The famous Ukrainian coach and expert Oleg Fedorchuk shared his forecast for the upcoming championship of Ukraine, which starts today, and his opinion about Ukrainian football players playing abroad.
Oleg Fedorchuk"The Championship of Ukraine must be held"
— Oleg Viktorovych, what are your expectations for the upcoming UPL season?
— There are two opposing opinions among fans and experts. Some say that it is necessary to start the championship, others believe that it is dangerous, and the tournament may not be played. I belong to the first. My opinion is to play.
If we take the statistics, we usually have about 300 football players playing abroad, mostly in the lower leagues. Today, approximately 860-880 Ukrainian players play abroad. In fact, the number of our legionnaires has tripled.
If we don't start the championship, almost all football players will leave, and it will be much more difficult to bring them back. Therefore, it is necessary to start the season so that all our football does not disappear.
It should not be forgotten that football is a social component in society. If you remove it, it will be a depressing situation. People need something to turn to in times of crisis, even in times of war.
I think that it is not for nothing that even during the Second World War there were football championships. Recently learned that the last game in the German Bundesliga took place just days before the end of the war in 1945. Football is an important socio-psychological component.
It may be true that not all clubs will play until the end of the season. But the fact that the championship will start, I think, is a big positive for everyone.
— Who do you think is the favorite of the upcoming season?
— I don't think there is much to think and analyze here. Today, Dynamo Kyiv is the favorite. This is one of the few teams that, even before the war, was leaning towards its students and Ukrainian football players. Almost 70% of the composition has been preserved.
Therefore, if we compare with the main competitor of Kyiv, Shakhtar, then the Donetsk people should think about how to secure the second place, and not to take the first place.
"Shakhtar thinks that it will be easy to score points in the UPL, but I have big doubts"
— "Shakhtar" was headed by a new head coach. What do you think about the Croatian specialist Ihor Jovičević?
— This is a novice specialist. Shakhtar is actually his third team, after Karpaty and Dnipro-1. He is currently conducting many experiments, which have dragged on a bit. Jovičević is trying to understand which of the players he should go to battle with. This leads to the fact that the team lacks play.
With each control match, Shakhtar does not improve its game tactically, but worsens. It shouldn't be like that. If you look at Dynamo, the team adds with every game. And Shakhtar's recent sparring sessions are simply failures.
In defense, the Donetsk people are a real disaster. We have seen that even clubs we don't know create chances and score in sparring matches with Shakhtar. There is little time before the start of the season, and it is not clear how to correct this situation.
— Almost all the legionnaires left Shakhtar. Will it be difficult for the Donetsk team without them?
- We must forget about the legionnaires. Even if they will, they are frankly weak. There are two ways to create a team. The first is to buy football players like Manchester City or PSG, and not the fact that the team will win. The most rational way is to record the composition. Competence plays a key role in game sports.
As an example, I can cite Real Madrid, which won the Champions League again, while practically not changing the lineup. The Greek national team won the European Championship, the Icelanders achieved success - all this was only due to playing. The greater the rotation in the lineup, the less this play.
Shakhtar's first team was actually a selection team. Jovičević reviewed the players. But the last gathering before the start of the season can no longer be selective. The coaching staff seems to be focusing on the Champions League, which starts later. They think that it will be easy to score points in the championship, but I have big doubts about that.
— What can you say about "Dnipro-1", which was headed by Oleksandr Kucher, who moved from "Metalist" Kharkiv?
— I'm still in a little shock, because changing the vector of both clubs like this is unexpected. A football club is like a building in which the architects are the president or the sports director. They appoint a “Chief Executive Officer” – a coach.
We see that one project, Kharkiv's Metalist, is on the verge of closure. And the other, "Dnipro-1", dramatically changes the vector of development. The selection of players was under one coach, and now everything has changed dramatically. I do not think that Jovicevich and Kucher think in the same direction.
So Dnipro-1 is a mystery to me now. I wish them all the best. But we don't see why the team will show the game. A large group of new football players arrived. What that will look like is unclear.
Even Metalist had slip-ups in the first league last season. And "Dnipro-1" is waiting for a serious battle in the UPL. I think the team will fight against Poltava Vorskla, which was undeservedly eliminated from the Swedish AIK in the Conference League qualification.
"Zorya" was also eliminated from the European Cups, the Luhansk team is also searching for its game.
I think that "Dnipro-1", "Vorskla" and "Zorya" will fight for the third place in the upcoming season. But Shakhtar can slide down to the level of third place.
— Which teams from the bottom of last season's standings can rise and challenge the established favorites?
— It seems to me, Lviv "Rukh". Good conditions have been created in the club, the coach has remained. The people of Lviv must rise.
Kovaliv's "Colossus" unpleasantly impresses with its preparation. If the leadership has enough patience, the coaching staff can pull the team out. But so far, the team has floundered.
