Tsypun champions Ukraine 'team effort'
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Article summary
"I don't think I'm a hero − it's my job to save shots," keeper Kryrylo Tsypun told UEFA.com after helping Ukraine through at the expense of a "proud" Belgium team who rued missed chances.
Article top media content
![Tsypun champions Ukraine 'team effort' Tsypun champions Ukraine 'team effort'](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0257-0def51e07cb8-5a238e60fa3e-1000/format/wide1/saad_salhi_belgium_kyrylo_tsypun_ukraine_.jpeg?imwidth=158)
Article body
Kryrylo Tsypun, Ukraine goalkeeper
I don't think I'm a hero − it's my job to save shots. I wasn't the only one who made it possible that we didn't concede: all of the team did this, everybody contributed. We did some things well, some not. Everyone tried to block shots, low shots and high shots, and block them with their heads. It was a team effort, not just mine.
It was a good match, but I wouldn't say it was the best one of my career. But we achieved our goal and got to the quarter-finals as the group winners. I have already played in matches with so many fans in the stands, such as in the last EURO and in the [FIFA Futsal] World Cup.
There was some moments when I thought we played too deep in defence. Sometimes our opponents forced us to do this, sometimes we did so to create more space for counterattacks.
Yevgen Ryvkin, Ukraine coach
I don't feel anything right now because I wasted all of my emotions during the match. It was a nervous match and I now have a lot of things to think about. We didn't play badly in defence, but we didn't play good at all in attack. We created some good chances on the counterattack, not by playing a positional game. But still, we didn't convert them.
Kyrylo Tsypun is a tall and physically strong goalkeeper. We knew that Belgium [like to] play with lots of high balls and this is the reason why we chose him. We have three equally good goalkeepers and this is one of our greatest strengths now.
Ahmed Sababti, Belgium defender
Today we knew we had to put right what we didn't do on Tuesday [when Belgium lost 6-1 to Romania]. We knew we had to avoid the mistakes we made then – we did that today. You could see how many chances we had to score and we had an opportunity to win by a three-goal margin. We can be proud of the team.
Ukraine are very strong and defensively well-organised, but today we had a lot of opportunities to defeat such a big team. They are pros while we are just amateurs – we don't have the money or budget that they have – but we've shown to Europe that there is a lot of talent in Belgium and if futsal here wants to develop we need the support of our association and the money to grow.
I played in 2010 in Hungary and that was a beautiful experience. Now to play here for your team – I am from this city, I was born in this city – is magnificent. We had the supporters behind us and they pushed us forward. We gave them a very good game which they enjoyed.
Alain Dopchie, Belgium coach
For sure, I'm proud of my team, I'm proud of the work that we have done and the spirit of the game. We showed here in Belgium that futsal exists. We were at home and in the first game we showed almost nothing. It was important for me to show to the crowd that we could attack, that we could score. But for me, the reason I'm not happy is that we couldn't score.
I had an ambition: to show that futsal in Belgium exists. I think I did my job – the media know that futsal exists in Belgium now – but I'm disappointed about the result. I'm never happy with a draw, you have to win. We got near the goal, but we didn't take shots.
The aim was to qualify and we will try to do better next time. Today we had a good game, we drew, but it was not enough to qualify. I hope next time to win.