Failures in the decisive matches twice this year did not allow the national team of Ukraine to achieve the desired result, which Ukrainians were waiting for, and which the football players and coaches themselves sought. A defeat in Wales and a draw with Scotland in Poland made the end of the blue and yellow's tournament a dramatic one. There is no truth, children - in both cases, the National Team did not achieve the goal. However, is it fair to characterize the performances of the main team of 2022 as a failure? In order to answer this question, we suggest recalling all the matches that the national team played under the leadership of Oleksandr Petrakov.
Oleksandr PetrakovCalled to help
To begin with, let's go back to the year 2021, when Oleksandr Petrakov accepted the national team. Petrakov was offered to lead the national team by the president of UAF Andriy Pavelko. In a situation where the national team needed a helmsman, the then 64-year-old specialist, who had won the U-20 World Cup two years earlier, understood that the risk was much greater than the possible dividends. Despite this, he agreed, because he realized that not only the president of UAF needed his help, but also Ukrainian football: you can't abandon the national team to their own devices when other candidates refused to "take" it at least for a few games. Despite the imprecise wording of the contract term (one, two, and maybe five games), Oleksandr Petrakov agreed to such terms without even discussing his possible salary - he simply knew that the country needed him. And there is no pathos in this phrase. And so it was. Petrakov was ready to prepare the national team for each subsequent match as for the final.
Did Petrakov deserve an invitation to the position of head coach of the national team - let's recall, in the first period with the acting prefix? As the most successful coach among the mentors of youth national teams, who led different youth national teams (U-17 and U-19) to the Euro finals three times, and the senior boys from U-20 (the actual "graduation" age before adult football) to the final tournaments twice world championships, one of which he won, becoming the first and currently only coach to win World Cup "gold" for Ukraine - can there be any questions? Yes, Petrakov achieved all his achievements at the youth level, but the great plus of a specialist is in his knowledge of the abilities of virtually all generations who grew up and became candidates or were already players of the main team.
A serious challenge and a lame legacy
Of course, working in the national team, especially at first, was a real challenge for Petrakov. The work seems to be the same, but the players are adults, with a strong character and ego, so the coach himself also needed adaptation. But there was no time for this adaptation. It was necessary to "harness to the drawbar and plow" immediately.
The newly appointed coach's legacy is three points from the opening three rounds of 2022 World Cup qualifying with four losses at home to Kazakhstan and Finland and a very uncertain outlook. In fact, there was no right to make a mistake.
In Petrakov's debut game in his new position, in Kazakhstan, the blue and yellow were close to winning: the "coach" guessed with the substitution of Sikan, who scored the ball that had every chance of becoming the winner. But the bad luck of Karavaev in that match and the fantastic luck of the Kazakhstani winger Valiulin prevented this from happening. Later, Petrakov was criticized for not replacing Karavaev in time, an argument that can be accepted, given the review of the "entry" process and insufficient knowledge of the capabilities of certain players.
The second match is at home with France at the Olimpiyskyi: bold, fast football from Petrakov's team, which surprised not only the French, but also many domestic experts, who, let's be honest, expected that this game would turn into a fiasco for Petrakov. However, the coach showed that he knows how to build a game against the favorites. If Martial had not pushed the ball between the bar and Pyatov, they could have scored a full 3 points. But this did not happen. So far, no fart has been observed in Petrakov.
Final after final
So, the national team continued the streak of draws and continued to play every subsequent match as a final. In Finland, it was possible to get three winning points for the first time in a difficult game with the hosts. The first victory is very important for the head coach and the players. Especially in a situation when you realize that a defeat can actually erase the chances of getting out of the group, and one more draw will turn them into purely theoretical ones.
Three days later, a great first half in Lviv against Bosnia and only one goal with significantly more chances. As a result, a missed counterattack in the second half is a draw again instead of a win, and now not everything depends on us: it is necessary not only to win on the field of Bosnia, but also to prevent the French from letting the Finns win. Everything remains the same - the situation is "from the knife", but the team has only become more united, and I can assure you that the role of the head coach in this is decisive.
