A big night coming up for Hajduk.
On Thursday, Hajduk will play one of the most important matches in recent years, which many say is the opportunity of the lifetime for this generation of players. If Hajduk qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, it will see a significant financial gain, and will also get a chance to make its mark on the European scene and increase the value of its footballers, reports Index.hr on August 26, 2015.
The day before the match, Hajduk’s coach Damir Burić said he was confident that his team will play in the Europa League. “I think yesterday’s training session went very well. The guys are ready, they want to play and cannot wait for the match to finally begin. We have no injuries, so we will play against Slovan with our best players. To be honest, I personally also cannot wait for the game to start and would like that I don’t have to wait for more than thirty hours. My players feel the same.”
“However, we have to very patient, and at the same time, we have to attack and be constantly active in their half of the pitch, because Slovan is a team which waits for counter attacks and is very dangerous from set pieces”, said Burić.
It is quite possible that the winner will be decided from the penalty spot, but Burić said that penalty shootouts cannot be simulated before the match, because it is different to shoot penalties at a training session and in front of thirty thousand fans. “Yes, we are ready for any scenario. We have talked about all sorts of possibilities and the team is familiar with all the possible options. But, for some things, such as a penalty shootout, you cannot prepare yourselves. We can practice them a hundred times, but you cannot simulate the psychological framework. I only hope that the fans will be patient with us and that they will support us, because I have a plan to beat Slovan.”
Asked if this was the most important match of his career, Burić said that he took part in a number of important matches, especially those in the Champions League. “I have worked as an assistant in a club which fought for entry into the Bundesliga, and we made it. Furthermore, I have worked at Bayer Leverkusen when they were in a very difficult group with Real Madrid, Valencia and Genk. These were all important matches. But, of course, this match has a special place in my heart and I realize how much it would mean to the club and the players. Hajduk is still a big club and it is up to us to prove it.”
