RUSSIA – BULGARIA

Quaterfinal

January 15th, 2017; Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex, 2000 spectators

Best players: Veber, Bastunov

Post match comments

Mikhail Galaktionov, Head coach of team Russia:

– We showed good football and we are happy with a win. Now we need to focus our thoughts on a semi-final. We need to recover and to continue working in the same way.

– Didn’t you think that the opponent was not corresponding to the level of a quarter-final?

– It was not me who held the draw (smiling). In any case, Bulgaria finished second in their group. I guess it was us who did not let them show the level of football that they counted on.

– You team got four wins out of four and did not concede a single goal. Are you happy with everything or is there anything you’d like you team to work on?

– There are nuances, of course, and we are analyzing our mistakes after each match. The break between matches is short, that’s why we can only spend spare time on theoretical debriefings and hope that the players correct themselves. I am speaking about our play in defense, attack build-up and interaction between the footballers. When we are watching and analyzing matches, we see a lot of mistakes. As I told you, we gathered on the 3rd of January and managed to hold just few sessions. Despite this, I see the players catch everything fast that speaks of their capability to learn.

– Can you explain why you chose Dmitry Veber as the man of match in your team?

– It’s not about scoring goals or making assists. Our defense and midfield also played well today. In our view, Veber was making the right decisions and moves and made a big contribution into the final result.

– You used all the substitutions by the 74th minute. Wasn’t this risky?

– The score was comfortable, and I substituted players who already had yellow cards choosing to keep them safe for the next match. Those who went in are qualified as well, and they at least did not spoil anything.

– Will you be training penalty shots before the semi-final?

– Just one training will scarcely influence anything especially given the fact that it is psychology that is the most important factor for the shoot-out. I think that those players who possess strong nerves and higher class will take the penalty shots. At the same time we will certainly try to achieve necessary result during the regulation time.

Viktorio Pavlov, Head coach of team Bulgaria:

– I would like to thank our players for the game today. We didn’t manage to bring the strongest squad to this tournament, and the goals we conceded today were quite easy. I was telling the players that Russia was a very strong team when we were preparing for the match. And I thank them once again for what they have shown today.

– It’s the second time when you’re telling us that you did not get all the strongest players for the Granatkin Memorial. Why did this happen? If your team would have had optimal squad, could you count on a win against Russia?

– Unfortunately, I still don’t know the reasons why so many clubs did not let their players come to this tournament to play for the national team. If we had better squad, we would certainly be performing much better.

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