UPL.
— Did your heart skip a beat when Badibanga equalized the score in the 12th minute of the match?
– No. But I immediately remembered that we conceded a similar goal against the Odessa team in the recent cup game. From one moment we immediately concede a goal. We need to draw conclusions and analyze these episodes. It’s great that we then got back into the game.
— What did you do with Marlon, because he scored three goals in 41 minutes?
“The confidence and trust of our head coach is doing its job. We believe in Marlon and help him. The Brazilian is a young guy and he will still bring us a lot of benefit.
— What is the best position for Marlon to play on the football field?
— He himself says that he is comfortable playing in the box-to-box position. He does a lot of running work both on and off the ball. Marlon is a very smart football player who already understands our style of play. The Brazilian loves to play combination football.
— Was it replaced due to damage?
“As I found out in the locker room after the final whistle, there’s nothing serious with him. I will say that the weather in Kyiv is very hot and starting the game at 13:00 is not entirely correct. I understand that there is a war in our country and not everything is always easy. However, we also need to think about the football players. It’s hard to play in this sun.
— You received a warning in this match, and it was the fourth of the season. Will you miss the next match?
– Yes. Unfortunately, I will miss the next game. But we have guys who can take the field and show high class. The same Yaroslav Rakitsky. I will be the most ardent fan of our team next Sunday. When you’re a defender, it’s hard not to get yellow cards.
— In the second half, you had a good chance to score, but you shot above the goal. It’s a shame?
– Very. I really want to score a goal in an official match. I go for all the corners and set pieces, but so far I can’t score. I already go to church – nothing helps. So far in the 2023/2024 season I have not managed to score a goal. All our guys score goals, even the defenders. Efim Konopolya and Nikolai Matvienko can score, but I can’t score yet.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
