The Ukrainian coach of the Emirati Al Ain Serhiy Rebrov, in an exclusive interview with Dynamo.kiev.ua, commented on the information from various sources that he will allegedly lead the Ukrainian national team in the summer.
Sergei Rebrov- In recent months, the name Rebrov and the Ukrainian team have been heard together. Even though you remain the head coach of Al Ain. But no one is saying anything for sure. Maybe you yourself can say something about this, bring at least some clarity?
- That's why I myself do not react to this information and do not comment on anything, since I now have a valid contract with Al-Ain. I am used to respecting my current obligations and those people with whom I am currently working. My contract ends at the end of June. Yes, the coach has the right to start negotiations at some point, but the main thing is that now I am still the head coach of Al Ain. Therefore, I do not speak about anything that does not concern this club.
Moreover, the way I am treated here, I was not treated in any of the clubs where I worked before. And therefore, on my part, the same attitude towards Al-Ain. I'm glad I work here.
In a word, now I am focused on my work. Therefore, I did not give any comments about the Ukrainian national team. When my contract ends, I will have the right to decide what to do next and with whom to cooperate.
- How does the management of Al-Ain generally react to all the information around you in the context of the Ukrainian national team? It is logical to assume that it makes them nervous...
- It's all about the local specifics of football life. Initially, I signed a contract with Al Ain for one year. And this, one might say, is a common practice: here no one signs long-term agreements with either coaches or football players. It's a tough area to work in. Change of coaches, players is a common thing for the UAE. Therefore, no one here signs long-term contracts.
So both me and Al Ain agreed to sign a one-year contract. When this period expired, we, by mutual agreement, extended the agreement for another year. Because everything suited me here, and the club. Which accordingly took advantage of the option to extend the contract for another year. But now I have the right to control my own destiny. Neither Al-Ain, nor anyone else has the right to put pressure on me. Yes, Al Ain is now talking with me about a further extension of the contract, but in response, I repeatedly said that I want to finalize the current agreement, after which I will make a decision with my family on what to do next.
- If we still talk about the Ukrainian national team, are there any agreements with you on possible cooperation now? Is there any specifics already now, or is there nothing to talk about at all?
— Again, I have a valid contract. I will not deny the existence of a variety of contacts, but now I am the head coach of Al Ain. And I can’t imagine how, under these circumstances, they associate me with the Ukrainian national team.
Yes, I have never hidden my desire to work with the main team of our country. I have this desire even now. But everything will be decided only after the end of my contract with Al Ain. Moreover, everything depends not only on me, but also on the UAF, on the decision of the Congress of this organization. I heard about the decision of our football association to negotiate with Rebrov. I'm ready for this. I will be ready when my contract with Al Ain ends. If I'm free at that moment in time. Now I have a desire to work with the Ukrainian national team, but we'll see what happens in June. I repeat, in this situation, everything depends not only on me.
- And how can you comment on the information that you took part in consulting in the formation of the list of Ukrainian national team players who were called up for the match with England in the Euro 2024 qualifying round?
- I would like to clarify with the coach of the Ukrainian national team, or rather, to voice what, in my understanding, the head coach of the national team of the country means. Especially when our country, Ukraine, is at war. The head coach of the Ukrainian national team must be very responsible in his post. Including with regard to the formation of a list of players for the training camp before the next match. Working in the national team is not at all the same as in the club. Here, much more time needs to be spent watching domestic football players, matches with their participation. When you work at a club, you have everything in sight, you see the state of your team's players, how they play, how they train. Not so in the team. To compile a list of candidates for a match, you must first watch a huge number of matches.
And if someone consults with me, then I will never give advice about what I am incompetent in. How can I, for example, say whether this football player should be called up to the national team if I have not watched enough matches with his participation?
Here, according to Yarmolenko, I can give such a recommendation. 100 percent! But for other players, I simply cannot physically give such recommendations, because now I am completely incompetent in this matter.
