Radoslav Batak, the coach of Vojvodina FC and the forwarder Nikola Čumić, said they were expecting a challenging match against APOEL FC.

The players of the ’’old lady’’ are facing APOEL today at 19:00h in the first match of the second qualifying round for Europa Conference League, and both Batak and Čumić are optimistic about the duel.

  • During the previous week, we talked about our opponent and everyone understands that we are facing a quality team which has a huge experience in qualifying for European competitions, in the group phase, even in the Champions League, and their budget is significantly bigger than ours. This first match is very important, and I highlighted that a lot, so during the preparations we were constantly thinking about APOEL. This is both a big challenge and an opportunity for us. With all of their valuable characteristics, I believe in our team and quality. It will not be easy for us, but we should be brave and disciplined, and not afraid of the opponent. It is important to be at our best in the first 20-25 minutes of the match. It is crucial for us to be focused and concentrated at the start of the match, because that can determine the outcome. We are also facing extreme weather conditions in Cyprus, so we have to give our maximum to overcome all the challenges – Batak stated.

Nikola Čumić agreed with the coach, and expressed his belief in the positive outcome of the match.

– We have been preparing for this match for more than a month, we had enough time to analyze and scout the team of APOEL FC. We are well aware that they are a quality team with remarkable individual players. We have respect for our rivals, but we are eagerly awaiting this match and we want to show ourselves in the best light. The match is tomorrow, and we want to achieve a positive result and to ensure the placement to the next qualifying round. We believe in ourselves and we belive we can make it happen – said Nikola Čumić.

The coach Batak reflected on the extreme weather conditions that expect Vojvodina in Nicosia.

  • In Novi Sad we had similar weather conditions like the ones here in Cyprus, that is why I pointed out the importance of the beginning. The body needs to achieve the working temperature and adapt to the climate. Pohorje was not cool either, there were some hot days, while here it is slightly harder, but those are the circumstances over which we have no influence, and I believe we will be physically ready to respond to those demands – Batak said.

The coach of the old lady believes that the change of coach in APOEL at the end of the last season, when Vladan Milojević was replaced with Sa Pintu, won’t affect the home team significantly.

  • Each coach brings something of his own, and that is what we were observing during the preparations. Their team stayed practically intact, all those players have some old habits and behaviours they showed during the previous seasons, and I don’t believe any coach would make a big difference in that manner – Batak stated.

Finally, Batak confirmed that Voša had some staff issues, because Filip Malbašić and Asmir Kajević are not in the protocol for this match, while Vukić and Radulović are still feeble.

  • We had some minor issues upon arriving in Novi Sad, before the general tryout Malbašić felt pain in the tendon above his knee, Kajević also felt some muscle pain and is also in the last recovery stage. We have Vukić who returned three days ago and is not ready, while Radulović received a punch during the match with Borac. Although we had hoped he would be alright in a matter of days, it is not the best situation. We have those staff issues, but we all worked hard from the first until the last day, and for the match tomorrow we need our players to be 100% ready. The weather conditions will probably call for all five alterations during the game and that is why each player will be important – Batak highlighted, with the last answer on the topic of results being that he would be pleased with 0:1.

 

The match APOEL – Vojvodina is scheduled for Thursday, July 27th at 19:00h CET, with live feeds on Arena Sport Premium 1 and RTS 2.