Over the next month, the main attention of the press will undoubtedly be riveted to the 2022 World Cup that has started in Qatar. But the main tournament of the four-year period is only gaining momentum, so it’s too early to put any topics for analytics regarding the Mundial on the agenda. Another thing is the Ukrainian championship approaching its equator with its unexpected results and atypical tournament layout. Here the press had many interesting versions and conclusions...
Photo - scdnipro1.com.ua"Dnepr-1": application for the title
On Saturday, the UPL hosted the main match of the first round: Dnipro-1, which had taken the lead from the very beginning of the championship, hosted its closest pursuer Shakhtar and achieved a strong-willed victory with a score of 2:1.
The media unanimously note: Shakhtar, with its more solid selection of players, was considered the favorite of the match, but the team of Oleksandr Kucher looked more united, more purposeful and sharper in attack, so the victory of Dnipro-1 is absolutely natural. And its value becomes even higher if we take into account the personnel problems that the Dnipro coaching staff faced this fall.
An interesting fact about this is noted by the Tribuna website:
"Each club has no serious problems with the graves of the main warehouse through injuries, like Dnipro-1 right away. In the matches against Vorskla, it went to the point where the nominal central defenders Loginov and Gomez finished in the center of the field. Through the lack of gravel on the spare benches" (Ua.tribuna.com, 11/18/2022).
In the match against Shakhtar for Dnipro-1, Blanco, Gromov, Purita, Luchkevich could not play due to injuries... And already on the day of the game, another base player, Amash, joined the infirmary. As a result, the team did not even have enough players to completely fill out the application for the match. Nevertheless, the maximum task was completed.
As part of the winners, the press, first of all, notes the goalscorers - Alexander Pikhalenok and Artem Dovbik.
“Zvyazka Dovbik - Pikhalyonok ruined the result of this match. Cezagal is one of the best speeches ever in Ukrainian football.
At the first goal, the Dniprians played a top combo - Dovbik passed the heel to Gutsulyak, and the one to Pikhalyonka, having broken through Trubina. In the other half, already Dovbik scored with a tight shot after a pass to Pikhalyonka. Tseim’yach, having become possible, ”- writes Irina Kozyupa (Ua.tribuna.com, 11/19/2022).
Volodymyr Adamyuk also received a lot of positive feedback, who, on the whole, successfully opposed the leader of Shakhtar Mykhailo Mudryk, although he still managed to score his goal. And, of course, the media pay tribute to the head coach of Dnipro-1, who unequivocally won a tactical duel against his more experienced counterpart. And this is despite the fact that Igor Jovichevich made a rather unexpected move.
This time Shakhtar's mentor decided to play two defensive midfielders, placing Egor Nazarina in a pair with Taras Stepanenko. Thus, Jovicevich hoped to cut off the oxygen to Pikhalenka as much as possible, through which the game of the Dnieper is built. But the coaching staff of Dnipro-1 had their own argument on this: a pair of tenacious and agile haves Valentin Rubchinsky - Ruslan Babenko did not lose the center of the field, and as a result, Pikhalyonok received operational space quite regularly.
“Shakhtar’s bet on Nazarini’s duet with Stepanenko didn’t work, Andrey Fesun states on the Futbum website. — The tricoutnik of superniks near the center of the field didn’t ring at a price. Until then, Shakhtar's right flank was falling again, and Dnipro-1 was blowing better. Taylor's departure didn't hit the mark" (Footboom.com, 11/19/2022).
It is also noted that the Dniprians quite successfully coped with the pressure of the miners, acted positionally competently and demonstrated good skill in the game from defense - this was already after taking the lead.
“Oleksandr Kucher’s wards confidently defended the result, winning martial arts and keeping the opponent away from the perimeter of their own penalty area. Petryak's appearance instead of Stepanenko in the 80th minute didn't help the Donetsk side in any way", - summed up Mikhail Yukhimenko (Football24.ua, 11/19/2022).
In addition, Dnipro-1 clearly surpassed Shakhtar in their desire to win, as noted by well-known coach Igor Yavorsky:
"FROMAmoviddacha gravel "Dnipro-1" bula on the most important river. On the skin of the football field, the nominal owners wanted to win. Pіdopіchnі Jovichevich thought viїhati in class, ale we were told that the wine is not so high" (Sportarena.com, 11/19/2022).