In the decisive match of the group, away in Bosnia, the blue and yellow went as if it were the last battle and won, managing to take the final second place in the group, which allowed them to enter the playoffs. Considering the starting conditions in which Petrakov took over the team, such a result should be recognized as quite acceptable. Let's be honest, to take the first place in the group, after a protracted drawn start, would be possible only with a sufficient amount of luck, which the current coach of the national team, unfortunately, frankly lacks.
The invasion of orcs and a change in the football calendar
The influx of infamous orcs, which began on February 24, 2022, as is known, pushed the playoff matches for Ukraine from the end of March to the beginning of June, and deprived the players themselves not only of a peaceful life and peace, but also of game practice.
In order to prepare the team for the decisive matches, Oleksandr Petrakov decided to hold a month-long gathering in which players from Ukrainian clubs, which a few weeks earlier had started friendly matches in support of the Ukrainian nation's struggle for its Independence, took part.
Petrakov's decision, although at the time it was questioned by some coaches and specialists, still gave its result. The Legionnaires joined the playoff matches in just a week, but in a month of training, the performers from their home clubs managed to bring them to a common denominator - both functionally and psychologically. The fact that football players, like all Ukrainians, suffered and are still suffering from the horrors of the war should not be overlooked. And although, just like people of other professions, football players gather their will into a fist and do their work, despite the suffering and fear for their relatives and millions of compatriots, it is just as difficult for them to do it as for all their compatriots. Because thoughts about people and the country just don't fade from my head. For eight months now, all Ukrainians are far from in an ideal psychological state, therefore, when evaluating the performances of the national team, one should not forget about this factor.
Playoff matches
The first playoff game in Scotland was a real revelation from Petrakov's team. A confident game, a logical victory, an incredibly positive psychological charge of emotions and, accordingly, not unreasonable hopes for success in Wales. Petrakov outplayed his opponent Clark, the guys executed the setup for the game and realized the created moments. Not all, but the key ones. And this is exactly what brings results. Having won matches, the team gained the necessary emotional boost. But the opponent, who played his semi-final back in March, was waiting for him, and was preparing for the final calmly and keeping his strength.
Wales is an unfortunate pain that still bleeds and won't go away. An even game in a worthy battle between two teams of comparable strength. And some simply incomprehensible nefart. And in this case, one cannot agree with the old football saying that "in football, the lucky one is lucky." Not always... Ukrainians fought for every ball, fought for the warriors fighting the orcs and for every Ukrainian. Before the second half, the team gathered in the locker room in a circle, hugging: Oleksandr Zinchenko urged the boys to fight in every episode, everyone supported it and fought until the final whistle...
Andriy Yarmolenko still won't explain why he went for that shot by Bale - obviously, he wanted to knock the ball out... It didn't work out... This happens in football and you can't do anything about it. On the other hand, we have every reason to complain to the referee - for an unassigned penalty (the foul on Yarmolenko was obvious), and for a violation, the Welshman should have received a second yellow, leaving his team in the minority. For some reason, the referee Mateo Laos from Spain felt sorry for the home team. Why? It remains a mystery or a guess... But even Zinchenko's goal at the beginning of the game, Laos could count - it was after the fact that he showed a yellow card to the Welshman and raised his hand, saying that the free kick should take place "on the whistle"...
In a match between equal teams, such details play a decisive role. And again, when analyzing, we should not forget that, unlike Ukraine, Wales did not play four days before, but waited for its opponent. Also an important factor. But the Ukrainians did not give in to the Welsh in the game. They conceded the result due to an unfortunate ricochet. Petrakov lost his first game at the head of the national team and, unfortunately, this first defeat happened in the decisive game...
Unprecedented changes in the starting line-up and departure of Pyatov
Surviving this failure was extremely difficult, but there was simply no time to despair. In just a few days, the national team started the new UEFA Nations League season with a match in Ireland. Petrakov made a decision that seemed strange to many at first and was certainly unprecedented: the match in Dublin featured an almost completely renewed lineup - only Vitaly Mykolenko played from the start in Wales. But his departure on the left flank of the defense was forced - Eduard Sobol fell ill the day before, and there was simply no one to put in that position. That is why Petrakov asked Mykolenko to start the game for the third time in a week from the first minutes. And this national team of Ukraine, whose starting line-up included seven debutants at the official level, won a difficult victory in Dublin, marking the beginning of a new tournament history of the blue-yellow team.
