The President of the Polish Football Union, Cezary Kulesza, explained why Andriy Shevchenko did not lead the Polish national team.
- Even before the full-scale invasion of Russia, you wanted to invite Andriy Shevchenko to lead the Polish national team. Why him?
— There were many candidates we considered, but later the circle decreased.
I know Andrey. We met at the Europa League final in Warsaw, where Dnipro played against Sevilla. Back then, Konoplyanka played for the Ukrainian team (now Evgeny plays in the Polish Ekstraklyas for Cracovia). He also met with the owner of Dnipro Igor Kolomoisky.
I called Shevchenko on the phone, we talked. The problem was that the club did not want to terminate the contract with him ahead of schedule, although he no longer worked with the team. The American owners of Genoa (777 Partners) did not want to pay compensation - it is easier for them to pay a monthly salary to a coach.
Andrei really wanted to be the coach of the Polish national team. His lawyers worked on this issue, but nothing came of it. And I couldn't wait any longer - our coach Kadry left the national team (Portuguese Paulo Sousa) and it was necessary to decide on a successor.