Acting head coach of Kolos from Kovalivka, Ruslan Kostiushin commented on his team’s victory over Shakhtar Donetsk (4:2) in the 25th round match of the Ukrainian championship.
Ruslan Kostiushin— In your first coaching tenure, Kolos managed to take points from both giants — from Dynamo and from Shakhtar. Saturday’s win over the miners, which was the first loud victory in your next appearance in Kovalivka, should be considered special?
— I don’t even know what to say about that. We need three points in any match right now. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is — a giant or not a giant. You fight to stay in the elite. When you step onto the field, a draw in such a match would be a happiness.
— Kolos scored four goals against the miners, which even European giants don’t manage so often in matches with them.
— It’s a coincidence.
— What was the most difficult in the match against Shakhtar?
— For me, it’s Kevin. We focused on him, as well as on Sudakov. We managed with Sudakov, but Kevin still scored one goal.
— How successful were you in "shutting off the oxygen" to this Brazilian?
— Not much. In the second half, we completely closed him off, but there were problems in the first half.
— After the match, Shakhtar’s head coach Marino Pusic expressed dissatisfaction with the refereeing — in particular, with the canceled goal in favor of Kolos when the score was 1:2. How did you see that episode?
— At that moment, I didn’t see it; I watched it later, after the game. Every time you review it with a cool head, it’s clear: a clean offside. Moreover, you can score a goal with your shoulder. The offside position is always determined by the body and with what you can hit the goal — with your head, shoulder, foot, knee. So if Shakhtar’s head coach was unhappy, I can be unhappy too — that they reviewed the VAR moment for so long.
— How did you manage to restructure the team’s game in a relatively short time and instill confidence in the players?
— (Smiles). It’s a secret. To be honest, it’s probably the players themselves who stepped back a bit from their ego.
— Do you agree with the statement that Kolos is Ruslan Kostiushin’s team?
— Here, I’m not being evasive — this is indeed my team. After all, together with the club’s president Andriy Zasukh, we created it.
— The aforementioned statement worked more than three and a half years after your departure from Kolos. It was worth returning — and everything fell into place, as if all the puzzle pieces came together.
— It’s too early to talk about anything since the task still needs to be completed. Therefore, waving blades is inappropriate right now. I can say that I returned to my family. What to call it — I don’t know. Call it whatever you want — the main thing is that I’m home.
— Are there increased bonuses for the victory over Shakhtar?
— No. The thing is, we have no bonuses at all. And there was no stimulation of any kind. We have our own agreements in the club, which I expressed a desire not to stray from. We reviewed the bonus system for victories, which I asked Andriy Anatoliyovych (the club president Zasukh — ed.). He agreed to my conditions, so we play without bonuses.
— What about the bonus system that is applied in our football?
— There will be a bonus if we stay in the Premier League.
— After Saturday’s match, the interest from richer clubs in Vladyslav Veletnia, who made three assists and scored one goal, must have significantly increased?
— Well, I don’t know… I have a problem now: how to bring him from space? Veletnia flew somewhere to Mars, and on Tuesday we have the first training after two days off. So I’m thinking about how to bring him back to the family. (Smiles).
Maxim Kovalenko
