The past week turned out to be rather disappointing for Ukraine in terms of football. All our representatives were defeated in the European arena.
In the penultimate round of the group stage of the European Cups, all three Ukrainian teams scored points simultaneously for the first time in the current campaign, but, unfortunately, they also failed simultaneously in the final matches of the autumn part. Shakhtar, Dynamo and Dnipro-1 recognized the strength of their opponents in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, respectively.
"It is scary to imagine what would have happened if, during the last European Cup week of the calendar year, Ukrainian representatives had solved their main, and not "bonus" tasks. All three lost at the same time, "giving birth" to the worst week of the season", the author underlines "UA-Football" (04.11.22) Igor Semyon.
"Shakhtar" according to the patterns of "Dynamo"?
However, Shakhtar's task for the last round can hardly be called additional. In the event of a triumph on November 2, Igor Jovyevich's team could not only humiliate Leipzig for the second time in the season, but also climb to the second place in their quartet F. This, in turn, would mean that the Donetsk nationals reach the play-offs for the fifth time in their history. off the main club tournament of the world. But it didn't work out - a crushing defeat with a score of 0:4...
Nevertheless, the miners still have something to praise. Considering the situation, personnel recruitment and experts' predictions, an early third place is not bad.
"So, "Shakhtar" says goodbye to the current Champions League and does not do it on a major note. However, it is neither necessary nor worth sprinkling your head with ashes. Yes, the appetite comes with food, but just a couple of months ago we dreamed that a young team that was just being built would score at least a few goals in the Champions League, and today, I think, there are quite a few who are tearing their hair out that we got it only Europa League. Let's still stand with two feet on the ground and admit that today's result is fair and shows that the Champions League is currently not for Shakhtar.", Yevhen Savchuk writes on Footboom.com (02.11.22).
Reflecting on the defeat, the mass media and experts note in unison that this time the Ukrainian team faced a different "Leipzig", which the miners defeated two months ago with a score of 4:1. "Bulls" have become completely different since then. A new coach, Marco Rose, came to them, and they also approached the match as seriously as possible and without any underestimation of the opponent, as it was before the game of the 1st round.
"It was a very different Leipzig to the first match between these rivals in Germany. Under the new helmsman, Marco Rose, the "Bulls" have recently significantly improved, first of all, in the organization of the game. It seemed that each performer clearly knew his maneuver and therefore they easily outclassed the nominal hosts. In general, Marco Rose is not a fart specialist for Shakhtar, because, it is recalled, in the 2020/2021 season, the Donetsk team lost twice to Borussia Mönchengladbach, which was led by this mentor with a total score of 0:10(!). And here is another debacle...
The guests were much stronger in all components and, most importantly, they neutralized the key player of the "miners" - Mykhailo Mudryk, allowing him to accelerate only when the fate of the confrontation was already decided", ex-Shakhtar defender Oleksandr Chyzhevsky reveals interesting details. (Zbirna.com, 03.11.22).
The press is also unanimous in its expectations and judgments. They didn't mind if someone said before the start of the main draw that Shakhtar would score six points and, along with it, enter the Europa League playoffs. Such a performance would be considered successful. The opinion of journalists did not change significantly even after the group stage, during which the vector of the miners' performance could turn in different directions.
"In principle, according to the results, "Shakhtar" completely reached its usual, average level - for example, in the 2019/20 season, it had exactly the same indicators (6 points with a win and three draws) in the group with "Manchester City", "Atalanta" and "Dynamo" Zagreb, and scored the same number of goals - 8, and then conceded even more - 13 (now 10). Who dreamed of such a thing? Who could have thought that Shakhtar would still have a chance for the playoffs in the last round?
...According to the way the matches played out, Shakhtar could have 3-4 points more - and still enter the playoffs of the Champions League. But it's useless to think about it, even though fate was clearly on Shakhtar's side several times. The same "Celtic" in the first match had much more chances to win than the Donetsk team. And that point can well be considered a gift of fate", - notes Vadym Samoilov from Terrikon.com (03.11.22).
"The fairy tale is over. The coach, on which Shakhtar was so close to a sensational breakthrough in the playoffs, turned into a pumpkin at the last moment. The Miners finish third in the Champions League group stage with one win in six games - the same, in the first round, against Tedesco's then-Leipzig.
This is important to remember when calculating Shakhtar's virtual points in this group, an exercise that has been very popular in the last week. For example, with Real Madrid they lost a victory, and with Celtic in Glasgow Sikan did something unprecedented. But even at the beginning of the group stage, the spotlight of happiness shone in Shakhtar's favor in the eyes of the opponents - both in the match in Germany and then at home against Celtic.
