Interview of Sabah’s Serbian defender Bojan Letic with Futbolinfo.az
– Could you share your thoughts on both UEFA Europa League matches against Celje (2:3, 3:3)? What prevented Sabah from advancing to the next stage?
– I’m not surprised that Celje reached the quarterfinals of the Conference League last season, they’re a very good team. They have a system, and you know exactly what each player needs to do on the pitch, and that system works well for them. The head coach has been leading the team for 2-3 years. I say this with confidence because I’ve spoken with Kvesic and Nieto – I played with one in the national team and with the other in Spain. After every match, whether it’s a win or not, there’s a 24-hour window: joy, happiness, euphoria or sadness, depression, frustration. But once those 24 hours pass, we leave all that behind, reflect, and move forward. Because we’re professionals. Remember, people are remembered by their last match, and all the good things are quickly forgotten.
– We didn’t see you in the starting lineup for either match. How would you explain that?
– It’s the head coach who decides who starts. Each of us wanted to get past Celje. Maybe the goal we conceded in the final minutes of the first game was decisive, but it’s hard to say. Things must be said as they are: if the opponent is better, you shake their hand and congratulate them. Now we must keep our heads high. We have another match ahead of us. We need to prepare as best we can and do everything to progress in the Conference League.
– In the Conference League, you’ll face Petrocub. How do you evaluate your chances? Can Sabah be considered the favorite in this pairing?
– It’s hard to say anything definite, because we don’t know Petrocub very well. As far as I know, they played in the main round of the Conference League last year, so they’re definitely a good team. I always consider the chances to be 50/50. We have to believe in ourselves, we’re a quality team and should focus on what we do, not on who the opponent is. I believe we’ll get a positive result.
– What are your initial impressions of the new head coach Valdas Dambrauskas? Do you think his time at Sabah will be successful?
– Our new head coach has brought fresh energy to the team in this past month. I like his approach to football, his ideas, vision, and direction. Of course, we still need time to fully absorb everything. But I believe we’ll be successful with him.
– What about the new transfers? Have they added strength to the team?
– I like the new signings. I think they’ll be very useful to us. The main reason is that they’ve brought a new energy we were lacking.
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