Attacking midfielder of the Ukrainian national team and French Marseille Ruslan Malinovsky commented on the departure of the head coach Oleksandr Petrakov from the national team and spoke about the likely appointment of Serhiy Rebrov.
Ruslan Malinovsky— Do the players of the national team have a general chat, did you discuss with the players the departure of head coach Alexander Petrakov from the team?
- No, we didn't discuss it with the players in the chat. I called Vasilyevich today (interview recorded on January 16), he did not answer, and now he called me back before the interview. What can I say, he took the national team at such a difficult moment. By nature, he is a maximalist, he always wants to win, he is motivated. Some things worked out for him, some things didn't. But, I think, during the period that he spent in the national team, he did a lot of good things. There were good results and we demonstrated decent football. I know that now he has already led the Armenian national team and, I hope, he will not have time to get upset. I want to wish him good luck and thank you for the time we were together. I think he will succeed in everything in a new place.
— Once you had a misunderstanding, is it all in the past?
- Someone says there was a conflict, someone - a fight (laughs). But in fact, there was nothing of the sort. Just a common misunderstanding. Later I talked with Vasilievich about this topic. There were working moments that everyone can have, but this was not some kind of conflict.
— Was it expected for the national team that the contract with Petrakov would not be renewed?
— Honestly, I don't even know. All the same, the UAF makes a decision and it’s hard to comment on something. And Vasilyevich himself told us that he did not know whether he would stay or not, so we also did not know what the situation was and what would happen next.
— The main candidate for the post of head coach of Ukraine is Serhiy Rebrov. What can you say about his coaching vision and, in your opinion, is it suitable for the national team?
- I spoke with Sergei Stanislavovich when he coached Dynamo, and I played in Zorya. It's no secret that at that time he was interested in me moving to Dynamo. I can say that Dynamo under his leadership was very strong. The team showed football of a serious level. And, I think, now he has not departed from his coaching philosophy. We will see. Now he works at Al Ain and is also showing good results there. I can’t say if he will be the coach of the national team. But it seems to me that his coaching philosophy for the national team would be suitable.