Roman Hryhorchuk is an experienced coach at Chornomorets Odesa. But now it is too early to say that the team will perform well.
"Lviv" is one of the few clubs from the bottom of the table where there were many foreign players. How they will play now, after the departure of the legionnaires, is a big question.
"Ingulets", "Mynai" are also mystery teams for me so far.
— A new head coach, Yuriy Vernydub, came to Kryvbas. The team returns to the UPL after a nine-year break. What to expect from people of Kryvyi Rih?
— This is an emotional moment. Vernydub will not be easy. So far, there is no feeling of quality play in Kryvbas. Some players have been unconvincing even at the first league level, and it will be even more difficult in the UPL. The personnel resources of Kryvbas, like Chornomorets, are very limited.
In addition, it is still unclear where the team will play home matches. Those teams that will play at home will have an advantage - "Rukh", "Lviv", "Minai".
An interesting championship awaits us. The teams from the lower part of the tournament table are equipped with players of the first league. In fact, at the level of football, we are waiting for a mix of the UPL and the first league.
"Ukrainian giants should learn to sell football players in time"
— In the summer transfer window, there are active rumors about the transfer of Ukrainian football players to the top European championships. Do you think our clubs should let Mykhailo Mudryk, Artem Dovbyk, Mykola Matvienko go?
— I believe that the time has come when Ukrainian clubs should make money from the sale of their football players. Our two giants believe that they can sell footballers when they are no longer needed. Currently, it is necessary to count every hryvnia.
But if the player is not needed by Shakhtar or Dynamo, then Europe will not be interested in him either. We need to learn how to predict the growth of football players and sell them in time.
Dynamo sold Vitaly Mykolenko on time. It was believed that it would be difficult to find a replacement for him, but they did. I believe that the Kyiv club should also release Viktor Tsygankov.
As for Dovbyk and Mudryk, I have great doubts that these are footballers for elite European clubs. Rather, they can play in middle-class clubs, which are richer than the giants of our football. The amounts mentioned are absolutely acceptable.
Mudryk plays not so much stably as brightly and spectacularly. But this does not mean that he will play in a European club.
Transfers may still take place before the end of the summer transfer window. Promising players have to go. Artificially keeping football players is not profitable for our clubs.
"Yarmolenko made the right decision, Zinchenko never ceases to amaze, and it's time for Malinovsky to leave Atalanta"
— Andrii Yarmolenko could have returned to Dynamo Kyiv after the end of his contract with the English "West Ham", but he accepted the offer of "Al-Ain". Do you think he did the right thing?
— I think that is absolutely correct. It is important for a football player to earn money to feed his family. Brazilian Alex Teixeira at one time had offers from England, but switched to China. We should not judge footballers for their choices. You can be upset that the player is leaving the fans' radars, because the majority will not be watching the Arab League.
But this does not mean that Yarmolenko made the wrong decision. Andrey has two or three seasons left before the end of his career. He must have time to earn. "Dynamo" cannot now pay him even a million dollars a year. And his last salary was about four million.
Besides, who could he play for Dynamo instead? Only instead of Tsygankov. If Yarmolenko was a central striker, with which there is a shortage in the Kyiv team, then he could return.
For the national team of Ukraine, the transfer of Yarmolenko to Al-Ain is, of course, bad. The UAE Championship will not provide an opportunity to remain at a high level. But nothing can be done.
— What do you think of Oleksandr Zinchenko's debut in the London "Arsenal"?
— Zinchenko never ceases to amaze us. It has quite modest functionality. But thanks to his intelligence and, above all, a stable psyche, he chooses very wise decisions. I don't know who is helping him - an agent or maybe a woman.
In terms of style, Arsenal is very close to Manchester City. Zinchenko chose a team where he will not have to change his game. The Londoners are distinguished by good ball control, high technical equipment of the players. This is all that suits him.
So far, Zinchenko looks better than Vitaly Mykolenko at Everton. Oleksandr confidently started the season. I think Arsenal can fight for the championship.
— There are rumors that Ruslan Malinovsky may leave Atalanta. Do you think it's time for him to change teams?
— As one Italian expert said, Malinovsky is too predictable. He is a good football player but has only one strong point and that is his left foot. However, this cannot be exploited for long.
He needed to understand that sooner or later his crowning reception with a left-footed shot from a medium and long distance would be well studied by everyone even outside of Italy.
The same Yarmolenko was able to improve his right-footed game already at a mature age. In addition, Malinovsky is not durable enough. And Atalanta's game is quite fast-paced - constant pressure, high pressing. This is a running team, it is very difficult for Ruslan there. A lot of running work was always required of him.
Regarding his transfer, I think that he should not go specifically to the English Championship. Maybe he should really leave Atalanta, but at the same time stay in Italian Serie A. I think teams like Sampdoria or Fiorentina would suit him.
Andriy Piskun
