Thehead coach of Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, Yuriy Vernydub, summed up the results of the half-year in an interview with UA-Football.
Yuriy Vernydub- The past year has brought you a range of different feelings. What was more positive or negative?
- Given the way the team played and the results it achieved in the spring part of the last championship and before the winter intermission of the current one, it was only positive. However, in the spring matches, we failed to get into the top five, which we were aiming for. We were just a little bit short. However, I have already said that this is the first year of our joint work, in which we fought until the last round for this top five. But it is what it is. As for the autumn segment of the current championship, we didn't start it the way we would have liked - we lost to Oleksandriya. But the guys did well - they reacted appropriately, going the distance in the next sixteen rounds more or less steadily.
- The opening defeat away to Oleksandriya seems to have only spurred your players on?
- I think so. This is one of those games in which I had a lot of negativity. After all, we lost out of the game. But thanks to the players and the coaching staff, we reacted quickly enough. Then we had the results we wanted in the championship.
- After losing in Oleksandriya, Kryvbas found itself at the top of the league table after a few rounds and hasn't left it since. Is it difficult to stay afloat for such a long time?
- To put it briefly: it's easier to achieve something than to keep what you've achieved.
- In the first round, your team played a series of seven unbeaten matches, with five wins and two draws. So the home defeat to Rukh Lviv after this period came as a surprise. How would you explain it?
- The team played well overall, but Rukh is an opponent who has been playing very good football this season. I'm not even afraid of this word, saying "good". "Rukh is a young and ambitious team. You can see the coaching developments that bring results. I can't say that the Lviv team outplayed us in this match. Yes, we lost 1-3, but having led 1-0 in just five minutes, somehow it happened that we conceded three goals. Well, it happens in football. And I repeat: it's good that our team reacted appropriately to this defeat.
- Rukh proved to be a good side, as football fans have seen more than once...
- It is true. I really like the game of this team, its tactical actions. If Rukh doesn't lose the players it has and gets stronger, it can claim high places. The guys who are playing in the Lviv team now were in the team in the last championship. And the youngsters who are showing their best are the players who have done well in the UEFA Youth Champions League. And this is not surprising. I am very impressed with Rukh's head coach Vitaliy Ponomarev, who knows how to work well. So I can confidently say about Rukh: it is a truly coaching team.
- I'm probably not mistaken if I assume that in addition to losing three points in the game against Rukh, you felt disappointed after two more matches at home - against Dynamo Kyiv and Zorya Luhansk?
- Yes, it was. "We lost to Dynamo 0-2, which we really didn't want to happen. But again, this is football. Especially as we conceded a very fast ball and then were left in the minority in the twelfth minute. Dynamo beat us with our own weapons, which we used to play against them before. The opponent had a very 'low' defence, Dynamo did not press, waiting for us to make a mistake. The ball was cleared and the goal came immediately after our 'standard'. And then there was Beskorovainyi's sending off and a missed goal. Although we lost 0-2, I can say that it was not our worst game. We looked very good in the minority. If we had managed to convert the chance we had at the end of the first half and the teams had gone into the break with the score 1-2, I am sure the result would have been slightly different. However, it is what it is. We have to admit it, and I don't see anything wrong with that. After this defeat, the guys reacted correctly again and continued to gain points. As for the match with Zorya, whatever happens, they are a good team. I like them a lot, especially now, when Yuriy Koval is leading them. Yuriy Koval and I used to work together at Zorya. He was my assistant, although he is older than I. I know this man well, and I can say that he is capable of building a team. There is no doubt that the team he leads will be well prepared physically and will play 'vertical' football. So, in our match with Zorya, we were leading 2-0, but in the end we drew 2-2. Although, to be honest, we could have lost at the end of the match. But I still have an unpleasant aftertaste in my soul, because we should have won it. If Kozhushko and Dibango had scored with the score 2-1, everything would have been completely different. Unlike us, the opponent took advantage of their chances, and shortly before the final whistle, Gorbach even spared us. There is nothing to be done: there are still mistakes. So we will work during the winter interval to prevent them from happening again.
- The refereeing issue has become particularly acute in this championship. How long do you think football Ukraine will have to wait for the UAF Referees Committee to be in order?
- You know, this is exactly the topic I don't want to talk about the least. After what happened in the opening match of the championship in Oleksandriya, in which we lost 0-1, I said that I would not look at it at all and talk about it. Let the leaders of our football and all the people responsible for refereeing pay attention to this topic. You have probably noticed that not once since that unfortunate game with Oleksandriya have I been publicly outraged or reacted in any other way to the arbitration. I told myself "no" - and that was it.
- Kryvbas is second only to Dynamo in terms of goals scored. Does this mean that you have no complaints about the attacking players?