In general, no one looks at Dnepr-1 as a lucky upstart and caliph for an hour. The media assess Dnipro-1's victory over Shakhtar as a very serious bid for Kucher's team to win the Premier League.
“2:1 - Dnipro-1 is stronger in history, having won against Shakhtar. But it’s better to say something else: the Dnipros not only guaranteed their winter championship, but they increased the number of “highs” in the tournament table up to eight points, even though the opponent would lose one match in the reserve. And the sports clubs took revenge on their ex-mentor Yovandchevandchu, what an influx, on the thought of being cheered by the club, having helped Dnipro-1, having signed a contract with Shakhtar, - writes Denis Shakhovets (Sport.ua, 11/19/2022).
"Dnipro-1" was already praised for having played the whole match, hanging not just an argument, but an argument. Will Ukraine have a new champion?”, — trying to look into the future Igor Semyon (Ua-football.com, 11/19/2022).
Here, of course, it is difficult to guess. The press believes that the key factor may be how Dnepr-1 conducts the winter transfer campaign. For specialists, it is obvious that the team is now playing almost at the limit of its capabilities and a number of positions need to be strengthened.
On this occasion, a detailed analysis was published by Vladimir Garets. Noting the tactical flexibility and character of Kucher's team, he argues that Dnepr-1 needs "fresh blood" in any case.
"The goalkeeper is one of the possible positions, as it is necessary to help the club pay. There will definitely be jokes from the right defender (Valeriy Luchkevich and Emiliano Purita are unlikely to play in the season until the last week), so they didn’t catch the first transfer window to know another winger, who would instantly and insured Artem Dovbik in the attack.
It’s possible, you’ll need to be a forward, as the club that Dovbik still takes away the proposition, so as to please both ...
Also, the team does not start the central ventilator and the additional central ventilator. Tobto, everything is going to the point that Dnipro-1 can sign 5-6 new engravings. Do you want to stabilize the team? (Ua.tribuna.com, 11/18/2022).
If this does not happen, it will be difficult for the team from Dnipro to stay on top. There is a high risk of breaking somewhere halfway. Although, of course, a lot depends on how things will be with competitors. After all, they are also not immune from recessions.
Shakhtar: not to be too smart with Mudrik
Analyzing the match between Dnipro-1 and Shakhtar, a number of media drew attention to another important nuance regarding the game of the Donetsk team. Or rather, its leader Mikhail Mudrik. Yes, he scored a goal and sharpened well several times. But in general, the press expected more from him.
As follows from a number of publications, the reason that Mikhail did not play his best may lie in the incredible hype that has risen around his potential transfer. Moreover, a new wave of hype was launched by the Donetsk club itself, through the mouth of Sergey Palkin, who, a few days before the key match, named the astronomical amount that Shakhtar plans to earn by selling Mudrik, and made it clear that bargaining is practically inappropriate.
“I believe that in the future it can cost about 100 million euros. In any case, the time will come. Of course, there will be a big club and will give us this amount”, — quoted the words of Palkin edition of The Athletic (Fanday.net, 11/16/22).
On the one hand, the desire of Shakhtar's management to sell their best player as expensive as possible is quite understandable. But both journalists and experts consider the price of 100 million to be clearly too high. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the interests of the player himself, who dreams of reaching a new level, which is possible only in a strong club of the top championship.
At the same time, it is clear to everyone: Mudrik would not want to postpone his transfer to the future. After all, there is no doubt that after exploits in the Champions League, Mikhail will receive a couple of interesting offers from abroad this winter. And then suddenly - such a skyrocketing price tag.
By the way, the reaction of Mudrik himself to Palkin's interview is very indicative.
“Having found out my price, I was not only surprised - I was shocked ... The amount of 100 million to put a barrier for my transition to the top championship, about which I am so dreaming. I can’t say that my mind is beaten, but it’s injured - for sure, ” - quotes Mudrik "SportArena" (Sportarena.com, 11/16/2022).
So the media has every reason to draw a parallel between this whole story and Mikhail's game in the match against Dnipro-1.
