Former footballer of Donetsk Shakhtar, Alexander Sopko, shared his thoughts on the current issues facing his former team, particularly touching on the recent defeat of the miners against Kovalivka’s Kolos (2:4) in the 25th round of the Ukrainian championship.
Alexander Sopko. Photo — V. Perehniak— "Kolos" actually dealt a decisive blow to the already dying title intrigue. And at the same time, it cannot be called a random victory for the Kovalivka team; unlike Shakhtar, they fought hard, and there was some meaning and purpose in their actions, which cannot be said about Marino Pushich’s team. So why, after the Champions League game against Brest gave hope that Shakhtar finally broke through, did everything return to square one, and the miners are now where they are?
— Most likely, there are several reasons that, on the one hand, speak to the shortcomings of Shakhtar, and on the other hand — to its potential. On one hand, the team has quite a few qualified players who can and want to show quality play.
The other thing is that Shakhtar produces really quality matches sporadically, sometimes even within a single match, it does this in segments. And the fact that they cannot demonstrate such play over a long distance — this precisely points to the work of the coaching staff. Coaching work is quite a thankless task because sometimes you have to cut deep, sometimes — argue with players, forcing them to do what they do not like or cannot do. And in this regard, in my opinion, Pushich is not the coach that Shakhtar needs today. He has little experience as a head coach. As an assistant, he might understand some specific things well, but being a real leader of the process within the team is probably not up to him.
Shakhtar, having such potential, needs a person who can squeeze that potential out of both the main squad and the play over the long distance of the championship. Pushich does not fit the current tasks of Shakhtar in this respect.
In such a situation, the team plays according to mood — can play for 10-15 minutes, then stop and cease to execute tactical tasks, violating discipline. All this gradually leads to results such that "Kolos" — I don’t want to offend this team, but it’s hard to remember when they scored four goals in a game — scores that many against Shakhtar, completely outplaying them tactically.
— And at the same time, "Kolos" did not "sink" in a situation when they quickly lost their comfortable advantage.
— The current Shakhtar’s game is so convenient for any opponent that a team with any composition of players, with the right organization and the right attitude towards the struggle and hard work, can easily set up counterplay.
If we analyze all of Shakhtar’s games in the spring part of the championship — all teams had counter-chances, without any special tactical tricks, without any particularly strong individual players, but simply building a defense competently and not being afraid to break into counterattacks. As a result — Shakhtar immediately makes mistakes, allowing the opponent to play. Control without intensity, without pressing, without moving forward — it is doomed. This is now clearly observable in the current Shakhtar. Ball control for the sake of control — it holds no threat. A large square of 11 on 11, without the desire to speed up, take risks, or make a sharp pass. Everything is so slow, refined. In such a game, Shakhtar’s players fall asleep faster than opponents tire. And any attack from the opponent is if not deadly, then very dangerous.
Why Pushich does not pay attention to such moments — I do not know. Maybe he does not want to quarrel with the players, maybe he just cannot force them to comply with his requirements. Or maybe he just blindly believes in such his tactic.
— Or maybe he just understands that he is playing out the current season, after which they will probably ask him to leave and he simply has no motivation to squeeze anything else out of the team?
— Perhaps. Most likely, he just wants to wait for the finish, earn his money, and leave. But I believe the problem is much broader — the direction of development. And here are more questions for the club management. What was relevant 10-15 years ago, playing with total control, or as it’s also called, beautiful football, is no longer in the first place.
Beautiful football, in my opinion — is the one that fans like. If it does not evoke emotions, then it is not beautiful — it is sour and boring. Earlier, such a game brought results and was liked by fans, but no progressive development took place, and the team began to adhere to the stereotype that ball control is our everything. All European teams that adhered to this principle — they developed in terms of intensity, speed, rationalism, pressing, playing one-on-one.
It cannot be said that Shakhtar has completely stood still in this regard. A step forward has undoubtedly been made. But everything quickly turned into stereotypes, and from them — into complexes. The team, the coaches — they are simply captive to these complexes and are afraid to offer something new. A hint of this idea to simplify the game, to make it more rational was there from Van Leeuwen, but it was not accepted at all by either the players or the management. And the coach failed to convey, explain, and enforce this idea.
— Returning to Pushich, do you feel that he regularly kept players in a warm bath, creating just sanatorium conditions for them, while other teams worked hard, looking for any opportunity to train, try something, with the same juniors or teams from lower leagues?
— The Shakhtar squad, by quality, by price and experience of players, is much stronger than some clubs. Just look at the championships of other countries, at the intensity of play in England, where teams have to play every two days, considering all the tournaments. But they still find some method of the same physical and psychological recovery.
Unfortunately, our current doomed championship, in terms of self-giving, level — does not compare to foreign ones. There was some tension and, accordingly, tone in the fall, due to European cups.
But the paradox of Shakhtar turned out to be that, preparing for official matches for two weeks after vacation, the team looked much more interesting than it plays in the middle of the season. Doesn’t that imply a failure in the training process? Probably it does. The team is not ready either physically for the fight or psychologically for resisting the opponent, and even the discipline is far from smooth. It feels like the players come out just to play with the ball, to hold it, and whatever happens, happens. And what happens, to put it mildly, is not good. Any cross from the flank — panic. We cannot get the ball from the goalkeeper when we play it out, everything ends up with the goalkeeper becoming the best playmaker.
And there are many such moments. Professionalism — is to do your job well through the inability, at the limit of strength. And not just when there’s a spark.
— What do you think are the real ways out of this situation?
— First of all — to understand what kind of football is needed, in which direction to move. Perhaps some players are not ready for new football, are not motivated. They need to part ways while they still have value. And then under a clearly defined task find the coaching staff. In terms of self-giving, in terms of discipline, many of our Ukrainian coaches look more interesting than Pushich. We need to look for a coach who will find keys to team play and to each player.
— In the upcoming clásico, can Shakhtar still offer something to Dynamo?
— Definitely yes. This is a principled game, regardless of what state either team is in and where they may or may not be located. This is more than just a game for three points. And it can turn out to be a fierce battle for both the spectators and the players themselves. Well, for the latter, such matches are a great opportunity to declare themselves once again, to raise their value and self-esteem in their own eyes. And Pushich will surely want to slam the door loudly.