Then there was a victory in Poland over Armenia (3:0) and an unforgettable send-off by captain Andriy Pyatov, worthy of the outstanding career of the centurion goalkeeper in the national team. By the way, it was Oleksandr Petrakov who convinced Andrii to stay in the national team after the failure in Wales (the veteran asked him to let him go) in order to play his final game in a blue-yellow shirt under completely different circumstances. And everything turned out just perfectly - and Andriy impressed in that game with saves, and the national team won with a big score, and the send-offs were touching - such times will also be remembered in the history of the blue-yellow team. These things are important because they convey the atmosphere that people create. And if we are talking about a team, it is created by football players and coaches. And how can we not mention here that a few days before the meeting with the Armenians, Pyatov stumbled during the warm-up, his leg muscle began to bother him, so the farewell game was in jeopardy. But the coach calmed down the football player, supported him and he played one of his most memorable matches in his career. We want to believe that such things do not happen by accident.
The final match of that game cycle, in which the Ukrainians played as many as 5 games in 10 (!) days - no other European team had such a schedule - turned out to be very difficult. The boys were exhausted both morally and psychologically. In addition, the cold shower in Wales bore its "fruits": quite a few players caught colds and fell ill - relatively easily, but weakness and a drop in immunity does not help anyone, especially in sports. It was clear that the "home game" in Poland was very difficult. In the end, the fact that it was possible to equalize and end the match in a draw, against the background of all previous events, was an acceptable minimum: at the equator of the distance, Ukraine was in first place in the Nations League group.
Issues for and in Glasgow
September 2022 and decisive matches. The Ukrainians again received the most difficult game schedule: three matches in one week, two in the third. No one had such a busy calendar - no one's fault but the war and the orcs...
The nuances of the changed calendar again "amused" with a minus sign: the first game took place already on the third day from the start of the official FIFA date - our "foreigners" joined the camp only 2 days before the match, having conducted one recovery and one pre-game training - this is almost nothing. Petrakov again gathered the players of Ukrainian clubs earlier (this time for a three-day gathering), but there was less time for preparation, and there were not enough players for full training.
Even before the first game with the Scots, it was known that Zabarny and Zinchenko would not play in Glasgow due to disqualification. A week before the start of the meeting, Oleksandr was injured and, in general, dropped out of the game. Serious injuries to Bushchan and Shaparenko excluded these players from the number of participants in the decisive September meetings. All three are important players for the national team. And if the galaxy of talented goalkeepers gave hope for the future, then the absence of two performers who were decisive for the creation of the team's game caused serious worries. It was not easy to replace Ilya Zabarny (in addition, Denys Popov was also injured).
In Glasgow, Petrakov put a pair of center backs from Shakhtar Donetsk, Bondar-Matvienko, in the defense, who played two Champions League matches in this combination - enough reason to trust the performers with a place in the team's starting line-up. Mykolenko arrived with an injury and was also forced to miss the match - he was replaced by Mykhailichenko. Meanwhile, in the center of the field, along with Stepanenko and Malinovsky, Pikhalyonok came out.
The Scots "broke" us in the second half of the match. It must be recognized. Young and inexperienced players at the level of the national team — Bondar, Mykhailychenko, Pikhalyonok — could not withstand the onslaught of the hosts. Accordingly, it was difficult to show your game to the team leaders: in games where you have to withstand the pressure, the performance of each performer is of great importance. The guys didn't show the expected performance not because they didn't want to or did their work with reluctance (I had to hear such opinions from some "reality assessors", whom the language does not return to call experts). The main team of Scotland, with the exception of 2-3 players, are performers from the English Premier League (guys from the famous Scottish "Celtic" and "Rangers" enter the field from the bench). Football fans are well aware of the speed in the elite English division, which many experts call the strongest league in the world. When you are faced with fast and hard players, it is very difficult to withstand their pressure, especially if the team is missing almost half of the "core" players. Zinchenko, Shaparenko, Zabarny, Mykolenko, Bushchan - 5 players, half of the team...