In particular, Igor Yavorsky speaks about this:
“Today's fault is not the best duel. Cream of two moments, yoga was not visible. Significantly weaker than having his own abilities.
...Let's speak objectively - Mikhail has divine potential. Win can score a goal at any moment. Ale, the figure of 100 million on a new embossing" (Sportarena.com, 11/19/2022).
And Evgeny Levchenko, who has played a lot abroad, warns in plain text that this whole game for an increase with the price of Mudrik can have very sad consequences.
“It really hurts, because Mudrik’s talent will be honored by the inadequate appetite of the miners of Shakhtar“. Seriously, how about 100 million?!” - Levchenko quotes Хsport.ua (11/17/2022).
In general, Shakhtar faced a serious dilemma. In the near future, it will be extremely important for the miners to find the optimal solution to the issue of Mudrik's transfer by correctly putting a comma in the phrase "cannot be sold". Well, besides this, the team has thin spots.
“Shakhtar plans to decline after the Champions League. The team was seen emotionally, but the other components are not so rich yet ... All this mess from the Wise is not going to reproach anyone. I don't know what will be with the team in the spring... It is really necessary to have one more central guard. Krivtsov is all. A pair of Bondar - Matvienko looks like there is no alternative. At the same time, Valeriy can’t add to his arrogance", - journalist Sergey Tishchenko wrote on his Facebook page (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 11/19/2022).
In a word, in the camp of Shakhtar - at first glance, the most prosperous team of the UPL - at this stage, too, not everything is simple and smooth. This aggravates the situation on the eve of the Pitmen's match against the difficult Vorskla, and around the championship race in general. Moreover, there is no guarantee that only two clubs will participate in it.
Dynamo: course for stability
In the course of the reporting week, the media wrote quite a lot about Dynamo Kiev, which, after slipping at the start of the championship, is gaining points quite steadily. True, there was an "unplanned" draw against Kolos in the 13th round, but the score of that match still did not correspond to the game, which was played with a noticeable advantage of Mircea Lucescu's team.
"This result can be written off on the unfortunate football", Artem Zhilinsky said at the beginning of the week (Ukrfootball.ua, 11/17/2022).
That is, it is obvious to everyone: Dynamo, which became the victim of a crazy schedule and unsuccessful logistics in early autumn, is getting out of the crisis.
Here is what, for example, Leonid Buryak says about this:
"I was sure that the game of Dynamo would stabilize after the completion of their performance in European competitions. This is what is happening now. The "White-Blues" returned to Kyiv, moving and staying away from home became a thing of the past. Players and coaching staff can now come to their senses and focus on improving the game. And this has already had a positive effect on the results - important victories were won over Kryvbas, Chornomorets and Oleksandria, and only the defense of Kolos could not be broken" (Footboom.com, 11/15/22).
Partly confirming these words of the legend of Ukrainian football was the victory of Dynamo over Ingulets in the postponed match of the first round (2:1).
Of course, three points went to the people of Kiev is not easy. For about 25-30 minutes, Ingulets kept almost on an equal footing, and in the second half, after two goals conceded, they reduced the gap in the score and returned the intrigue to the match. So the press has certain questions regarding the quality of Dynamo's game.
According to journalists and experts, despite the advantage, the Blue-and-Whites lacked creativity in attack. In addition, several failures in the defense were noticed, one of which turned into a completely optional goal by Ingulets. But at the same time, Kyiv's success in this game does not raise the slightest doubt.
According to many media outlets, it was a class victory.
"Dynamo" was strong from the position of strength, and having played out from the active and strong defender of the super player, it beat the individual skills of its leaders, "-we read, for example, in the article by Sergei Sytnik (Footboom.com, 11/17/22).
Dynamo reached success, gave up, without reporting the enforcement. Varto bulo translate the game into half of "ingultsya", add threes, and change the score on the scoreboard, — Oleg Morozov shares his impressions of the game (Footclub.com.ua, 11/17/2022).
In addition, almost all reports emphasize the fact that Dynamo's victory should have turned out smoother if the referee Katerina Monzul had not ignored another rudeness from Ingulets midfielder Alexander Kozak, who should have been removed from the field in the first half.