- I cannot say that, because as they say, defence begins with attack. In football, there is no such thing as a separate defence and attack. We all attack together and defend together. As for the complaints, I will say this: they have always been, are and will be. The most important thing is to respond to them correctly and analyse each game, showing my guys where the mistakes were so that they can respond effectively and avoid them in the future.
- Out of 31 effective shots, the strikers scored only nine. Isn't it too little for the players in this line?
- I think it is. Of course, I would like more. But what we have is what we have, so we have something to work on. We need to make efforts to convert at least sixty to seventy per cent of our chances.
- What can you say about the newcomers who joined Kryvbas in the summer transfer period?
- We did a good job in the selection process. Those players who joined us really strengthened the team - both in terms of play and other factors. I am satisfied with all the newcomers who played in the autumn part of the championship.
- One of the representatives of your team's foreign legion, defender Ivan Dibango, played all 17 matches of the autumn part of the championship from bell to bell. It seems that, unlike other legionnaires, the Cameroonian has fitted in with Kryvbas' playing ensemble most effectively?
- This is not surprising, because he was the first to join the team. I think that Dibango more or less understands what the coaching staff wants from him and what he needs to improve his skills with each match he plays. He really fitted in well with our game and is now the team's leader among foreigners. However, I can also mention Bizimana, Ilic, and Po, who was treated for a year, but is beginning to repay our attention and help with his game. In the second-round match against Oleksandriya, Poe scored one of the goals that contributed to our 2-1 victory.
- There are rumours circulating that Dibango is in the sphere of interest of other clubs. Is it really true?
- Yes. But so far, I have not heard any concrete offers for him. When it comes to this, then we can talk about it.
- How do the legionnaires react to the rocket and drone attacks on Kryvyi Rih?
- All the guys who play for Kryvbas are used to it and have no problems with air raids and explosions. Since last year, we have been in Kryvyi Rih and we are still there. We have been working as we have been working. We have no other option. And we do not want to play anywhere else. After all, we are Kryvbas (Kryvyi Rih), so we have to work and play in Kryvyi Rih, in front of our fans.
- Which match of the autumn league season satisfied you as a coach to the fullest?
- There are many of them, so it is difficult to single out one or two. There was a good game against Zorya in the first round, when we won 3-1 away. There was a very good game against Shakhtar, in which our team lost 0-2, 1-3, but eventually drew 3-3. It is also worth mentioning the match with the same Oleksandriya at the beginning of the second round. We were 0-1 down at first, but made a comeback and won 2-1. All those matches we won were won on character and with a great desire. And that's great! I understand that what we have achieved now will be difficult to maintain in the spring. I told the guys about this in the dressing room immediately after the match with Zorya. The thirteen rounds left to play in the current championship will be like thirteen finals for Kryvbas.
- Which players will Kryvbas fans not see in the spring part of the season?
- All those who were in the squad will remain. Unless there are some spot perturbations. However, it is too early to talk about it. When we get together after the holidays, then we can say something about it. To be honest, I haven't analysed anything since the end of the autumn season. A little later, closer to the New Year, my coaching staff and I will sit down and draw conclusions about our entire tournament journey. Then we will understand what we need to do next. Anyway, on the selection front, we are constantly working, looking at potential newcomers and analysing their qualities. If we have the opportunity, Kryvbas will have some additions.
- On which positions?
- I don't look at positions. I look for a player who can really help us. Whether it's a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder or striker, it doesn't matter. No one will ever give up a good player, you know that very well. And even more so when the player is versatile or able to change roles. Sometimes we take a player as a defender, and he plays as a midfielder. It all depends on his quality and desire to play. We'll see how it goes, we'll figure it out.
- What criteria will you use to select your sparring partners at the training camp?
- I always want to play with strong opponents. With teams that have a name and look good in their national championships. I understand that these will be foreign clubs. And the stronger the opponent, the better for Kryvbas. We come out of the holidays on 8 January, we will work for one week. If everything goes well, we will go to the training camp in Spain.
- How long will you stay there?
- We are planning to go to Alicante for a month, as the Ministry of Sport gives us permission. We will work in Spain for two weeks, take two or three days off, and then continue working again. The only thing is that during our stay abroad we will change our location, moving from one hotel to another after the first training camp. We don't want the guys to get bored.
- What style of Christmas will you celebrate?
- I am Ukrainian, so I will celebrate like all my compatriots on 25 December. It's better to do what the rest of the world does than what our damned enemies do. Those who to this day say that they are our... brothers. But we have no "brothers" now!
- Where are you planning to celebrate Christmas and New Year?
- We will celebrate Christmas in Kyiv with my wife, children and grandchildren. And for the New Year we will go to Zaporizhzhia. This is a holiday that, despite the hard times, should be celebrated in your own home. We plan to do this with my wife Lesya, inviting our close friends. Those who are still in Zaporizhzhya, helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We share the same thoughts and life with them. We will all wait for the Victory together, and we will certainly achieve it.
Vyacheslav Kulchitskiy
