Former Vorskla head coach Mykola Pavlov recalled Fernandinho's suspension in the game with Shakhtar (1-0) in the final of the Ukrainian Cup 2008/09.
Nikolay Pavlov"We were lucky that referee Godulyan had a very cool game. There was a deserved suspension of Fernandinho. We found ourselves in the majority and, of course, it helped us a lot.
I remember reading Fernandinho's interview after the game. He was asked a question about the penalty, asked to comment on the referee's decision. Fernandinho replied: "I was removed from the pitch not by the referee, but by Pavlov. He ran onto the pitch and showed that I had broken the rules."
To be honest, I don`t really remember what I said at the installation before the game. But I read interviews of many of my guys who told me what I said: "Guys, many of you have families, you have earned some money, flats, drive nice cars. But you don't have titles - without which a footballer can't consider his career successful. Neither can the coaches. Titles last a lifetime. You'll have something to be proud of in front of your parents, your children, your future grandchildren."
It must have had an effect on them, too, if they remembered those words in detail. I don't think any of them ever had a match like this again, where the fate of the title was decided. This is the most important match in the life of most of the team.
"Shakhtar were the strongest then. For us, among others. The key thing in that match was Shakhtar's underestimation of our team. They had already come with one trophy. They were confident that everything would go smoothly here. This influenced their mood for the game," Pavlov said.