As a result, there was a regression to the average - everything that was "taken over" at the beginning was given to the distance. History, by the way, is not uncommon in fairy tales, or even before them - starting with the Bible with its Job. Only there, things usually don't start very well, and then fate rewards the hero. In Shakhtar, it turned out the other way around, and probably you shouldn't complain about your fate", the opinion coincides with a colleague at Dmytro Litvynov from Ua.tribuna.com, (02.11.2).
So, apparently, the miners themselves did not see the finish of the tournament like that, but they now have to focus on strategic achievements. Namely, in the Europa League, a guarantee of new perspectives and new experience. There is something to be happy about, something to anticipate. In the group stage of the Champions League, Ihor Jovičević's men surprised many, but too much effort was spent. Even the penultimate UPL match against "Alexandria" (2:2) showed the serious fatigue of the "orange and black". From match to match, it became more and more difficult for them because the schedules are very tight these days and teams play a lot of matches in a short period of time.
"What is a non-recovery in football? As soon as "Shakhtar" ran out of gas, it immediately became similar to "Dynamo" in September. "Dynamo" simply started earlier in official tournaments... Unfortunately, in the case of "Shakhtar" and "Dynamo", under-recovery is not a miscalculation in preparation, but the costs of active migration in wartime conditions. These are force majeure circumstances. All this must be experienced and move on!"- the well-known journalist Ihor Linnyk draws parallels on his page in Facebook (04.11.22).
Analogies with the Kyiv club do not end there. The model that was adopted by the "white and blue" a few years ago is now also working in Shakhtar, even if it happened due to terrible circumstances. The first roles of the miners were played by Ukrainians, and it was their spirit and audacity that allowed the team to accomplish its current feats.
"It is quite possible that we see a change in the worldview of the club, which, due to forced circumstances, realized that relying on its own forces can bring results. It has a colossal meaning right now, against the background of the war and all kinds of trials of the nation. Thus, Shakhtar's autumn experience also has an extra-football meaning. We see how in the place of the old Shakhtar, which was disliked by many in Ukraine because of its cosmopolitanism, something new is emerging, interesting in a football sense and useful in a social sense. The next hour will show where this will lead us", - summarizes Vadym Samoilov at Terrikon.com (03.11.22).
"Dynamo" loses, but works
"Dynamo" today has to be under the fire of devastating criticism. Of course, you can criticize the team, there is a reason. But is it appropriate to do this in today's conditions? When the people of Kyiv have to change cities and stadiums every two days, they actually do not have a constant training process and do not see their fans.
Ukraine is currently going through the most specific season in the history of independent football. Each club overcomes this stage in its own way, with its own failures. However, the game is always the result of the training process, with which there are now serious difficulties, especially for the participants of the European Cups.
"We have one goal - to survive in this situation and maintain the best possible level. One day the war will end, and "Dynamo" must remain at its level. This is a brand, a club with a great history and winning traditions. We are in last place in the group, but I don't think we deserve to be there", - emphasizes the head coach of the "white and blue" Mircea Lucescu. (Fcdynamo.com, 02.11.22).
The coach does not deny that he overworked the players to some extent in the spring in an effort to get to the main draw of the Champions League. Therefore, the team has the following results. However, then, thanks to the forcing of the form, "Dynamo" also passed "Fenerbahce" and Austrian "Sturm", stopping one step away from the group stage of the main European Cup due to the defeat of "Benfica".
It is interesting that already at the playoff stage of the qualification round, Lucescu called the Lisbon team great. And she confirmed the assessment of the 77-year-old experienced Romanian specialist in the main round of the competition. In a group with such giants of world football as "Juventus" and "PSG", the Portuguese finished first, never once conceding to famous competitors!
"I think we made a mistake playing charity matches so intensively in the spring. In addition, the internationals were busy with their national teams", Lucescu also noted at the press conference before the final match of the Europa League group stage with Fenerbahce. (Sportarena.com, 02.11.22).
However, in that situation, one should rather applaud the Dynamo management, which made a decision to play in the name and for the honor of the country in difficult times for it, than to purposefully prepare for European Cup achievements and conduct a corresponding transfer campaign. It is appropriate to recall what emotions the Kyivans gave to all Ukrainians with their victorious performances, not to mention how much money the club raised for the needs of the army and aid to victims of the Russian invasion.
"I periodically visit the "Dynamo" base, attend the team's training sessions. And I can say that I see what I was talking about earlier: the war and the corresponding working conditions of the teams will necessarily increase. Unfortunately. For each club - in its own way. There is a good example of Shakhtar, yes, but the fact that the team was deprived of that balanced off-season training, on which a lot, if not everything, was built was fatal for Dynamo. There are no complaints about the return to the football players who are now defending the team's colors. But it is necessary to understand that failures necessarily bear their mark, it cannot but affect the team", in an interview Dynamo.kiev.ua (31.10.22) reveals behind-the-scenes details of Dynamo's life, its outstanding player and coach, as well as ex-coach of the Ukrainian national team, Leonid Buryak.
