The Ukraine national team's June games are getting closer, but the problems are not getting any smaller. The national team still does not have a permanent head coach, there is no clearly defined group of candidates who can solve the problem in a friendly with Germany and in the qualifying games with Northern Macedonia and Malta, and there is no training programme. About all this in Footboom's interview with Leonid Buryak.
- In recent days there have been reports that Sergei Rebrov has already signed a contract and that he will even be able to combine his work in the national team with his work at Al Ain. Is it realistic?
- It is not normal. It's amazing, especially considering how football-friendly our country is. A country that has three Ballon d'Or winners, quite skilled professionals, a well-established system of preparation of the Ukraine national team for years. There was no need to break anything, because everything was working. There was no need to appoint a man (Ruslan Rotan - auth.) who has achieved nothing in coaching...
Of course, I wish Serhiy Rebrov good luck. But why make his appointment a secret? The whole country is in the dark, and this at a time when there is a war going on. Football is important now, it is an outlet for people in a very difficult time. So all these secrets are not normal. As for combining posts - it is a question for Rebrov. So they put him under such conditions.
- On June 12, the Ukraine national team will face a test match with Germany. Who will train the national team?
- Yes, there is not much time left. There are really many problems. I do not know who will lead the Ukraine national team. I am also puzzled... Germany is a very serious contender and I`m afraid if the result of the game with it does not hurt the image of our team. There is still some time, but we must announce the name of the new head coach now!
- What condition, in your opinion, are our internationals now, how can the Ukraine national team rely on them?
- At the moment we have 4-5 players who play abroad and can really help the national team. However, Mudryk, for example, does not play much, and Zinchenko has health problems. The match against Germany is, of course, a plus for us. Germans agreed to play against Ukraine, although they did not really need it. Of course, our internationals should be watched carefully and know who will help.
- Which of the UPL players are good now?
- We saw how the game with England developed. The same will happen against Italy. The level of the UPL has dropped by half. If the players in the Ukrainian league were capable of anything serious, our clubs would play in the Champions League and the Europa League in the spring. You have also seen the level of European giants - the way Manchester City plays... But we actually expect only the games Shakhtar, Dynamo and Dnipro-1, because everything else is horrible by the level... I doubt that the UPL players can solve anything in the control match with Germany.
- After Germany, the program of the Ukraine national team includes two Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Macedonia and Malta. What are our chances of getting tournament points?
- We can afford these rivals. For Ukraine, everything will be decided in this group against Italy. The problem is that June is a bad time not only for our internationals, but also for UPL players, because everyone will finish the season. Another difficulty is that even Rebrov, if he leads the Ukraine national team, will not have time to seriously influence anything. Rebrov will need some time to build the team.
Oleg Semenchenko