Victory in Armenia and "third series" with Scotland
After the defeat in Glasgow, Petrakov released a completely renewed starting lineup for the next game for the second time in the tournament - this time all eleven (it is worth noting that, as in the first case, the head coach immediately informed the players that this would be the case, so the players prepared for the match with the understanding of this fact). The 5:0 victory in Armenia (the biggest in Petrakov's career in the national team, as well as in the history of our national team in the League of Nations) raised the fighting spirit of the team and gave the necessary positive attitude before the decisive game in Poland.
The national team prepared for this match with responsibility and inspiration: the guys understood the importance of the game - everyone wanted to end this difficult year on a high note. The atmosphere and mood before the third match in a year with the Scots can be described as "maximum concentration and confidence in one's abilities". It is confidence that is not self-confidence. Of course, there is always anxiety about a positive result. But it was such a good excitement that it was motivating. Andriy Pyatov and Serhiy Sydorchuk, who missed the game due to a card breakdown, came to Krakow to support the boys, which is an additional proof of the team's united spirit. Serhii admitted before the game that he had a good feeling...
And the match was given. Yes, at the beginning of the game there were a couple of dangerous combinations from the Scots, but then the Ukrainians created one dangerous moment after another: there were scoring chances both in the first half and in the second. They created enough to score at least one goal, which would decide the winner of the match. But... Somewhere there was a lack of skill, somewhere elementary luck... Someone will say, "here we go again"... Maybe again, but the best Ukrainian players were on the field from those who were healthy and ready to play at the moment. We simply don't have others. Ukraine had an advantage in the game - coaches and players did everything possible for this, but in football, unfortunately, advantage does not always determine the result. It's a shame, but it's a fact.
Failure or failure?
Knowing the situation and the atmosphere from the inside, one thinks that the players' great desire to win, which all of Ukraine was waiting for, sometimes affected their composure in the moments of the final shots. And here a comparison with each of us, Ukrainians, who are having a hard time with the current war calamity, will be appropriate. Every Ukrainian now knows that we are not the same as before, not the same as always... The war leaves its mark on each of us, changing behavioral reactions and, to some extent, professional abilities. All this cannot be ignored when analyzing the games of the Ukrainian national team in the 2022 war... Because of the war, the national team could not play at home - this is also a very important point that cannot be overlooked. Our fans, together with our Polish friends, created a great atmosphere in the stadiums in Poland, but it is simply impossible to feel completely at home if you are not there...
Calling this year's performance a failure is not just unfair, but also unprofessional and insulting to the people who gave their all, defending the honor of Ukraine. In all matches, with the exception of the game on September 21 in Glasgow, the blue and yellow either won or came close to winning. Again, with the exception of one match, the Ukrainians created a lot of chances, and their game was enjoyable. Judging by the two failures in the decisive games, the performance of the Ukrainian national team can be called unsuccessful, but by no means a failure.
A year of Oleksandr Petrakov's work: consequences and prospects
During the year of Oleksandr Petrakov's work in the national team, there is every reason to say that the players understand his ideas and support them. This specialist knows football from the inside, knows how to assess the player's abilities and readiness for a certain match and choose the optimal game scheme according to the available players and the opponent's style of play. For football, these factors are the most important. Oleksandr Petrakov's decisions have repeatedly helped further clubs. Of the last examples, it was Petrakov who was not afraid to put Oleksandr Tymchyk in the games, who after an injury did not have playing practice in Dynamo, but after the games in the national team he played again in the club. The same can be said about Bohdan Mykhailichenko, who started appearing in the main team of Shakhtar after matches for the national team.
The job of coaching a country's top team is an electric chair of the highest tension. But in a year of work in this position, it seems that Oleksandr Petrakov has adapted to this tension, if it is possible to adapt to it at all. He learned a lot in this place and gave a lot in return - effort, skill, motivation, sleepless nights and nerves.
The failure in this year's League of Nations was woven into a chain of subsequent events - the Euro-2024 qualification draw, where the blue and yellow two giants of world football, Italy and England, fell to rivals, with whom it will be very difficult to fight for two tickets to the final tournament. In addition, the opponents are the unyielding North Macedonia and Malta. Such a composition of the group does not seem to cause queues of those wishing to lead the national team of Ukraine. But does the team need another mentor, if the current one has shown himself to be a bold strategist who is not afraid of the most difficult challenges and tirelessly looks for ways out of the most difficult tournament situations?
Oleksandr Glyvinsky
