Yuriy Kalitvintsev: "The issue raised by Lobanovsky has not been resolved yet"

The head coach of Zhytomyr's Polissya Yuriy Kalytyntsev told us how his team will prepare for the UPL.

- There is an opinion that the leaders of the first league, moving to the UPL, should rebuild the team and the game. From an attacking model to a defensive one. After all, a newcomer to the top flight initially fights to stay up.

- This is a misconception. Firstly, a coach who is used to playing defensively will play defensively in any division. And vice versa, he will select the squad and build a team for attack if he likes attacking. And, in addition to the coach's ideas, there is also a real selection of players. And, in addition, there must be a game arrhythmia - you attack, then press, then retreat to your goal. The team must be able to do everything on the pitch.

Do you remember Lobanovskyi asking the question - should players be selected for tactics or tactics for players? What came first - the chicken or the egg? So far, no one has resolved this issue.

- Do you already see what Polissia will look like in the new season?

- I have an idea of what the team should look like. If my plans for the summer reconstruction are implemented by 70%, the team will play the kind of football I want.

There will be at least 50 per cent of new players. This will create temporary difficulties for us, the newcomers will need time to join the squad - to understand the training process and the vision of the game. A new team is not built in a month or two, sometimes a year is not enough.

- Is a month and a half of the summer off-season, given that the players will arrive at different times, clearly not enough time to reshape the team in a new way?

- A lot depends on the players' ability to learn. Some are already familiar with the requirements, some grasp them faster, some take longer. We are still in the process, only after the end of the transfer window we can say that the countdown to building a new team has begun. There is not much time, and we do not know with what squad we will start the season. Negotiations with the newcomers are ongoing, and so far they are difficult.

- There is a limited choice of Ukrainians, it is difficult to invite foreigners, are the difficulties the same?

- Yes, exactly the same. There are not so few Ukrainians, but not all of them fit our requirements.

- Many UPL teams were looking for masters in all Ukrainian divisions. You know the First League well. Are there any players for Polissia there?

- If a footballer meets the requirements of modern football, the requirements of the coaching staff, it doesn't matter in which league he played before. The main thing is the ability to learn.

- Does a player have this ability until a certain age?

- It does not depend on age. I said it the first time, corrected it the second time, the third time - the player doesn't understand. This is a waste of time. Football and non-football intelligence, the ability to learn, can be developed. Brains are like muscles, they can be trained. At least, you can read poetry and then recite it.

Some footballers play only on the old principles. I can do this and that. And this is only enough to play in the first or second league. He is very good there, but he does not develop further.

And if he is capable of learning, he will absorb and grow, both in football and human terms. And what league he played in before and how old he is is secondary for me.

- Did I hear you right about reading and reciting poetry?

- This develops the memory of any person. A footballer is a human being, first and foremost. If, for example, he can read, memorise and recite, it's like kindergarten, but this is how memory is trained. And then he will hear and perceive football principles.

- Who are your favourite poets?

- I think our conversation has taken a wrong turn. You can read my biography on the Internet. Let's just say that I try to devote all my free time to finding information that is not even directly related to my work. This broadens my horizons and gives me the opportunity to compare.

- The season in the first league was based on a non-standard formula. Was it hard for you, all that travelling?

- The travelling? Please, it was much easier than for our guys who are at war.

We were a strong irritant for every opponent, and every match was difficult in terms of sport.

- There is an opinion that Polissia is an ambitious project. And your goal in the UPL is to get into the European Cup zone.

- Yes, there are such thoughts. First, the Premier League, then European Cups, then we need to win the Champions League, then the Intercontinental Cup, I beg you.

Our squad will change by a considerable percentage in the summer. We need to build a team, then a team, then become a competitive team. I would not look so far ahead.

- Will your first season in the UPL be a test, a trial run?

- Call me back when the championship starts, when the squad is clear, and I'll tell you more. I would not like to throw words or humiliate, I am a realist. The team is not yet fully assembled.

- What are your priorities in selection?

- No one will refuse a good footballer. If he is stronger than the player in the position he plays, then he will be interesting.

- Do I understand correctly that you look at the person first, and then at his position?

- That's right. We are primarily interested in a footballer as a person. If a footballer does more harm as a person in everyday life than as a footballer on the pitch, then he will not be at Polissia.

First, we build a team, a team of like-minded people. Sporting qualities are the main thing, but not the first.

Anton Terekhov