Returning to reality, Skerla wants a different scenario: “Miracles often do not repeat”

After returning from Tbilisi with a three-goal deficit and looking doomed, “Žalgiris” made history a week ago that resonated even across Europe.

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Andrius Skerla’s trainees pierced the “Dinamo” goal with seven precise shots and advanced to the third stage of the UEFA Conference League with an overall score of 7:5.

But the Žalgiris players will have no chance to catch their breath.

Today afternoon, the “Hajduk” team has already arrived in Vilnius – the struggling Croatian football giant.

The club, boasting the largest fan base in a football-crazed country, was once a major force in Croatian, former Yugoslav, and even European football.

“Hajduk” played three times in the UEFA Champions League (formerly European Cup) quarterfinals, and among its international victims were such famous names as PSV Eindhoven, London’s Tottenham Hotspur, Amsterdam’s Ajax, London’s Arsenal, and Milan’s Inter.

However, in recent decades Split has been in agony, annually rolling the same Sisyphus stone – trying to reclaim the Croatian championship title, which it has not held since the 2004-2005 season.

The curse also grips “Hajduk” in the European arena – although it competes annually in UEFA tournament qualifiers, the Split club has not been able to reach the group stage of either the Europa or Conference League for 15 years.

All this – despite the fact that “Hajduk” spends about 30 million euros per year, which is at least six times the budget of “Žalgiris,” which has just over 4 million euros.

The clear gap between the teams is also shown by “Transfermarkt” data on player values – “Hajduk” players are valued at 33.7 million euros, while “Žalgiris” players are only worth 7.5 million euros.

Rokas Pukštas, who grew up in a Lithuanian family across the Atlantic and represents “Hajduk,” is valued at 6 million euros and has been linked for several years with even more famous European football names.

Despite this, “Žalgiris” is ready to continue the agony of the club with a 115-year history.

“We had a good week after the last match. When the team wins, the players recover faster. We had enough time to do that and prepare for the next game,” said A. Skerla. “Hajduk” awaits – a serious challenge, but we play at home, in front of full stands. We know what kind of opponent is coming, we will be ready.”

– After the last match, you mentioned that you were in Split for an internship and saw everything up close. What did you see there, how big is the club?

– Yes, the paradox is that when Valdas Dambrauskas was still working, we went for an internship, and Rolandas (Džiaukštas, A. Skerla’s assistant – ed.) was with us. We joke that it was an internship, and now we will have to do practice. A very big club, with a large group of fans. We had to attend both matches and training sessions, to see the aura that exists in that stadium. It is something incredible how people love football, that club. The impression was great.

– You started the first two Conference League rounds away, where it is often said that even a draw is a positive result. Now you start at home, so with what mentality will you enter the match – will you desperately seek victory, or will another result suffice?

– Victory is always good when you play at home. I would like us not to get into a situation like playing against Tbilisi “Dinamo,” where the first match did not go well. Maybe the ending was happy, we created a miracle, but I would like it to be a bit different, so there wouldn’t be such matches where we go to the second leg as a formality. I think miracles can be created, we created one, but miracles do not happen that often. We need to understand that “Hajduk” is a team of a completely different caliber. Losing by such a result, chances and opportunities would be really small. It would be very hard to expect miracles.

– You probably experienced an emotional peak after last week’s miracle. What methods did you use to bring the players back down to earth, to reality, so that they would go into the match with full determination?

– The emotions were really something. Such emotions are rarely experienced either as a coach or as a player. We all received a lot of attention in the press, around, and from fans. But that is already the past, history that no one will ever forget. But we need to return to reality. We face very serious matches. I would like what happened last week to be a stimulus to strive further, so that the spectators return and European football in Vilnius lasts a little longer.

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I would like us not to get into a situation like playing against Tbilisi “Dinamo.”

– What style does the “Hajduk” team demonstrate at the start of the season?

– I have seen practically all their matches in the Conference League and their championship. Yes, maybe they do not show the results that fans expect at the start of the season, but individually they are strong players. What I see is that they play better at home, worse away. But these are individually strong players, with a very good mix of experienced and young players. It is even hard to predict what the lineup might be tomorrow because their coach rotates a lot and is probably still looking for the right composition. Like any coach, he needs time to select players, find who fits with whom. So far, they are very inconsistent.

– How much does it help your preparation that you have Marko Capan in the team, who belonged to the “Hajduk” club for several years before?

– It only helps in that we can talk. He does not train with their team, he can only tell us about the club. We read articles that there were some conflicts between players and the coach, but that’s it. I think he has not played under that coach, so we do not get any special insights or knowledge.

– There is a player relevant to Lithuania in the “Hajduk” team, Rokas Pukštas. What is his role and status in the Split team? Is he their leader?

– From what I see, he is their leader, a key player. Very active, always wants the ball. He has very good dribbling, which distinguishes him. He can play both as a defensive and attacking midfielder. He scored a goal in the last match. He is very important and one of the most valuable. From what I hear around, it is possible that sooner or later he might leave the club and move to a better league.

– “Kauno Žalgiris” played yesterday against another Croatian team, Zagreb “Dinamo,” and lost 0:5. Did this add fear before the match with the Croats, or maybe it will give the Croats too much confidence?

– That match only showed the level of Croatian football. We will play against the second Croatian team. We see their strength, how strong the individual players are. On a day like yesterday was for “Kauno Žalgiris,” anything can happen there. But we play at home, in front of our fans, and I really believe the team will show everything it can. When needed, we will defend, but when we have the ball, I believe we can create good chances and score goals. As I said before the match with Tbilisi “Dinamo,” I would like us to make the opponents feel uncomfortable.

– Since you visited Split, has the level of “Hajduk” play risen or fallen?

– I think when Valdas Dambrauskas coached “Hajduk,” the team was really well put together. They showed good results, won a cup, and only when he was fired did they realize what a good coach they had and what they could have achieved with him. I sometimes glance at the results. Everyone expects and waits for them to win the championship, but it has not happened for many years. They have changed many coaches and sports directors. But at the time when Valdas and Mindaugas Nikoličius were there, the results were improving. If continuity had remained, something amazing could have happened there. But it did not.

– Have you consulted with Justas Lasickas, who plays in Croatia?

– No, I have not consulted. What we see and read, what the press writes, is enough.

– “Hajduk” will arrive after a lost Conference League match and the first unsuccessful Croatian championship games. How do you think they will come to the match emotionally, and what will be Vilnius “Žalgiris” reaction in the first minutes?

– A good team always shows a reaction after such matches. They come as a wounded beast. Maybe they do not value us as a team from a strong championship, maybe yesterday’s match in Zagreb, where “Dinamo” crushed the Lithuanian champion, and we were third last year, also… I do not know how they will react, but good teams always recover. Very tough matches await, we will see what their reaction will be. The most important thing is that there is a reaction from our team and players.

– You mentioned increased attention, and tickets for the match sold out lightning-fast, in a few minutes. Did you receive messages asking for tickets?

– Yes, I laugh because everyone I gave a ticket to says I was the talisman (smiles). I am looking for that talisman who really was one (smiles). I did receive messages, people want tickets, but there are only as many as there are. The attention was there, and that is normal, but quite some time has passed, it needs to fade, and we return to reality.

– An oak wreath has already been raised on the Šeškinė hill at the National Stadium, marking an intermediate construction finish. You yourself have not had the chance to play in the stadium being built for many decades, but do you now believe that at least you will be able to train there?

– I have no doubt that the people building it now will definitely build that stadium. The way it is growing fast… I now really believe that, unlike before, Vilnius will have a good football stadium.

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