Honored Coach of Ukraine Myron Markevich commented on the latest developments in Ukrainian football and shared his expectations from the Ukrainian Championship next season.
Miron Markevich“God forbid, with Zinchenko, Arsenal will break into the Champions League”
- Let's start with the expected transfers, especially since one of them may turn out to be the most expensive for Ukrainian football players in more than 15 years. Oleksandr Zinchenko at Arsenal. What do you think about this?
— One of the elite clubs in England. It will be a challenge for him to try to achieve the best result with Arsenal.
- The Spanish specialist Arteta promised Zinchenko to let him play in midfield, and not in defense, as Guardiola did.
- Yes, I think he is more of a midfielder.
"Did that also play a role?"
- Maybe yes.
- Do you think Zinchenko did the right thing by changing Manchester City to Arsenal?
- God forbid, he will make it to the Champions League. They can also compete for the top three. The coach is good, you can see it in his work. So I don't see anything wrong. On the contrary, it will be an incentive for him.
"Yarmolenko will return to Dynamo, but as someone else"
- Yarmolenko did not dare to return to Ukraine during the war, but went to Rebrov in Al-Ain. Is this the right decision?
- I think yes. He and Rebrov had already worked together. This is Yarmolenko's choice, meaningful and justified from the player's point of view.
- Will the performance in the UAE championship affect the calls to the Ukrainian national team for Yarmolenko?
- This is probably a question for the head coach of the national team.
- The coach of the national team said that he would call him further. And Yarmolenko previously stated that the national team is in the first place for him and he would not have moved to Al Ain if this had closed the doors to the national team.
- Maybe. I don't know these details. Let's see. There, good young people are advancing in the national team.
- Do you think Yarmolenko will return to Dynamo after some time?
- Probably already as someone else.
“It should be interesting. We start almost from scratch"
- Is it necessary to spend the UPL season during the war on the territory of Ukraine? After all, it is dangerous.
- It's true. The question is not simple. I don't even know how to answer it. On the one hand, yes, it is necessary to hold the championship, but where is another question.
— The mass departure of legionnaires affected many teams, but it hit Shakhtar the hardest. Is Dynamo the favorite of the championship now?
- In theory, Dynamo has retained the squad the most, but Shakhtar also has a lot of youngsters. Let's see how they perform. It looks like Dynamo is the favorite for now, but time will tell. New coach Jovićević, updated squad: let's see how they work together. We'll all see soon.
- The departure of legionnaires, large-scale Ukrainianization of squads, coaching transitions. We are waiting for a lot of unexpected results?
- Maybe yes. Now is a good incentive for young players. And there are many young football players in Rukh. I know these guys. Seems like they should add more. There are some really good guys there.
Should be interesting. We start almost from scratch. For young people, this is very good. They have the opportunity to prove themselves both at Shakhtar and Dynamo. The only thing is that you need to trust more. A year or two - and everything will be restored, the main thing is that there is no war.
— More Ukrainian players will play. Will it help the team become stronger?
- Of course. "Youth" looks good now. I look to the future with optimism. In a couple of years, I think that the result will be good.
“Vernydub accepted Kryvbas not because the club is associated with Zelensky”
- Many UPL club coaches have changed teams. Is the violinist in Vorskla a plus for the coach or for the club?
“Maximov also worked well, I don’t know what happened there. Skripnik has already shown everything with his work at Zara. We hope that Vorskla will benefit from this.
- Jovicic accepted Shakhtar. Is he ready to lead the Ukrainian grandee, even though it has changed a lot?
“There are a lot of good young people there. How will they work? In "Dnepr-1" he succeeded, how it will be here - we'll see. This is the Champions League. Young people are not young, you need to show results.
- Kryvbas is associated with Volodymyr Zelensky. Did it play a role when Vernydub accepted the offer to head the Krivoy Rog team?
- I don't think. He is a star trainer. Invited. Kryvbas is a team with traditions, and I would like it to play leading roles. I used to work there myself. The football city and the fans want good results, so Vernydub was invited because he can achieve good results.
— A coachman in the process of changing from Metalist to Dnepr-1. Does the Kharkiv club no longer have ambitions for growth?
- Probably, the question is more for Kucher and Krasnikov. Maybe Yaroslavsky will turn on to the fullest. But "Metalist" will not disappear. I'm sure of it.
"Neither the management of Shakhtar, nor Yaroslavskyy negotiated with me"
- "Metalist" quickly went from the second league to the highest, but the war made its own adjustments.
- The club was financed, so this weight quickly passed. And whether it will be now - we'll see. Metalist is my native club, and I would like it to be in good standing.
- If the situation in the country was stable, then after what time would the fans see Metalist similar to the one that was in your time as head coach?
- I think in two years. There is a good, young team. Krasnikov brought together 18-year-old, good football players. Really good guys.
- Did Yaroslavsky offer you to return to Metallist?
- Not.
- Were there other proposals from the UPL?
- Not.
- Tsyganik claimed that if Jovicevich had refused, then you would have headed Shakhtar.
- Maybe.
— Did you have a conversation with the management of Shakhtar?
- Not.
- Do you plan to return to coaching?
- If there is work, I will work. I feel fine, I play for veterans.
- The main thing is how much is in the soul, not in the passport.
- Yes (laughs).
"Mudrik and Dovbik need to prove themselves in European competitions"
- Mudrik is being matched with Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen, and Dovbik with the Premier League and Serie A, but both players still remain in the Premier League. Have they matured to play for serious European clubs, or is this an excellent example of the competent work of agents?
— It's hard for me to say. They know better. Maybe the management of the clubs cannot agree. Much is not advertised.
Now there is an opportunity to really prove himself - Mudrik in the Champions League, Dovbik in the Europa League. Probably they will be followed. I don't think that Dovbik needs to cross. He must think about a stronger championship. If he stays in Dnipro-1, he needs to prove himself in the Europa League and move in a different direction.
- Tsygankov and Zabarny. Do you think they will go to European teams in the near future?
- It depends on them. People watch and analyze. Dynamo needs to get past Fenerbahce and get into the Champions League group stage. Everything depends on them.
Evgeny Chepur