The specialist assures that work continues at all levels in the capital club. Management keeps its hand on the pulse 24 hours a day. For example, the same Dynamo U-19 youth team is consistently among the leaders, constantly making progress, and 11 Dynamo players immediately helped the U-17 youth national team get to the elite round of the European Championship 2023. That is, it is about the structure of the club, which is clearly working. And with such an approach, the current failures of the first team are certainly temporary. Perhaps a confident victory in Odessa over Chornomorets (3:0) in the 11th round of the UPL will be the first step in the recovery of the team, which will now play only in Ukraine.
"But it is not necessary to destroy the team. It is played by the same people as you and I. Something may not work out for them. Moreover, for objective reasons. Each of our teams now has a new composition. And each team in its own way goes through the period of this forced formation", Leonid Buryak emphasizes (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 31.10.22).
His words are backed up by numbers. Undoubtedly, after a more or less successful qualification for the Champions League and a fiasco in the Europa League, Dynamo has the lowest result since the 2005/06 campaign in terms of points scored in the UEFA coefficient table. However, even Shakhtar, although it became the biggest provider of points from Ukraine, showed the worst personal performance in the last 11 seasons (although Donetsk will still have at least two matches in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League). Instead, Dnipro-1 impressed with its premiere on the European arena, which, taking into account the bonus for entering the Conference League playoffs, is only one point behind the miners' achievement.
Bottling "Dnipra-1"
Interestingly, "Dnipro-1" and "Shakhtar" in the current season generally walk in unison. In the Ukrainian Premier League, they are neighbors at the top of the table, and in the continental arena, the former club of Igor Jovičević and his current team completed the Euro-Spring ahead of time and in the last round of their tournaments could jump above their heads. Both did not complete the mission, but will continue to perform at the stage in the 1/16 finals.
It is gratifying that the people of Dnipro impress not only fans and experts with their football, but also experienced opponents. Pascal Jansen spoke positively about Oleksandr Kucher's players and "Alkmaar" coach Pascal Jansen after the victory over the Ukrainians last Thursday.
"We played against an unknown opponent, but this is the leader of the Ukrainian championship, a team that concedes very little. Even though Dnipro-1 is not such a famous club, it is very difficult to play with it", - quotes the words of the Dutchman's helmsman Ukrfootball.ua (04.11.22).
The fact that the Dnipro team decently faced the fifth team of the Dutch championship according to the results of last season in a full squad adds weight to this assessment.
"In Dnipro-1, personnel problems were much more serious: the Ukrainians came to Alkmaar with only thirteen (!) field players due to numerous injuries", the local edition emphasizes on this moment Voetbal Zone (03.11.22).
Kucher and his boys continue to gather good press in the domestic journalistic fields as well. The spring in the Conference League and the strengthening of the leading position in the national championship, where "Minay" was beaten in a willful style on Sunday (3:1), plunged the team into an even more positive information space.
"This collective generally evokes sympathy. Dnipro has a young and ambitious team, which I like very much. And although she does not have enough experience in European cups, it is still clear that the boys are progressing. Some people probably thought that after Igor Yovychevich left, Dnipro-1 would "fall apart". However, this did not happen. The people of Dnipro look good in the European Cups, and are confidently leading the national championship. It is not for nothing that several players of Oleksandr Kucher's team are called to the ranks of the Ukrainian national team. Yes, it is a pity that "Dnipro-1" could not win in the final match of the group stage against AZ (Alkmaar). However, even this failure, I am sure, will harden the team and its players", former Dynamo forward, 1986 Ballon d'Or winner Ihor Belanov sums up the performances of Dnipro residents in an interview Ua-football.com (04.11.22).
And one more pleasant moment. Dnipro-1 striker Artem Dovbyk single-handedly topped the list of the top scorers of the current Conference League draw after the Alkmaar goal with five well-hit shots. He also leads the system in "goal + pass", having seven productive actions.
...While "Dnipro-1" and "Shakhtar" are leaving for the European holidays, they will face a tough fight for the top 15 in the UEFA coefficient table in the spring. Despite the fact that UPL has retained representation in the Europa League and the Conference League, our situation is not yet satisfactory. Ukraine is still at risk of dropping out of the top 15, which will mean a reduction in the number of participants in the 2024/25 campaign to four.
"The task is actually quite realistic, and if you are an optimist, you can even hope for 13th place. In order not to lose the quota of 5 representatives in the European Cups, Ukraine must not let Denmark go ahead and at the same time bypass at least one of the other three competitors. The easiest option is the Czech Republic, which has finished its season on the international arena", - states Dmytro Vatras on Ua.tribuna.com (04.11.22).
A lot will also depend on the draw for the playoffs, which will take place today.
Orest LELEKA
