“Saddest day of my life”

The feeling of sadness and a desolate expression took over the coach Thiago Koloski at the press conference after the Coritiba be confirmed in Série B in 2024. After the 2-1 defeat to Fluminense, the commander did not hide his disappointment with the relegation, but tried to be positive about what lies ahead next season.

“We are disappointed by the result and the situation, today (Saturday) unfortunately decreed our relegation. Professionally speaking, it is the saddest day of my life. But we have to lift our heads in the fourth and we need to play a good game and maintain the honor and tradition of this shirtwhich I promised, until the end”, said the coach.

“Today we will feel the pain, and share it with the fans, who have a lot of reason to be angry. But we hope the sun shines for Coritiba. Regardless of whether I am or not, I will always support the club, so that it is on the best path. And I’m sure that Coxa will return to Série A stronger than ever. It’s a day to cry, to unfortunately be sad, to feel the pain. But from tomorrow onwards we have to look forward. We have a very big responsibility, more than a million fans, and we need to make a strong team for 2024. And I’m sure that will happen with Coritiba”, he continued.

Asked about the difficulties during the Brasileirão, since taking over the team, Koloski defined the formation of the squad and the changes in the squad in the middle of the championship as the main obstacles in the attempt to save themselves from falling to Series B.

“The assembly of the squad. In January I was still in the under-20s, I followed the assembly. I had already played some Series A, not as a coach, but as an assistant. I looked at the players arriving, but what They didn’t have a Coritiba profile or a Series A profile. And that was clear to me and to the entire board, we tried to change course within the championship. Changing a profile in a team in the middle is complicated,” he said.

With 29 points in 35 games, Coritiba joins América-MG, who were already relegated. The team’s last three commitments to complete the schedule will be against Botafogo (home), Red Bull Bragantino (away) and Corinthians (home).

+ Check out the complete Brasileirão table

See other topics from the interview below:

Errors

“You’ve been working under pressure since I arrived, Coritiba was already 10 or 12 points behind the first team outside the zone, we had a ten-point run and we couldn’t get out of the zone. It’s very difficult. I said that if I had inherited at least two victories in these 12 games, with the momentum we gave we would leave the zone, and open up possibilities. Your window gets better, the players want to come to Coritiba. We had difficulties, no one wanted to come. And the very complicated sequence of the table.”

Message to the fans

“I share their pain. It’s difficult to talk about a situation right now. What I can tell them is that I tried my best to represent them in the best way possible, I tried to be as correct as possible and put Coritiba first in all decisions. Maybe in some cases the fans questioned me a lot, but you can be sure that I put Coritiba above everything. And it always will be.”

Regrets and “destroyed locker room”

“I have no regrets at all. I have lived the extremes. I experienced defeat, victories, and in a situation that few professionals go through, of taking on a great team at such a delicate moment, being able to respond within a destroyed locker room. We managed to recover and fight until the end, and also reveal some players, in addition to others from the base emerging, which will soon bear fruit.”

Defeat at Maracanã

“It’s difficult to analyze now, with a hot head. It was a game in which perhaps a draw would have been fairer, especially given the chances that the teams created. We had a good first half, and ended up conceding a goal that was an avoidable ball. In the second half, We expected Diniz to be the players who are practically starters. We scored the second (goal), we had a chance to tie the game, we did it with Jesé, we had the ball hit Bruno’s (Gomes) post, and another two or three opportunities”.

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