– My opinion of today`s match is the opposite of the disappointment I felt when we won our last match, – said Luciano Spalletti. – I was really happy with what I saw from Zenit today. I saw the Zenit that I like today. The guys were a little disappointed that they lost, of course, but we played this match after some very difficult physical conditioning, and very intense work at our practices. Nevertheless I saw real team spirit on the field, I saw good playing rhythm and good passing combinations. And I like that very much. I`m very satisfied this time. Two days ago we won the match buy played very poorly. Today we lost, but we played a very good match.
– How acceptable, in your opinion, are the rough tackles that happened during the match with Polonia? There was especially a lot of them in the second half…
– When people are playing in a tournament, when there`s a spirit of competition, the atmosphere is a little different than in a regular friendly match. The harshness was understandable and logical – the players didn`t want to lose.
– The team managed to implement those passing combinations in the match that it`s been practicing each day. Were you happy to see the results of your work in action so quickly?
– I think that`s the result of the fact that we`re following a general principle, the ideas that we profess at our practices. And when it works in the match later, that`s great. But that`s thanks to the players` actions, and the decisions that they take while on the field. The players, and their skills, always have the most important role in football. And if there`s some kind of idea that they can follow on the field, that only helps them.
