Voskanyan: Players in the national team must be ready to die on the pitch
Posted on July. 26. 2019
Armenia’s U19 team has suffered the second defeat in the European Championship, losing 0-4 to Italy.
Head coach Artur Voskanyan has apologized after the game. Mediamax Sportpresents his remarks.
I would like to thank the fans who stayed until the end and encouraged the boys, but I also need to apologize for the defeat.
I believe in the team even more than the boys themselves. I know they can play well, but for some reason they make silly mistakes or get surprised when they play well.
I knew the championship would be difficult mentally because the competitors are so strong, and we talked about it. I thought the issue was settled, but as we can see, it wasn’t.
It takes the boys some time to recover after mistakes. Anyone can make an error, but you have to forget it quickly and keep playing. But our mistakes just lead to bigger mistakes.
The players were more constrained, scared in the first game against Spain. This time there was some progress: the team attacked and kept possession in some periods.
First, I told them to just keep football and show what they can do, and I’ll take the responsibility for the score.
We all need to understand the lever of our personal responsibility. Players in the national team must be ready to die on the pitch as they would die in a war. The boys need to understand that and be more prepared mentally for the game against Portugal. Yes, we have lost, but we need to act like men and show what we can do in the last game.”