If the head coach of the national team asks my opinion about this or that player, then, of course, I will give an answer. Because we all are now worried about our team and want it to adequately play its opening match in the Euro 2024 qualifying round. And any Ukrainian coach will help the coach of the national team in this regard. But if the UAF has decided to appoint Ruslan Rotan to the helm of the national team, then it is he who should make all decisions. He can advise. But I am sure that those football players who were watched several times in the case were called up for the match with England, and there is an understanding why these footballers are called up to the Ukrainian national team, there is an understanding in what form they are now exactly for the game with the England team.
As for me, I am not a consultant of the Ukrainian national team. I have two Al Ain matches a week, and I just physically don’t have time to look at the candidates for the Ukrainian national team.
- By the way, about Yarmolenko. How is he doing?
— He is undergoing treatment after an injury. Yesterday he had another injection. We agreed with Andrei that on March 15-16, together with the club doctors, we will assess his condition and decide whether he has at least a minimal chance to play with England.
Andrei, of course, really wants to go to the national team and help her. And he will definitely go to the location of the national team if there is the very minimum chance that he will be ready for the match with England.
- What is your assessment of the potential of the Ukrainian national team of the current sample? And to what extent is this potential being realized now?
— I think that the potential of the Ukrainian national team was greatly revealed by Andriy Shevchenko when he worked with the national team. Under his leadership, the structure of the game was visible. Everyone said that Ukraine does not have such players to play positional attacks, to control the ball, but Andrey Nikolayevich proved the opposite.
So the Ukrainian team has good potential and level. Even if you just start from the number of our players who play in the top European championships! But it takes a lot of work to unleash this potential. A coach who joins the national team must treat everything professionally. I repeat, in the national team - not at all the same specifics as in the club. Here you need to look at the players much more, spend more time on analyzing the functional state of the players. And, of course, you need to clearly understand which performers you need to call for your game model. In Ukraine, there is a choice for each position, even if it is small. It is important to understand what model you play, and select players for this model based on the state they are in.
- Your only competitor in the media space on the topic of the Ukrainian national team at the moment is Konoplyanka and his return to the Ukrainian national team ... How did you react to this performer's challenge to the match with England?
- I haven't seen Linnet play at all in recent years. But I believe that if a coach calls up a football player to the national team, then he does it based on some qualities of this performer, and not just because of some kind of faith in him. I believe that only those players whose performance has been analyzed should be called up to the national team. According to the same InStat. It is important to understand what the functional state of a football player is now, how he will help the team in this particular game, whether he has the necessary level of technical skill.
In my understanding, when calling a player to the national team, it is important to understand that he will help her. And it is important to have a clear idea of the functional and playing tone of this performer.
I have no information about the current tone of Konoplyanka, about what mileage he has, what is the intensity of his actions. And this data is very important! Because, in my understanding, the game with the England national team will be quite energy-intensive. And each player will have to be ready to perform a certain amount of work in this match. Therefore, since Linnet was called, it means that he is ready to do this amount of work.
But I'm not going to analyze the choice of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team. I'm just voicing my vision on the list of players for one specific match.
- Working in conditions of war, alarms, rocket attacks, the inability to fly planes from Ukraine, and so on... We are already used to all this, but for you, in the case of working with the Ukrainian national team, it will become something new experience. Aren't you afraid of such prospects?
- Of course, they don't scare. Moreover, during the war I came to Ukraine. And those Ukrainians who are now outside their country are experiencing the same thing, constantly watching the news. Everyone has many relatives in Ukraine. We all communicate. And we help as much as we can. Everything that happens you pass through yourself.
And, perhaps, it is still unknown who passes all this through himself more strongly. After all, many Ukrainians, being not in Ukraine now, feel guilty for not being in their own country with their fellow citizens in such difficult times. We are not in Ukraine, but this does not mean that we do not worry about our native country and do not worry about everything that is happening.
If I have the opportunity to work in Ukraine after the end of the contract, then I will be happy to return to my native country.
Alexander Popov
