Football
24th Aug 2020
Reuben Pinder
Manchester City player Oleksandr Zinchenko has issued a statement after comments made by both him and his wife, Vlada Sedan, received backlash.
Sedan, a sports reporter, was critical of Pep Guardiola’s tactics after Manchester City’s Champions League exit to Lyon, when the manager deployed a defensive 3-5-2 which, of course, didn’t work as he had intended.
The pair were discussing Guardiola’s tactics in the Lyon game on her YouTube vlog. Zinchenko remained neutral and uncritical of his manager but Sedan’s comments were more scathing.
Zinchencko has now responded to the situation, posting a statement written in the Notes app to his Instagram story.
“Guys, I need to say a few things about this interview,” he said. “First of all, I didn’t say anything bad or judgmental about our tactics so don’t confuse my words please. I was explaining that we as players understand the effects tactics have and how given we have such great experience, we can adapt to the tactics we are given.
“On the night we lost to Lyon that doesn’t mean the manager was wrong to try. If you have seen my interviews in the past and the way how I talk about our manager then you can believe me. He is number one.”
“Second one about my wife,” he added. “Although she is a journalist, she is also a fan. During the all season she was travelling with us for all away and home games because she is a massive City fan! In the video you can see her emotions straight after the game and she gave an opinion like all fans do because she wanted us to do better.
“We totally understand now that she shouldn’t post it in the social media because she is my wife but she was not trying to make a journalist’s opinion of the manager of the team, she was simply reacting to her disappointment as a fan. I’m writing right now from my wedding and instead of enjoying that unbelievable moment I have to do this because I can’t skip it and leave it like that. I hope you understand.”
