Miroslav Stupar, a famous football referee in the past, and now an authoritative expert, shared with K team1 with his impressions of the start in the elite domestic division, evaluated the performance of Ukrainian clubs on the international arena and told what to expect from the national team of Ukraine in the final matches of the League of Nations.
— Despite the Russian aggression, football life in Ukraine had to be restored without fail. Football is a social phenomenon, and the holding of official matches in such a difficult time was supposed to testify to the indomitability of Ukrainians. And after defeating an insidious enemy, he is convinced that he will be lucky enough to quickly raise the level of Ukrainian football.
— Before the start of the season, all domestic specialists unanimously said that there would be no surprises in the elite division. But it didn't happen as expected...
— Indeed, the starting segment was full of surprises. First of all, Dynamo Kyiv was unpleasantly surprised. Although, it seemed, nothing foreshadowed such a bad start. After all, the wards of Mircea Lucescu successfully played a number of exhibition matches in various European countries, and it turned out that there is a real gap between them and official matches.
Because it was difficult to recognize Kyiv in the UPL championship and the European Cup draw. And these first failures knocked the Dynamo players off track and gradually they found themselves in a psychological "pit". And it is difficult to say when they will get out of it. Moreover, although it is hard to believe, Dynamo lacks qualified strikers and therefore it is very problematic for Kyiv to hit the opponent's goal.
Another unexpected loser is Vorskla. It seemed that the Poltava players worked productively in the transfer market. Unlike the Dynamo players, there are many legionnaires in their ranks, and the famous mentor Viktor Skrypnyk was invited to the helm. However, this did not bring dividends to "Vorskli" and it failed to start in the UPL and was quickly eliminated from the European Cups.
— And yet, will "Dynamo" and "Vorskli" be lucky enough to make up for lost time in the championship?
— It is more likely that "Dynamo" and "Vorskla" will eliminate vulnerabilities and return to the fight for awards. But since a lot of precious points were lost at the start, they no longer have the right to misfire.
— It would be nice to hear your opinion about the performance of all Ukrainian teams in the European Cups...
— By and large, only Shakhtar deserves praise. The rest are in the red. It's a pity, because thanks to a successful performance on the international arena, it would be possible to significantly replenish the club's coffers. After all, make money by selling your best players to more famous foreign clubs. However, most of our teams did not take advantage of this chance.
— In your opinion, what has become a stumbling block for our representatives in the European Cups?
— Absence of leaders who would take over the game at a critical moment. This was especially noticeable in Dynamo. Kyiv should take a cue from miner Mykhailo Mudryk, who has played a prominent role in keeping Shakhtar on top of their Champions League group.
Although for the sake of justice, it should be said that Igor Jovičević's wards are very lucky so far in this most prestigious continental tournament. In particular, in the last confrontation with Celtic, they only miraculously avoided defeat.
— By the way, in Shakhtar matches — "Celtic" and "Dynamo" — AEK were annulled by the goals of Maryan Shved from Donetsk and Vitaly Buyalskyi from Kyiv. Was everything according to the letter of the law?
- I think so. Especially since the VAR system is used in the matches of the Champions League and the Europa League, and the referees had the opportunity to use the prompts of this "prompter".
— At the end of September, the attention of football fans will be focused on the decisive matches of the national team of Ukraine in the League of Nations. Unfortunately, due to injuries in these battles, Georgy Bushchan, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykola Shaparenko will not help our main team. Can their absence prevent the Ukrainian national team from rising in class?
— These are indeed quite serious losses, but I think that the driver Oleksandr Petrakov will find an equivalent replacement for the injured. There is not only the main list of players, but also an extended one. Therefore, the mentor will have someone to choose from.
It is important that in the final round, our team, although on a neutral field, will host the current main competitor, the Scots. Everyone is aware of the importance for Ukraine of returning to the elite division of the League of Nations and is confident that this goal will be achieved.
Vasily MYKHAILOV