"Kozak already had a yellow card, and in the 27th minute he went on a tackle and played not the ball, but Dubinchak's foot. This is a yellow card without a doubt, but Monzul reacted loyally and did not present a warning, because it would be the second for the Ingulets player, -evidenced by ex-FIFA referee Miroslav Stupar (1927.kiev.ua, 11/17/2022).
And, perhaps, it is difficult not to agree with Mircea Lucescu, who was generally satisfied with the stack of the match:
"Today there was an intensive start in the performance of Ingulets. Then we took the game into our own hands, made the opponent make a mistake. First — in a penalty situation, then — in the situation with the second goal. It was necessary to score a third goal. He would remove all questions. And then the balance of power on the scoreboard would be what it is in reality" (Сorrespondent.net, 11/17/2022).
The press, giving individual assessments of the Dynamo players based on the results of the match, first of all notes the contribution of Viktor Tsygankov, who scored a double and set a club record along the way.
“In the match with Ingulets, Viktor Tsygankov scored the 24th goal in the Ukrainian championship from a penalty spot, becoming the new Dynamo record holder. The same number of times in the ranks of the people of Kiev, Sergei Rebrov hit the opponents' goal from the “point”. But Viktor showed his result of 27 shots, and Sergey - of 28. By the way, more than Tsygankov, only Vasil Gigiadze converted a penalty in the UPL - 27 " - gives statistics Yuri Lyakhovetsky (Sport.ua, 11/18/2022).
“Tsygankov became the fifth Dynamo player to reach the mark of 75 goals in Ukrainian championships. In the first position in the list of scorers - Sergey Rebrov (113 goals)", - celebrates another achievement of the vice-captain of Kiev site "SportArena" (Sportarena.com, 11/17/2022).
Again, according to journalists, Vitaliy Buyalsky demonstrated his high level, earning a penalty and doing a lot of work, including rough work. Goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret, who seems to be ready to seriously compete with Georgy Bushchan, deserved positive marks. And Vladislav Dubinchak received a lot of compliments for high-class actions in the episode with the second goal...
Thus, the Kiev team approached the match of the 14th round against Veres, which took place on November 21, in a good condition and won again (1:0 thanks to another goal by Tsyhankov). Now it is extremely important for Lucescu's team to take the maximum in the remaining matches the first part of the championship. And in the spring, as the press believes, Dynamo, with fresh forces and after full preparation, may well return to the issue of fighting for the title.
“Having hung the “white-blues” there will no longer be international battles, so the stench may turn out all the power problems in the national identity. Vlasne, the capital's team, and having started the ceremonies in the rest of the hour ... ", - submits a summary Football.ua (11/17/2022).
Well, completing the Dynamo section of our review, it should be noted that the Kyiv club was in the spotlight not only in connection with purely football nuances. The media have already talked about the charitable activities of FC Dynamo and the Surkis Brothers Foundation more than once.
In particular, the restoration of the Gurovshchinsky outpatient clinic in the Buchansky district of the Kyiv region and the kindergarten in Byshev, Fastovsky district are underway. The football club recently transferred all the profits from a charity match with English Everton in the amount of 250 thousand pounds sterling to restore the Chernihiv city hospital No. result of the Russian invasion.
And last week, soldiers of the ZSU, heroically defending the independence and freedom of our state, received direct assistance.
"Charity Fund of brothers Surkis and FC "Dynamo" Kiev ensured the delivery to Ukraine of two suitcases, filled with the necessary hygiene measures for our troops, — shares important information with RBC-Ukraine. — CThis is the first of 6 chartered vantazhіvok, yakі already nevdovzі to top up to help the Ukrainian defenders.
As a sign of honor and grace, the coaches of FC Dynamo Kyiv also handed over a football ball and a club ensign, signed by the whole team, to the Viysk people" (Rbc.ua, 11/20/2022).
In a word, the club and the Foundation are constantly working for the sake of a common victory, which is highly appreciated not only in the media. Here is how, for example, Sergey Bulavko, head of logistics of the Command of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spoke about the next action:
"My thanks to the Surkis Brothers Foundation for those who work for wine - first for everything, for military servicemen, as they can mothers look independently, in such minds they perebuvayut. Get hygiene that is very necessary for the Ukrainians and will be selected for the appointed for their needs»
Other aspects of football life
Our boys are in the elite round of EURO 2023 qualifiers. The past week is connected with good news from Sweden, where the matches of the European Championship (U-19) qualification in the qualifying group with the participation of the Ukrainian national team are taking place. The team of Sergey Nagornyak won two victories in two matches: on November 17, they put the squeeze on the strong team of Kosovo (1:0), and on the 20th they famously dealt with Cyprus (4:1).
