Former player of the Ukrainian national team Yevhen Levchenko answered questions related to the latest transfer news and rumors in Ukrainian football.
Evgeniy Levchenko- Various sources confirm the interest in Matvienko from Ajax and Feyenoord. How do you assess the reality of this transfer?
- I think it would be cool if Matvienko moved to any top European championship. Especially if you take into account what is happening with us now (I mean the war in Ukraine, - approx. ed.). The level of the Ukrainian championship will drop dramatically. If such a transfer takes place, I will only welcome it.
But about reality. I don’t know where the information about Feyenoord came from, but it doesn’t correspond to reality. I haven’t recognized Ajax yet, but Feyenoord is just a duck. Today I spoke with the head coach of Feyenoord, there is no such thing (The conversation took place yesterday, - approx. ed.)
- Matvienko is now 26 years old. Do Ajax take players at that age, and even for money?
- For Ajax, of course, their pupils and young players remain a priority, whom they can then sell. Although Matvienko is a football player who can still progress and from Ajax he can go to any other club.
Everyone knows the Dutch championship, where, in fact, the players are given every opportunity to progress, develop and take a step forward. If you look at how Matvienko has been developing lately, playing, of course, this is a factor of stability. Plus, Ajax will most likely sell Martinez, and players like Blind are already at the end of their careers, age is already running out. Therefore, why not?
“Matvienko has outgrown not only Shakhtar, but also the Premier League”
- The transfer of Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United is called the condition for the transfer of the Ukrainian. What are the chances that Ajax will pull off this deal? Fabrizio Romano said that just these days a meeting with representatives of the United...
- I don’t know, but I see that ten Hag is gathering such a gang of players whom he can count on, and I know that Manchester is already offering very serious finance there.
Of course, it would be great for Ajax to sell him, after all, Martinez showed himself very well in the last season. Ajax is just designed to sell such players. Let's see, as they say.
— The Dutch publication De Telegraaf reported today that Matvienko’s transfer to Ajax is estimated at 15 million euros. Is it worth this money?
“As they say, “demand creates supply.” If this happens, it will be a plus for everyone. For Matvienko, this is an opportunity to play, but for Ajax, this is a quality player who can be useful, I am sure of this.
Look, if Martinez is being sold, roughly speaking, for 40 million euros, then for Matvienko 15 million euros is not such a big sum. I think that this would be a good agreement for Matvienko, Ajax and Shakhtar. Matvienko showed himself at a high level in the Champions League as well, so I think that he has outgrown not only Shakhtar, but also our championship.
Now you need to look for a team in which you can progress. Moreover, Matvienko is not Andrey Yarmolenko, who is at the end of his career. I think that Ajax would be the perfect step for him, after which he would go even higher.
- Who in Ajax will be a competitor for Matvienko and how does he look compared to them?
- If we are talking about the fact that he will play in the center of defense, then this is Peer Suurs, a young footballer who is progressing well. There are a couple of players there - Kick Peary, who was brought back, Daily Blind, he can sometimes play in the center with his left foot.
Therefore, it is still difficult to say, I think that if Martinez leaves, then a certain position will be vacated for Matvienko. If he does not need a lot of time to adapt, then he will immediately play at the base.
“If Matvienko doesn’t need a lot of time to adapt, he will play at the base of Ajax”
- Does Matvienko's level correspond to the Eredivisie? Or perhaps even higher?..
— I think it fits. Still, Ajax is not only the Dutch championship. Ajax is still trying more to position itself as a European club in order to play in the Champions League and prove itself on the European arena.
Ajax has practically no competition in the domestic arena, with the exception of PSV Eindhoven. Therefore, if Ajax buys players like Matvienko, then this will be tailored to the level of European competition.
— Which other Ukrainian would you recommend to the Dutch grandees?
- If you look globally, now for each of our players we need to simplify all procedures for transfers, including compensation for growing them. All football players now need to be released with one simple understanding - go to the European championships to gain experience, and when everything is restored, we will count on you.
Now is the perfect moment for many: for example, Sudakov, Hemp, Kornienko. These are the guys who are the future of our team. It is clear that Taras Stepanenko is already an old-age footballer, then I would have released such players as Vakula. This will benefit our team and our football. Let them go, gain experience, run in.
I wish Zabarny had already left, Tymchik. Shaparenko, in order to progress, you also need to leave, let Vitya Tsygankov go somewhere. I really hope that our forwards will play better. I want Supryaga to start playing already. Dovbyk and Mudrik also need to develop further.
- Recently, Vacko said that Ajax is interested in the Ukrainian goalkeeper, but without specifics about whom it is. How do you think who it could be? Does Ajax need to strengthen this position?
- I have not checked the information, but I will check it, because for me this is very interesting news. If we take it globally, then in Ajax there is a problem with the goalkeeper. Onana left, he was the first. To be frank, he was better than Remko Paswer, Marten Stekelenburg and Jay Gorter.
I think this is a problematic position for Ajax, but the last time I spoke to the chief scout, I was told this thing: "We need a goalkeeper who is very good at kicking, without this quality we will not consider a player." Therefore, if this goalkeeper can play well with his feet, almost like a defender, then this will be considered. Moreover, this is an important moment for all goalkeepers today.
- The other day, the head of the ProStar agency company, Vadim Shabliy, met with the technical director of Ajax, Claes-Jan Huntelaar. Among the clients of this agency is Vorskla goalkeeper Dmitry Riznyk, perhaps it is he who is the very mysterious goalkeeper for the Amsterdam team?
— I don’t know, I don’t want to discuss personalities now. It's hard for me to say anything about this.
