“How do you analyze this draw in Zagreb (27-27), which seems a good result?
We had a match that I would describe as solid. We controlled the game quite well in a context which is never easy, with a dangerous team, which has had very good results at home so far. We controlled the tempo, to ensure that the match did not get too heated. We didn’t want to make the ball too easy for them because they like to overwhelm the match. But the return match will be totally different.
Did you appreciate the attitude of your players?
Yes, we were present, even if everything was not perfect. We did the first part we had to do, now the hardest part remains, qualifying for the second leg. It’s going to be a long week, with a match against Chartres in the Championship in the meantime. Reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League is never easy.
Was this match the reaction you were expecting by stepping back from the group in recent days?
Those are words. I was present today, you saw me on the bench. I’ve been a little less involved in training lately but I’m doing my job completely. My job is to help the team win and there are different ways to do that. But I am very, very present.
“We are no longer in the Care Bears competition, we are entering the hard part, the direct elimination matches”
To hear the words of Valentin Porte, the captain, we have the feeling of a crisis, of a fracture.
No… If there was a crisis, we wouldn’t have this evening’s result. I’m not a partridge of the year. What interests me is that the players perform well and win. And I use every possibility to bring them to victory. There is no conflict, we continue to work together.
So everything possible includes poking them to make them react?
Now, we are no longer in the Care Bears competition, we are entering the hard part, the direct elimination matches. The semi-final of the Coupe de France (35-32 defeat against PSG), the round of 16 of the Champions League, it’s the real competition: you either qualify or you lose. So you use everything within your possibilities, the entire technical, tactical and psychological palette. »
2024-03-27 23:21:24
#present #assures #Patrice #Canayer #Montpellier #coach