The press focuses attention: in both cases, our coaching staff did an excellent job, which made high-quality substitutions. Yarmolyuk (Brentford), who was assisted by Kharabara (Nuremberg), who came out in the middle of the second half, hit the goal of the Kosovars on the heel of the stoppage minute. Well, in the match against the Cypriots, the Dynamo player Tsarenko became a super joker - he appeared on the field with a score of 1: 1 and scored two goals within two minutes, which broke all the opponent's plans.
In general, Nagornyak and his team already deserve high marks: the task of getting a ticket to the elite round of qualifications was completed ahead of schedule (two teams from the group pass). But the final conclusions can be drawn after the 23rd, when the Ukrainians will play the final match of the tournament - against Sweden, whose asset after two rounds is 4 points.
Tbilisi review of Rotan. During the reporting week, the media also focused on the youth team of Ukraine, which went to a training camp in the capital of Georgia and already held one of the two scheduled control sparring there. On November 19, the Ukrainians played a 1:1 draw with their peers from Israel (the only goal for our team was scored by Maxim Kucheryavy from the Scottish club St. Johnstone).
The press notes: the UAF is positioning the trip to Georgia as a stage of preparation for the final part of EURO 2023, which will take place in the summer, but rather this camp should be considered as a review of the nearest reserve. The fact is that the “youth team” gathered on time that was not allotted for this by the international calendar. Most of the players that make up the backbone of the team are busy in their clubs, so the nearest reserve, one might say, went to Tbilisi.
“These choices are necessary for us in front of us so that at any time no one will be allowed to go after our talents. Їx at once too rich, especially beyond the cordon”, — Ruslan Rotan indicated the main goal of the trip (Uaf.ua, 11/15/2022).
How fruitful the training camp turned out, presumably, the coach will tell after the sparring with Georgia, which is scheduled for November 21.
An important statement in the wake of the NOC General Assembly. On November 16, the XXXVII General Assembly of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine was held, during which a new NOC was elected, and Vadim Gutzeit became its president, who replaced Serhiy Bubka in this post.
The event is certainly a landmark for our sport. In total, the topic was relayed in one way or another on the pages of 129 sites (302 publications). Including football.
It was only after summing up the results of the voting that it became clear that the new composition of the NOC does not include athletes who, with weapons in their hands, rebuff Russian aggression. The Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Youth and Sports responded in a timely manner to the obvious omission, publishing the following statement:
"Zметою виправлення цієї помилки, що є неповагою до захисників України, Голова Комітету Андрій Кожем’якін та Секретар Комітету Григорій Суркіс, вирішили передати свої місця у складі Національного олімпійського комітету України спортсменам, які на передовій захищають незалежність, суверенітет та територіальну цілісність України.
Andriy Kozhem'yakin proponing to replace himself, turn to the warehouse of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine the commander of the platoon of the air assault troops of the N-ї brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant Nagorny Petr Vasilovich, who is at the forefront. Petro Nagorniy, Master of Sports in Greco-Roman Wrestling, Judge of the International Category, Intercessor of the Head of the Department of Youth and Sports of the Rivne Regional Administration of the Republic of Lithuania.
Hryhoriy Surkis is proposing to replace himself, turn to the warehouse of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine, Master of Sports of Ukraine, Honored Coach of Ukraine in hand-to-hand combat Nikitenok Oleksiy Volodimirovich Oleksiy Nikitenko worked at the special airlifters of the SBU, and at the same time defended the honor of Ukraine from the warehouse of the selected team at the Games of the Incorruptible" (Сomsport.rada.gov.ua, 11/18/2022).
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Youth and Sports expressed confidence that the presence of war veteran athletes in the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine will increase the attention of our Olympic community to the problems of the defenders of the country, will contribute to their social rehabilitation, and will also increase support for the sports of war veterans.
Victor ZHURAVLEV
