Patrick van Leeuwen: It was always interesting to watch Kryvbas play throughout the season

The head coach of Kryvyi Rih Kryvbas Patrick van Leeuwen analyzed the last UPL season and also shared his plans for the future.

- You led a team that lost important players and signed many newcomers compared to the previous season. What were the main challenges when building a team almost from scratch?

- Yes, compared to the previous season, there have been many changes: many new players have appeared, but the team also has young talented players. So the start of work on this project was interesting for me. Having assessed the positions in the team, the capabilities and qualities of the players from the point of view of the style I wanted to play, I took this offer very positively - and with interest.

- There are many foreign players in the team. How do you work in such conditions and how do you find the right approach to each of them?

- The foreign players adapt well. We are trying to teach them English. We are also moving towards using English more as a language of communication within the team. As for the rest, I try to explain to the players that they are coming to Ukraine, so they have to adapt to the Ukrainian mentality and style of play of the club. It is not the club that should adapt to each individual newcomer. It is the foreign players that should adapt to the style of play and culture within the club.

- How does this affect your work in the conditions of the limit on foreign players? Especially considering the relegation from the Cup due to the excess of foreigners on the field.

- The limit on foreign players is not the main issue. The main issue is the limit on Ukrainians. It is more interesting to watch when there are four young Ukrainians in the application. We are trying to build the team around this. We have been working on this from the very beginning. And at the end of the championship, already in the second round, we tried to use young Ukrainians even more actively, in particular academy graduates, to see if they are ready to play at the UPL level. Therefore, it was more important for us to know exactly how many Ukrainians we could put on the field.

- Not all foreign players were successful signings: Rojas, Borges, Bahia, Flores. Why do you think they failed to play for Kryvbas?

- I think, if we talk about your list, Borges showed at the beginning of the championship that he has the necessary qualities. Yes, Bahia and Flores did not become successful in our team. But I also think that they needed to show more desire to live up to the standards that we have in Kryvbas and withstand the necessary loads. Therefore, I do not think that they failed. Rather, they simply needed more time to adapt to our requirements.

- Kryvbas stands out in the championship with its vertical and open style of play. Why do you believe in this approach? Was it an adaptation to the existing players or were there other reasons?

- I believe that if there is a line for a forward pass, then you should pass forward. I do not play for the sake of possession. I want to move the ball forward as quickly as possible with controlled passes so that the team keeps it and minimizes the risk of losing it. But I prefer vertical football over horizontal. It creates open situations in the game because we are constantly moving forward.

As a result, it has become an attractive style of play, and Kryvbas is a team that is interesting to watch. In our matches, something is always happening, goals are scored and conceded in different situations. But it has always been interesting to watch our game.

- The defining feature of your team is a high defensive line, combined with trust in Willivald. How do you justify such a risk?

- The high defensive line appeared during pre-season training, when we saw that we often caught opponents offside. We wanted to continue using it. At certain moments, the line was even too high. But because we trusted this mechanism so much, it worked well. This not only created dangerous situations for our goal, but also led to a large number of offsides for the opponent.

Therefore, we continued to believe in it and work on the synchronicity of the defensive line in training. And it was not only about trusting Williwald, but also about trusting the entire line. At the beginning, Konate played there. In the second part of the season, Jones, Jan Jurcz was stable on the right, and on the left we used different players. We like this approach, it suits our style. If you want to play forward, you need to compress the space in order to get the ball back faster.

- As a result, your team took part in many spectacular matches with a large number of goals: against Dynamo, Epicenter, Poltava. Would it be fair to say that you would rather win 4:3 than 1:0?

- Yes, you can say that the score of 4:3 is also a good victory for me. I think that fans are more interested in watching such matches. Although at certain moments the coach would, of course, have preferred to win 4:0. But if you want to attack, it always creates a positive atmosphere in the team.

- Do you think that this style with its defensive risks can consistently produce results in the long term? Who inspired you to take this approach? Maybe Hansi Flick and Barcelona?

