We expect a difficult and demanding game, especially since Velež has consolidated its ranks with the arrival of Ibra Rahimić, Zrinjski coach Igor Štimac said on Thursday at a press conference ahead of the away city derby with Velež, which will be played on Friday at 8 p.m.
– Expectations are the highest possible. Of course, we expect a difficult and demanding match, especially since Velež consolidated its ranks with the arrival of Ibra Rahimić and gained stability. They have an idea and energy – said Štimac on the eve of his third Mostar derby.
In the first, he won 3:1 away from the city rival, in the last, the one from December, it was 1:1 under Bijelim brijegom.
– It’s nice to play those games. It should be a delight for everyone. Although there is tension, you need to be psychologically prepared, because those matches have a high intensity. I’d say they’re two levels above the rest in that regard. But the players have already shown many times that they know how to deal with it – pointed out the head coach of the second-placed team of the WWin League of BiH.
The visit to Velež will be the first game after the representative break, which, as Štimac emphasized, was good for both.
He added that this particularly applies to Velež, whose team had a lot of injuries before the break, and that its staff is almost completely available and only without the help of the suspended Matej Šakota and Dan Lagumdžija.
As far as the approach to the derby is concerned, Štimac knows very well what awaits his team, which before this 27th round is nine points behind the leader Borč, while Velež is fourth.
By the way, in a positive context, he highlighted the delegated judge Dragan Petrović.
– The table is not so important for us and Velež, it is played for the city’s prestige. This is where more energy is required, the players are aware of how important victory is. As for the match itself, what we cannot know is the criteria that the referee will take. An excellent referee was chosen who knows how to deal with such duels. He showed it in the Super Cup against Sarajevo, where I saw the best, most correct refereeing since I’ve been there – he emphasized.
As for Velež, he pointed out that it is a team that concedes few goals, but does not win with a large advantage.
In this context, he pointed out the unpredictability of Zrinjski lately, a detail that part of the media used to announce the dismissal of Štimac in the event of a defeat against Velež.
– It’s not for me to think about it. I don’t know why anyone would think that. We have cemented second place before the last quarter of the championship, we achieved the greatest club success in Europe, won the Super Cup, we are in the semi-finals of the Cup. I’m a little surprised by such a question – Štimac finished.
Along with the derby at the “Rođeni” stadium, a match between Rudar and Sloga will be played on Friday from 20:30, and the three remaining matches of the 27th round are scheduled for Saturday.
On the first day of the weekend, from 1 p.m., Radnik welcomes Široki Brijeg, at 6:30 p.m., the duel between Posušje and Borca begins, and the round will conclude in the derby at 8:45 p.m. between Željezničar and Sarajevo.
Borac leads the table with 62 points, nine more than Zrinjski, while third-placed Sarajevo has 42.
They are followed by Velež (38), Široki Brijeg (37), Željezničar (29), Posušje (27), Radnik (26), the first below the fatal line is Sloga (23), while Rudar (20) is at the back.
(Vijesti.ba)
