Crossed Interview of Ante Vukicevic and Konstantin Kharkov
Crossed Interview of Ante Vukicevic and Konstantin Kharkov
respectively players of Croatian and Greek national teams
The first one plays in Marseille, the second one at Mladost Zagreb and both had come to Rotterdam to seek a ticket for the Tokyo Olympics with their national team. Eliminated in the semi-finals against Montenegro and Greece, Croatia and Russia contested for last qualifying place. The game was full of suspense and saw Croatia win after the shootout.
France Water-Polo : Russia versus Croatia was a very stressfull game. The penalty shootout was probably one of the longest in the history of water polo. How did you live this match?
Ante Vukicevic : The match was very important because of the last ticket for the olympic games therefor the stakes were the hight possible. We already lost to Russia in the group phase so all of that put pressure on our team to win. The match was excellent with a lot of turns of result and the stress of the penalty was enormous. Fortunately we succeeded to win and book a ticket for Tokyo 2021. The guys and I lived it very stressfully and it cost us couple years of our life (haha).
Konstantin Kharkov : To my mind, it was very difficult game with really stressful end. As for me, I did my best to be concentrated until the end despite the tension of the game.
FWP : You both shoot and scored your three penalties. How do you feel before the shoot?
AV : I tried to calm myself and concentrate on the shoot and not the seriousness of the situation. So I was determined to shoot good, we practiced penalty on preparation so I was calm and ready to score.
KK : All my thoughts were just about scoring another goal and not letting the team down.
FWP : You both had a great game and were very important for your team. Does it help before shooting your penaltys?
AV : Thank you for the compliment. It helps for sure if you enter the penalty shootout with confidance. I believed im my shoot and in my teammates and I felt that the whole group believe so that helped also.
Ante Vukicevic
KK : For me it didn’t, because it was vital to get out of mind previous highlights of the game and just focus on shooting penalty. Our goal was playing in the moment.
FWP : You have met twice in this qualifying tournament. Russia won in the group game and Croatia in the last game and every time it was very tight. Who was better?
AV : Russia has a great team and they showed that during all the tournament. Excelent centers, great shooters and the whole team who is physicaly great. So I can just say i’m happy we won at the end.
KK : I consider we’re able to demonstrate an equal level of game during last two matches. The first match was more successful for our team, while the score of the second one, on the contrary, was in favor of the Croatia national team. This allowed them to get a ticket to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
FWP : If we played the game again today, would the result be the same?
AV : It is hard to imagine that, but I think that Croatia has one of the strongest teams in the world so we are obliged to go and try to win every game.
KK : I can’t predict this, but it must be a great battle!
FWP : What was the most difficult game for you on this OTQ?
AV : It was for sure the two last games, with Montenegro and last one with Russia.
KK : Surely it was last game with the Croatia national team, because they are one of the leaders in the waterpolo world and we’ve struggled for the last opportunity to get to the Olympic games.
FWP : Ante, what do you think about Konstantin Kharkov?
AV : Excelent attacker who improved himself a lot last two years since he came to Mladost. He has great swimming potential and is one of the best shooters today.
Konstantin Kharkov
FWP : Konstantin, what do you think about Ante Vukicevic?
KK : Frankly, it was quite complicated to confront such a decent player, he is a valuable figure both in his club and in the national team, one of the best in this position.
FWP : Who will be Olympic champion?
AV : That is the question for million dollars and I hope it will be Croatia (haha).
KK : For me it’s hard to predict it now, because we have six teams wich surely pretent on first place, A lot will depend on the location in the groups, form and luck in these Olympic games.