- I think we have already shown that this style produces results. Most of the goals we concede are due to individual mistakes - which lead to goals for the opponent. If we can minimise these mistakes, we will concede fewer goals. And if we take more of our chances, we will score more goals. So I think that in the long term this approach will provide stability and form a style of play that will become natural for the team. For many players, this was their first season or first matches at this level and at this pace.

As for inspiration, it is not only Hansi Flick. I think it is part of the Dutch football culture, the legacy of the era of total football - to play risky. And now it is also part of the Kryvbas style, which gives us a lot of opportunities in attack. At the same time, we will continue to work on the defensive component and pay more attention to it. But with young players it is not always possible to achieve maximum stability. Someone may think or react differently. Therefore, we will definitely work on this in the training process.

- Pressing and transition phases in defense are especially important in such a system, especially when the team does not manage to immediately return the ball. How important has Araujo's role become in these conditions?

- We work a lot on transitions both in attack and defense. And it is not only about Andrusva Araujo. I think Shevchenko and Zaderaka have also done a huge amount of work. In addition, we work on defensive transitions as a team action. This means that everyone has to participate. In some situations, all 11 players were involved, and this is what makes this aspect special and one of the key moments not only for defense, but also for attack.

- What role do intensity and fitness play in your game model? How do you work on these aspects?

- Intensity and fitness are built into our weekly training cycle. We try to do the necessary amount of running work every day. We strive to maintain the maximum possible intensity and improve our physical condition thanks to the very style of play that we practice in training. Therefore, every day we try to transfer the intensity and our tactical game model into the training process and purposefully improve them.

- In the winter, you lost several more players, including important Ukrainian players, whose departure affected your opportunities in the context of the cap. Have you discussed with the management the signing of experienced Ukrainian players? And do you expect similar conversations this summer?

- No, we have not discussed the signing of experienced players. We always say that we prefer young players. Personally, I also prefer them, because with them the question of intensity usually does not arise - they are ready to provide it. So if we talk about Ukrainian football players, then first of all we mean young ones. After Tverdokhlib left, we were looking for candidates, but we could neither sign the right players, nor find those who would match our style.

Therefore, at certain moments we involved guys from the academy - to give them a chance and at the same time always have four Ukrainians on the field. In some matches it was easier, in others it was more difficult. We also had Ukrainian football players like Shevchenko, Kamenskyi and Mulyk, who in the first part of the season mostly came on as substitutes. In the second part of the championship we wanted to give them more playing time.

- Who among them has made the most progress and who do you see as an important part of the team next season?

- As I said, Kamensky, Shevchenko and Mulyk got their chance in the second part of the season, playing both in the championship as a whole and against the league leaders. Therefore, next season they can also get more minutes to develop, because the rules do not change. Ukrainians should continue to be on the field, and we expect that the experience they gained this season will help them become more stable in their game next year.

- Is there a risk that Kryvbas will again be forced to sell key players this summer? Has the management discussed this possibility with you?

- I think we have already made good transfers now. Therefore, at the moment I do not see anyone leaving the team.

- What are the club's general plans for the summer transfer window? Which positions need reinforcement the most?

- We will see who we add to the squad and how we start the season. It will be interesting again. But at the same time, we still have many players who played in the last five matches. So we will continue to have an interesting team.

- During the season, you have repeatedly commented on the level of refereeing. Looking back, how would you generally assess the level of refereeing in Ukraine?

- There is too much difference between how one referee interprets episodes and how another does. Therefore, for me, stability in decision-making is more important, so that players and coaches understand what to expect. Now there is too much difference in the assessment of the same moments by different referees. The same applies to VAR.

- After the match with Poltava, you said that the opponent “does not play football”. How would you assess the overall level and entertainment of the championship? Is this product attractive to fans?

- I think you have seen these matches yourself. So I think you can answer this question yourself.

- What are your goals for next season? Are you thinking about fighting for the top 4?

- We are always looking up. We want to move forward, but we will do it in parallel with the development of the players and the team. If the team shows good football, I really believe in its success - because we have all the conditions to become stronger.

Media of FC "Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rihaccording to the materials UA. Tribuna