Mircea Lucescu: My impression is that Volyn played for someone else

04-05-15 21:56:39

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Post-match press conference by Shakhtar coach.

- First of all, I want to congratulate the hosts on the draw. They were insanely happy at the end of the match, as though they had made it to European competitions after this draw. Lutsk fought throughout the meeting, they have done a lot of work. I can highlight their good defensive organization. They used the high grass, which did not give us the possibility to operate quickly. This prevented Teixeira from bearing down on goal in the first half, and, perhaps, it also interfered with Babatunde’s performance. Quite naturally, each team play owing to the inherently strong qualities. Volyn operated aggressively in a sporting way, though those four game interruptions and timewasting episodes looked unsportsmanlike. I wish them to play their every game just like that. It seems that today Volyn played not for themselves, but for someone else. This championship has turned surrogate, it did not observe just basic things. Not all teams have equal chances, plus it lacks sports ethics, unfortunately. We played 18 games on neutral ground and 8 away. We continuously travel by air, stay in hotels. Our opponents played 18 games at home, 2 on neutral ground, and only 6 away. Just compare these figures. If the Federation believe that it is appropriate and it will also continue next year - then there is no point for some other teams to take part in the next league season at all. We will be back to the nineties, when only one team emerged victorious in the league. What I'm talking about has nothing to do with today's game and doesn’t concern Volyn. But it has to do with what awaits us in the future! I would also like to congratulate two Romanian players - Bicfalvi and Matei, who play for Volyn. Both turned in a great performance. Theirs was a very correct behavior on the field. While we had a great many scoring chances. Shust has very well played today’s match - I guess I didn’t even see anything like that during his spell at Shakhtar. I also want to congratulate him on the performance he produced. My congratulations to the host team on claiming a point and their performance today. I am dissatisfied with some of my players, who have shown some amateur level instead of professional one.

- What kind of problems do you have with your leading players who want to go to top European clubs? With the same Adriano?
- We’ll see again when the season is over. He said that he had an upset stomach, and that it was hard for him to run.

FC Shakhtar