UEFA Women’s Champions League

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:58:56 +0000

Well, we went out of the UEFA Womenâ€™s Champions League on the away goals rule after 0:0 in Oslo and 1:1 in Russia.
We played poorly in Oslo but still could have snatched a 1:0 win but for Roaâ€™s goalkeeper Caroline Knutsen who made 4 key saves in both legs. In the return leg we went down 1:0 in the second minute on Guro Knutsen’s 2nd minute goal but recovered well, took the game to Roa, tied it 1:1 on Natalia Barbashinaâ€™s excellent goal, and hit the post and a crossbar. But it was not to be.
No complaints from me, my players did what I asked of them, and Roa were compact, disciplined and defended with 10 players to make it difficult on us.
Had a chance to speak with Becca Sauerbrunn who played left back for Roa, she did well in both games. I like her as a player.
Now, I will need to improve Zvezda in 5 positions and am confident we will progress further next year.
We will begin our pre-season on January 18 in Antalya, Turkey. I expect to bring in about 25 players to look at. From Turkey we will go to Kislovodsk, located in the North Caucasian region of Russia, between the Black and Caspian seas for high altitude training. After that we will return to Turkey for final preparation and friendly matches.

Special SPASIBO! to Zvezda fans. They were fantastic as you can see here:

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If you have a question for Shek, you can submit it through Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShekBorkowski

I really like Russia!

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:05:39 +0000

I really like Russia!
Kaloyan and I arrived in Moscow last Sunday and went straight away to watch Russia vs. Ireland (3:0).
Russia have some very good young players and are in a position to make vast improvements in the next 3 years.
It would not surprise me if Russia becomes a top 5 team in the world soon and stay there for a long time.
The resources are here. The Russian FA is investing in womensâ€™ football infrastructure, and the standard of womenâ€™s football league is high.
My team Zvezda-2005 is located in Perm, which is located about 1,000 km east of Moscow. Weather is cold, and we had about an inch of snow in Perm, but our stadium has a heated artificial surface so training is no problem.

On Thursday, my team Zvezda-2005 played against Ryazan-VDV and won 3:2, but we made it difficult on ourselves.

Zvezda and Russia defender Ksenia Tsybutovich

Went down 2:0 inside the 10 minutes but really got hold of the game after the first 15 and were in control from then on.
My Russia WNT striker Kurochkina scored two well-taken goals, and Russia WNT defender Tsybutovitch added a PK to give us the win.

After the game I met with Zvezdaâ€™s Fan Club members who presented me with a large banner. The fans are fantastic, very passionate and dedicated to the club. Last night I even saw them at our reserve teamâ€™s game.
I very much enjoy coaching in a different football and cultural environment, and this represents an opportunity for growth.
Tuesday we leave for Oslo, Norway where we will play on Wednesday afternoon against Norwegian champions RÃ¸a. They will be a difficult challenge as they have 6-7 very experienced players. I am looking forward to getting my first taste of the UEFA Womenâ€™s Champions League football.
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If you have a question for Shek, you can submit it through Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShekBorkowski

Shek Borkowski Official Website | LTA Agency » Zvezda Fan Club

UEFA Women’s Champions League

I really like Russia!