Igor Jovicevic: The first Clasico was a dream for me

Shakhtar head coach Igor Jovicevic shared his emotions after the victory over Dynamo Kyiv.

– What are your impressions after the first derby with Dynamo in your career?
– I am happy and proud that the team does not stop, that the team is hungry and ready for any challenge. Football belongs to players, because it is they, who make decisions on a football field. What do I have to do with the fact that Zubkov scored against Real Madrid with an overhead kick, and then made himself remarkable with his another head moment and scored today too? Footballers make decisions, and I can only be proud of them. The boys give me motivation and inspiration to continue working with them, enjoying it and working even harder. The first Clasico was a dream for me. When I was the coach of Karpaty and Dnipro-1, I wanted to beat the grand, and now I want to oppose the grand adequately. The strongest won so far, and it should bring us joy, give us more confidence, but not self-confidence, to continue to work like this.

– Today, for the first time, you won the confrontation with Mircea Lucescu. How important is it to you? Before the match, did you think about personal struggle?
– Perhaps my answer will not suit you, but I did not play against Lucescu, it were Shakhtar, who played against Dynamo. The fact that the team gave all their strength on the football field makes me happy, proud, so I have a team with character. For the first 20 minutes there was a certain stiffness, the team felt mandrake, because in such responsible games you have no right to make a mistake. Dnipro-1 demolishes everything in their path, and we need to accept this challenge. Lucescu is a top coach, he's an absolute top, and I, as a young coach, want to repeat his achievements because he's a titled trainer who has won many trophies. Over the past games, he has taught me a lot: what mechanisms he uses in the game of his teams and what is needed for your team to be successful. However, I take some things not only from him, but also from other coaches, because you constantly note different moments for yourself. Then through the spectacle of your idea, you make a set of models of the game that we saw today on the football field. We can say that Lucescu helped me improve myself as a coach.

– Are Shakhtar now in their top form or they can improve it? Have the challenges in the Champions League changed?
– I don't know if it's their top form now. Actually, I do not believe either in top of periodization, nor in top of form, nor in top of life. You should always be focused on the present and give the maximum for today. You model your tomorrow today. It's easy to play Clasico, but before this match there was so much work and training that no one sees. You can't just press a button and beat Dynamo – it's impossible, so winning is the fruit of our labor. Talent multiplies the concentration and motivation that the team demonstrate. Of course, our players are very young and talented, and I have room to grow, especially in the Champions League. I have only played four matches in the Champions League during my career. Hunger and synergy of the coaching staff, football players and personnel make us one, and we become stronger. We feel support of the fans, for as far as I can see, they are with us. I want to thank them through matches like this, especially the fan who made the first touch on the ball today. All Croats, my family and me have seen the whole situation through newspapers, television, and we know about it. He is the fighter, Ukraine should be proud of him. I got goosebumps when I saw and recognized him. On the football field, we must fight so that while watching our matches, the warriors could be proud of our team, because among them there are many Shakhtar fans.

– Rate Mykhailo Mudryk’s game, because it was his goal that returned advantage of your team after the missed penalty and Dynamo’s score.
– We need victory of the team, but factors of a victory include “personalization and face of the team.” It defines the material we are made of to break the game in our favour. If we consider the Champions League match with RB Leipzig, after the conceded goal in the first attack, after 10 passes, we score again. We conceded in the game with Celtic, but came back also. We have done it many time, today’s match is not an exception. If you are able to come back at the full stadium in Leipzig, when you cannot even hear each other, then it is what is called “team personalization”. Instead of dropping after the conceded goal, you go and make the score 2-1. Yes, my players are not experienced yet, but they have a mentality of the winners. We have to improve ourselves and grow as a team through such matches like today against Dynamo. The leaders give us confidence. Of course, there will be losses and it will be sad for me to sit here and explain to you why we lost. Now we caught the moment and we don’t want to let it go, because you live and put the work daily for such moments, but it is important not to fear the success. Today it felt like we were the favourites, but there are no favourites in the Clasico. Real Madrid beat everyone last year, and Barcelona were in crisis, but the Madrid side lost 0-4, so there are no favourites. Today we showed that now we are better than Dynamo.

– Shakhtar focused on control over the ball previously, but now your team gives the initiative to the opponents in matches against strong rivals. Can we say that the new style of Shakhtar involves rejection of total control, provided that the result is not affected?
– Yes, I do not want to be the slave of the ball control, one formation, one system and play style. Style is what you see. It is the team fighting for the result. There is no star, but the star team. As a coach, I would like to control the game during all four phases: when you possess the ball, when you do not possess the ball, when you counter-attack and the way you react on dispossession. There are moments when the opponent team play perfectly, rebuild, play between the lines, and you have to endure, show your will. Play organization is control over the game even without the ball. We had 39 percent of possession in the game against Celtic, but we used that 39 percent so effectively it looked like we were having control. We had the same situation in the match against Real Madrid. They have 60 percent of possession, but it looked like we were dominating, switching from defence to attack, playing between the lines, although our possession were 20 percent less comparing with Real Madrid. Control over the ball does not mean that you play better.

– Why it was decided to hold the match in Lviv and not in Krakow or London?
– I don’t have an answer to this question.

– Did you let Mudryk, Stepanenko and Sudakov to rest because the team have matches against Kolos and Minaj ahead? Do you plan to use rotation in the upcoming games as well?
– Every next match is the most important. Currently, game against Kolos is a key one for us, we have no right to lose any points. Again, Dnipro-1 demolish everything in their path and we have to be on top. Tomorrow we will have a recovery training session, although during the normal microcycle it has to be a day off, however we must act now, because match against Kolos is around the corner. We will look at physical and psychological condition of the boys, because the Clasico and the match against Real Madrid take a lot of emotions. We decided to use the same lineup to see, how two games in a row are going to look like. It is the approach of the champions. Great clubs – PSG, Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid – play and win every three days. We want and dream to make Shakhtar such a club and we will go this way gaining experience. I want the guys to feel the stress, because you can grow and show creativity only through stress. If you are comfortable, you will do nothing. It is not only in football, but in life as well. Let it be stress to cause panic, fear, but we should not be afraid. There is no courage without fear. Game against Kolos is very important, then we will think about Minaj and Celtic.