I am proud. Of the team, the coaches, and our fans
You were really close. How much does it hurt?
"Of course, I´m sad. We knew we had it in us. It was clear right after half a minute on the pitch that we had great energy from the fans; the entire stadium was with us."
What was missing?
"It´s just about one small situation. We played well both defensively and offensively; it´s such a shame. We could have avoided the goal we conceded, I don´t know... But I´m very satisfied, full of energy from our entire team. Everyone gave everything they had, whether they played 90 minutes or came on as substitutes, and so did our coaches. The fans were amazing too. I´m very happy and proud to be part of this team."
What did the coach say to you after the match?
"We didn’t talk much right after the match. But as players, we fought, even though we knew it was going to be an extremely tough game. Maybe we deserved a bit more. It´s bitter."
You opened the scoring quickly, then hit the crossbar twice. What´s your view?
"The first situation started well; I had quite a bit of space around me. I told myself I would go there today to create chances, try to score goals, help the team. I had this feeling inside that in these tough moments, I had to step up and be the one to make a difference."
Scoring in the fifth minute boosted you, your teammates, and the fans. You couldn´t have started better, right?
"This was a great moment. The ball was bouncing a bit, so I had to jump with it. Then I hit it pretty cleanly, and I was incredibly excited to have scored so early in the game."
And there could have been more goals...
"I hit the crossbar from a set piece and also from another big chance. After that crossbar, I kept asking, why? Why on earth? I was angry. I kept repeating to myself, oh God, why? It could have dropped just a bit lower."
Was this your best performance for Slavia?
"Probably yes, one of my best. I played well, had several chances. Considering the goal and the chances I was involved in, that´s probably the case. But I could definitely improve some things off the ball. I´m proud of myself and the team. We have to build on this. This is the tempo we want to play at. We´ll take the positive things from this, that we put in such a performance against such a team."
You mentioned the fans who thanked you even though you didn´t advance to the Champions League. What do you say to that?
"A fantastic moment, maybe even the best I´ve experienced here. It´s incredible for me to play here. The fans drive me forward. Especially today, when we needed them the most, they were there for us. Every minute of the game. Even half a minute after we conceded the goal to make it 1-1, they didn´t stop supporting us. They were really great."
Will this incredibly painful experience help the team in the future?
"One hundred percent. It´s a dream for the team to play in the Champions League. If we had made it, it would have been fantastic. One day it will happen... But now we´re going to the Europa League, and there´s nothing we can do about it. We´ll learn from this. We´ll be stronger. We´ll play in the Europa League, so we have plenty of big matches ahead of us. It´s a great competition too. We want to win those big matches."
