As previously reported, on Wednesday 7 June it was officially announced that the renowned domestic specialist, the former coach of Dynamo Kyiv, Serhiy Rebrov, has become the head coach of the Ukraine national team. The same day, the first press conference of the new coach of the Ukrainian national team was held at the House of Football in Kiev.
- I would like to thank the Ukrainian armed forces for protecting our country and giving us the opportunity to talk about football and the Ukrainian championship. In the future I myself, and I am sure all Ukrainians, will continue to help as much as possible all those who suffered from the racist aggression.
I am very happy to be back in Ukraine, very happy to work here again. My family is also glad, they came back to Ukraine with me. I am glad that my wife is very happy about my decision. We will work for Ukraine again!
- We have been waiting for your appointment for two years. And during that time, among other things, it was said that you would have not only the task to achieve results with the national team, but you will also be responsible for building the vertical of all the national teams, in all age categories. Will that really be the case?
- It was you - the journalists - who waited two years for my appointment. And I've been working at Al Ain for all that time. You - the journalists - created that atmosphere. I didn't. When there are so many rumours in the press about me or another coach. Again, I had a contract with Al Ain, I completed it and now I am here, which I am happy about. We`ll see what happens next.
Yes, I heard about the interest in me from UAF, but I had a contract with a club that was still in force. When it expired, I had the opportunity to decide my fate and sign a contract with the UAF.
As for the creation of a national team institute, it is possible. First and foremost, the employer must decide what functions I will perform. If there is a desire to build a unified national team vertical, then I will be glad to work on it. The more so, as I was involved in such work at Dynamo Kyiv. It is important for all national teams. If you want a player to progress from one age to another, he must be in the same structure.
- There have been talks that Zabarniy, given the fact he is now under pressure due to the fact he has missed much due to injury, is now set to work for the youth team. Is this true?
- I do not think that any of our players are tense now. Especially Zabarny, who played in Bournemouth's last matches. So I have not heard anything about what you said. I am sure, neither Zabarny, nor any other player will refuse to play in the national team.
- Did you have a conversation with Ruslan Rotan, the head coach of the Youth national team, on the issue of defining two lists of players - for the national team and for the youth team?
- Yes, I talked to Ruslan regarding who will go to the youth team. It is always important to understand which team is of higher priority, which team is more important. I believe that the national team is that team. And if anyone thinks that we can play Malta with any players, I remind you that we have already played against this team in 2017 (Ukraine vs Malta - 0-1 friendly - editor's note).
- Do you have a candidate to be the head coach of the Youth national team?
- The youth national team has a coach now. We`ll see what will happen after UEFA EURO.
Сергей Ребров. Фото — Александр Попов- Tell us who will be your assistants in the coaching staff.
- We are still in negotiations. But my assistants will be the ones who were at Al Ain - Vicente Gomez and Alberto Bosch. We will also work with Gleb Platov. Rustam Khudjamov will be the goalkeepers' coach.
- Is it true that the national team coaching staff will also include Shakhtar's fitness coach Javier Lurueña Lugo?
- So far, we have invited him specifically for this training camp. We will see from here.
- Whom do you see as the main striker of the Ukraine national team in the upcoming matches?
- Unfortunately, an injury prevents Yaremchuk from coming to this training camp. I talked to him, he apologized, and he will be recovering at his club.
For this training camp we invited new players who, in my opinion, are candidates for the national team and they deserve to be in it. Vanat, who in the second half of the season showed a stable football - it is very important for the national team player.
The same can be said about Kochergin. I followed him back in the days when he played for Zorya. Now he is the Polish champion. He also deserves a call up to the national team.
We will see. We have a lot of candidates and there is competition for every position.
- Mudryk and Malynovskyy are not in the best shape. What role do you see for them in the national team?
- We have a lot of players, who do not get the game practice to the extent that we consider satisfactory. But when the boys arrive, we will see how they look in training. So right now I can't say who will be in the starting lineup and who will be in the reserves. Who will be ready for these matches in the best possible way, will play.
- Don't you have enough time to prepare the team for the upcoming matches?
- Not enough. But what to do with it? Can you give more time? I asked UAF to start this training camp a couple of days earlier, but it is not possible now. So we have what we have. Enough time or not, we have to work with the deadlines we have.
- Have you already talked to the players who will come to this training camp?
- I communicate with many players, not only with the candidates for the national team. But it is important not to communicate as much as to see the players in action. I have watched a lot of matches of the Ukrainian championship, matches of other champions in which the candidates for the national team play. So I have enough information. Now it is very important to start the training process and see the guys' form.
- Who made the list of players called up for the upcoming training camp?
- Я.
- When did your contract with the UAF come into force?
- It is in force now. We reached an agreement with Al-Ain because my contract with that club was valid until June 30. But we have already received the relevant papers from Al-Ain and we can sign the agreement with the UAF.
- Yarmolenko is likely to be at Dynamo Kyiv. How do you estimate his period in Al Ain?
- He is in very good form. I saw how in Al-Ain he was preparing, working on himself. So, I can only advise Yarmolenko to return to Dynamo, it is his home, and I am sure they wait for him there.
- There is an opinion that Shevchenko and his team have broken the stereotypical style of the Ukraine national team's game. Is his concept close to yours?
- Probably. But the important question is when exactly the things you have said happened. Two years after Shevchenko's appointment, the journalists were just 'killing' him. But then he led the Ukraine national team to the European Championship. I remember what they did to Andriy Mykolayovych after the mentioned match with Malta...
As for style... The Ukraine national team must be more aggressive compared to the recent match against England. We will see what style it will be.
- What is the term of your contract with UAF? What are your goals?
- The contract term is three years. The goals are the same as they have always been for all the national team coaches: the maximum.
- You called Ignatenko for this training camp. He is 26 years old. Do you see him as the main substitute for Stepenanko who is soon to turn 34?
- There is also Brazhko. I like this footballer. In general, I see a few players in the youth team who can compete with Stepanenko and Sidorchuk.
I know Ignatenko very well, he played for me at Ferencvaros, I am confident in him.
Yes, we have three matches ahead, but we have enough players. Maybe later Kryvtsov will join us. I believe that we have created enough competition in each position to prepare properly for the upcoming three games.
- The position of left back. How much of a problem is this position now?
- If you have seen the list of players, you can see how many people we have called up for this position. Unfortunately, we cannot count on Zinchenko, as he is injured. We have called up Sobol, Mykolenko. Matvienko can also play here, but now his position is in the centre of defence.
- Yes, but Sobol and Mykolenko had injuries...
- Sobol played 45 minutes in the last match of his club. Mikolenko was also ready for the last match of Everton, we talked to him. He said he would rather skip this match to prepare better for the national team training camp.
- How will you distribute the forces between the milestone friendly against Germany and the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Northern Macedonia and Malta, which need a maximum result?
- We must first see the condition of the players. Unfortunately, only 6 substitutions will be allowed for the match against Germany. It is important for us to have 10. But it is as it is.
The sparring with Germany is an important match in terms of relations between our countries. In addition, it is the thousandth match in the history of the national team of Germany. It is a great pleasure for us to play against such an opponent.
When I see the players' condition, we will decide who will play, when and how many minutes.
Alexander POPOV from the Football House
