Nagnoiny scores for Zarya in the Conference League, Vanat makes his Champions League debut for Dynamo, and Ocheretko plays for Shakhtar against Ajax. Hardly six months ago, these guys could count on such August gifts...
Tomas Kendzera and Vladyslav VanatIn order to survive in the conditions of a terrible war unleashed by a non-human neighbor, Ukrainian football must adapt to new realities, one of which was the mass outflow of foreign players. And you cannot replace old Varangians with fresh ones - this is not the case. Therefore, one must count on one's own reserves, accelerating the professional growth of young people and providing them with opportunities that yesterday's understudies would otherwise have had time to hope for today.
Which of the representatives of the new generation should be the first to take advantage of the unexpected chance provided by the home club?
Denys Nagnoiny, 20 years old
Defender "Zori"
Yes, the light, undersized football player, who acted at the forefront of Luhansk attacks in Thursday's game with the Romanian "University" and eventually scored the decisive goal, is listed as a defender in the "Zorya" roster. This is not a mistake. At the youth level, Denys really played in defense. And not only there. When he twice came on as a substitute in UPL games last fall, he covered the defender position.
However, the fact that a guy with various skills can be extremely useful in front of other people's goal became clear not today, because in the seven final rounds of 2021, Nagnoiny scored nine goals for the youth team of "Zorya"!
At summer training, the 20-year-old, who has good speed, a sense of the moment and a tight shot from his right foot, managed to impress Dutch team coach Patrick van Leeuwen. It was not for nothing that in the first match of the season he entrusted Nagnoyny with a place in the base, and not, for example, the experienced Denys Bezborodyk.
Obviously, if her Iranian attackers Allahyar Sayadmanesh and Zahedi Shahab had remained in the team, Denis would have had to wait a long time for his debut in the "base", but the current situation presents attractive prospects for the young all-rounder.
Oleksiy Kashchuk, 22 years old
Shakhtar winger
Without a doubt, the 2019 world champion as part of the youth national team of Ukraine would not be needed by Shakhtar this fall, if it were not for the farewell to a number of legionnaires who formed the attacking potential of the miners last season. We are talking about Pedrinho, Tete, Solomon, Fernando and of course David Nerez.
Yes, fast, technical, always aiming for the goal, Kashchuk has experience in the Premier League, but in the Mariupol team, for which he played on loan for two and a half years. And in March, Oleksiy settled in Azerbaijan, where he helped the local Sabah for three months. As for his native Shakhtar, the winger defended his colors exclusively at the youth level...
However, the new helmsman of the miners, Ihor Jovyevich, seems to really count on Oleksiy, habitually using him on the right flank of the attack. The further fate of the football player will depend on his courage and perseverance. If not now, when?
Yuriy Kozyrenko, 22 years old
"Vorskli" attacking midfielder
This small, well-built boy is a pupil of Dynamo Kyiv, for which he once played in the UEFA Youth League. Not expecting to break into the main team of the "white and blue" and going to Poltava for game practice, Yuriy was unable to gain a foothold there, having managed to play only nine matches in the UPL.
Then there were loans to "Hirnyk-Sport" and "Islocha" of Belarus, until "Vorskla" remembered their "engine", who can operate with equal effectiveness in the center and on the flank, has a great sense of goal and is able to apply well from the left .
Of course, if the Brazilian Rangel had not left Poltava, if the Luxembourg Tilly brothers were still playing in it, Kozyrenko would not have had many chances to prove himself in Viktor Skrypnyk's team. But now that experienced competitors have left, Yuriy may well become not just a "core" player, but also one of the leaders of "Vorskla". Spectacular goal with an assist in the match against Swedish AIK is a good proof of that.
Oleg Ocheretko, 19 years old
Shakhtar midfielder
Another representative of the Donetsk school, who was unlikely to see anything in Shakhtar in the presence of Pedrinho, Tete, Solomon, Marcos Antonio. Like Kashchuk, Ocheretko - a technical, persistent midfielder endowed with a real fighting character - has already managed to attract the attention of experts. But, remaining a miner, he was also able to demonstrate his qualities only in Mariupol and the youth team.
UEFA Youth League, U19 championship - Ocheretko did not go beyond these tournaments in Shakhtar. And with a high degree of probability, it was possible to predict that Oleg will spend the next season on rent - in Mariupol or somewhere else. But circumstances intervened...
Currently, in sparring matches against clubs from the Netherlands, Ocheretko plays regularly and looks confident. He impressed the Fortuna goal by taking charge of the game in someone else's penalty area and clearly directing the ball into the far corner. It remains only to continue in the same spirit.
Vladyslav Vanat, 20 years old
Striker "Dynamo"
Advances have been handed out to this scorer for a long time and persistently. Also, 26 goals in 26 matches of the championship-2020/21 (U19) speaks volumes. Individual skill, speed characteristics, composure in the final stage - all this is in Vanat, and it remains only to wait for the boy to show his powerful trump cards in the adult game.
Lease to Odessa Chornomorets on the one hand confirmed Vladyslav's remarkable attacking talent, and on the other hand showed that the process of his adaptation to UPL football will not be quick. Getting enough time in "Dynamo" with his maximum goals and the absence of the right to make mistakes looked all the more problematic.
But Mircea Lucescu believes in the attacker, continuing to give him chance after chance. And now that wingers Carlos De Pena and Benjamin Verbych have left Kyiv, using Vanat on the wing is a great option for both the team and the player himself. Yes, Vlad is currently a substitute player, but it was he who came on for the injured Slovenian in Istanbul, in a tough fight with Fenerbahce. Went out and didn't get blown away.
The start of the Premier League is approaching, which will give coaches even more room for maneuver. Vanat, as well as our other young talents, will have new opportunities. Whoever treats the gift of fate carefully and with all responsibility will move to a new level.
Konstantin Patkevych
