Famous Ukrainian coach Yuriy Bakalov told Team1 in an interview what he thinks ahead of the group stage match between Zorya and Maccabi in the Conference League.
Yuriy Bakalov- Yurii Mykhailovych, do Zorya's recent misfires in the league give you cause for optimism ahead of the Conference League game against Maccabi?
- Valerii Kryventsov has taken over Zorya relatively recently. He has a lot of interesting ideas. Therefore, I would attribute these misfires to the transition period, the team is adapting to the requirements of the new coach. As for the upcoming match, I believe that the Luhansk team has very good chances of a positive result in the confrontation with the Israelis. In any case, Zorya's performance is encouraging.
- Because of the war in the country, Maccabi has not played official matches for a month. Is this good for the Ukrainian team?
- Any downtime in the competition is negative. "Maccabi has no game tone, and all sorts of friendly matches cannot be compared to European Cup matches. Therefore, in this regard, Luhansk have an advantage.
- In the Premier League, Zorya need to get out of the basement of the standings, but at the same time, if they defeat Maccabi, Valerii Kryventsov's men will have good prospectsfor the European campaign. What will be the emphasis?
- I'm not inside the team, so I can't say for sure (smiles). But, in my opinion, the coaches will not divide the competition. The group round of the Conference League is a fast-moving tournament, and each victory or draw brings not only profit to the club but also rating points to the country's treasury. "Zorya will cling to this chance. There is still time to make up for lost time in the league, there will be a winter break ahead, so it's too early to sprinkle ashes on your head.
- What is your prediction for the Zorya vs Maccabi match ?
- I want to believe that the Luhansk team will do well. I'm not much of a prognosticator, but I think the Ukrainian team will win by one goal. This is quite enough to break away from the Israelis in the standings.
Serhiy DEMIANCHUK
