Mladen Bartulovic, one of the coaches of Zorya Luhansk, spoke to NV about the Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Ukraine match in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
- Ukraine will play Bosnia and Herzegovina. What are your expectations from the match?
- I expect a very difficult game. Because it's a playoff match, a fight for the next round. Two good teams. But I believe that Ukraine is the favourite. There will be a good atmosphere in Bosnia, the fans will support their team despite the problems the Bosnians have had recently. But the Ukrainians should have enough skill, quality and enthusiasm to go further.
- What are the Balkan countries like now? Compared to Ukraine, what is the difference?
- I think Croatia is very similar. They went through a war, people are very patriotic. The situation in Ukraine is the same now. Ukrainians have changed over these two years and have become very resilient. This game means a lot to all people from Ukraine. They just need to win here and eventually qualify for the European Championships. That's what I wish them.
- The Bosnian national team has four players from the Russian championship. Was it necessary to take players from there?
- I didn't even know that the Bosnians had four players from Orkestan. Now I know. I'm not surprised, especially after what their Serbian coach Savo Milosevic said. There's nothing to be surprised about, they have such a coach. He has such a position, such a choice.
- The population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is about the same as that of Kyiv. Can such a small national team beat a country ten times bigger?
- Yes, it is a very small country. But they have proved more than once that they have good players there. Individual players who can decide the game are Djeko, Pjanic... And others are very solid, they play in good clubs. Bosnians can surprise any team. They have reached the World Cup and historically, there are always good performers there.
- You were born in Bosnia. Tell us about life there, the mentality.
- Yes, I was born in Bosnia, back then it was Yugoslavia. We had a home there, but the war broke out and we had to leave. There was no point in staying, and as a result, our house was burnt down. The Balkan mentality? They are very hot-tempered. It will definitely be hot during the match. I haven't been to BiH for a very long time, 30 years.
- Predict your score in this match.
- I hope that the Ukrainian national team will be able to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in this game. My prediction is a 2-1 victory for the Ukrainians and a move on.
Nazariy Shmigil