"Yarmolenko will play for the Ukrainian national team even from Al Ain"
- How would you rate Yarmolenko's transfer to Al Ain? Is it just about money or something more?
- We should not try to somehow express our opinion about Yarmolenko to anyone. He chose his path, he decided that this was his step. I understand that he suffered in England, playing - not playing.
He is already old enough to make informed decisions, and none of us, especially during this period, has the right to criticize him. I know how much he helps Ukraine, the army and the people who constantly ask him.
This is his decision. No one here can say that he went there for money. Even if for money - this is his decision and we have no right to criticize him. I am sure that if he has a permanent practice in the Emirates, then he will still be called up to the national team.
- Is the new UPL season in Ukraine a good idea or would it be better to spend it abroad?
- Complex issue. You know that I have been the president of the Footballers' Union in the Netherlands for four years now, I defend the rights of footballers and I understand that this should be an absolutely balanced decision.
My personal opinion: if carried out, then do it with full security protocols. Because we all understand how high the price of life is. If our state and the Ministry of Defense undertake to ensure complete security, of course, we need to hold a championship to give people at least a moment of joy.
Now there will be a very difficult championship: squeezed out, painful and artificial. It will still be hard to play - there will be no fans, you will have to constantly comply with safety protocols. It is important for us to hold it, I agree, but the quality of the championship will drop a lot.
In any war, football was an important aspect so that people would not lose heart. It would be completely wrong to attract footballers to fight. They should mind their own business and earn as much as possible to help the army.
“It is wrong to recruit footballers to fight, they must earn big money”
- Have FIFA and UEFA done everything to protect the rights of football players who ended up in the championship of a belligerent country?
- FIFA did a little bit wrong. A contract that is not broken, but simply transferred to further lines, is such a delay for many clubs. Yes, now many players can leave - and this is a big plus.
I am glad that many players have the opportunity to change clubs, but there are also those who cannot do this. Then it turns out that a football player cannot sign a contract in another country, the club to which he belongs may not pay him a salary, because FIFA decided so.
It seems to me that it would be right to provide football players with free movement between clubs in order to give them the opportunity to play and earn money.
- Do not the rights of clubs that have invested money in football players sag at the same time and lose players for free? How can clubs be improved?
— I understand this very well. I am now watching from the football players' bell tower. When you do not have the opportunity to move to another club, and you can only move for a year, the ideal option is for all clubs to come to an agreement with the players.
But it cannot be that the club is blocking the transfer of a football player, making it so that other clubs have to pay huge money for him. Thus, the transfer is blocked, this is very wrong.
I understand that it is difficult for such clubs as Shakhtar or Dynamo to part with the players when they have invested - as in the same Neres. But you see, we agreed with Benfica - and that's great. Everything should be decided through dialogue, but it should not be that you are simply blocked.
“Two Dutch referees confirmed to me that there was a penalty on Yarmolenko in the match against Wales”
- How would you rate the performance of the national team in the match against Wales?
- It's hard for me to say something about the Ukrainian national team, because now is a difficult period. I see that it was hard for the team emotionally, especially since Andryukha Yarmolenko's goal was an own goal, this is a painful moment in his brilliant career in the national team... We should have won in Wales in all respects, but the result is on the scoreboard.
Everyone understood that we had to beat Wales, but unfortunately, this is football. Dangerous moments do not play football. It was evident that we had very strong differences in physical form. The simple one that we had for a good reason also affects. Close this page and move on.
- Was there a penalty on Yarmolenko?
- My personal opinion is yes. I talked to two Dutch judges who said: "It's strange why they didn't put it on, it's still a contact." For me, the concept of “too weak contact” or how it was interpreted there is a very strange concept, because Yarmolenko was really shot down.
If there was contact and it prevented him from moving forward, well... There, someone started writing to me that he was falling in advance, but, guys, sorry: there was contact, there was a touch, and if there is a touch, this is a penalty.
- Is it worth leaving Petrakov or is it better to look for another option?
- We all said before that this person needs to move a little from youth football to adult football, but the way he works now, I think, deserves respect. Especially in such a difficult situation. So far, I have absolutely no complaints about him.
I think that he expresses his position very clearly, and at the same time tries to charge the guys. Let him work calmly, if the guys believe in him, then this is the most important aspect. I don't see why Petrakov should be replaced.
"I don't envy the coaches who stayed to work in Ukraine"
— Evaluate the chances of Ukrainian clubs in European competitions. Who will perform best?
— It is very difficult for me to judge. I look at the games of Dynamo or Shakhtar, when they are sausage - they win one game and lose the other. It's hard for me to say what the euroseason will be like.
It seems to me that the European season will be very difficult, especially since many players can still leave the clubs. I do not really envy those coaches who are now working in Ukraine with all the ensuing consequences.
You see, if we stop paying players money, which many clubs have already done, how can we expect results? I understand that it is very difficult for everyone now, but then let's cancel the championship. We will switch to amateur contracts or do something else.
Now it turns out that we demand real actions from football players on the football field, but real actions must be supported by at least some kind of salary.
— After all, you cooperated with Football TV channels. After Rinat Akhmetov's statement about leaving the media business, their fate became vague. Do you think these channels will remain or can they be forgotten?
- When I heard that the channels were closing, for me it was like a bolt from the blue, I don't see another word here. A very strange and difficult decision, I did not expect that a couple of thousand people would simply be left to the mercy of fate.
You can love or not love the Football channel, you can argue about their bias, about many other things. But a very beautiful picture was created, studios, equipment, people who worked there were professionally selected.
I am very sorry that such an important TV broadcaster for our football falls out of the media space. This will entail painful changes in the football environment.
Andrey Shevchenko
