Former head coach of Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukrainian national team Jozsef Szabo assessed the Blue and Yellows' 1-0 win over Malta for 1927.kiev.ua.
Jozsef Szabo (photo: E. Kraves)- As a football person, I did not enjoy the match. I have been friends with Lobanovsky for a long time. We grew up differently, we were constantly looking for something, improving... With such teams, you need to come out from the first minutes and press, not let them rest, score two or three goals and play calmly. There was none of this in the match against Malta. I don't want to criticise or put them down, but the fact is that our players are technically weak. You can see how the ball bounces off them when they receive it, how the opponent intercepts passes. Yes, I thought we should win against Malta, but then I think: why should we? Are we better than them? We don't have a single player who can go to Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal... At the moment, we have middle-class players. They have a lot of defects. So far, yes.
Only after the matches with Italy and England will it be possible to assess our true level. There was no game in the match with Malta. Weak football. Rebrov will not rebuild the game so quickly. Not everyone will be ready for pressure right away if they have not been taught it. In the national team, there is only tactics in a week, you can't teach physics because there is no time.
- Perhaps the players were not able to fully recover?
- Not every player can recover quickly in such a schedule. Mudryk is a speedy footballer who got injured. He needs to stretch more - if someone needs 20-30 minutes, he needs a whole hour. He needs a very good warm-up. I had some players who I recommended to come to the gym before training and only then go out on the pitch with everyone else. Mudryk shouldn't go to the youth team, because if he tears it, he'll need two months of treatment. Yarmolenko is an older player, and it was noticeable that he hadn't recovered either. Tsygankov often disappeared and reappeared. This suggests that we need to rebuild the championship to fit the schedule, like in England - matches on the third or fourth day.
- How would you rate Vanat's performance in his debut matches ?
- He is still a weak player to be a central striker. A central striker opens up on the left and right, moves back, turns on the speed, plays with one touch, scores. All this is not there yet. So far, it appears in episodes.
- Does Matvienko's performance raise questions again ?
- He often makes serious mistakes. Now they are more noticeable, because Shakhtar attack more and it is easier for him to play there. The opponent is a little stronger and it's harder to play.
- Does Buyalsky fit into the team after a long absence from the national team?
- Buyalsky is an average player. He shows something in our championship. You don't see him in international matches. The guys who were sent out on loan will return to Dynamo, and there are youngsters. Let's see how the competition will develop in this position.
- Will Yarmolenko's transfer be a good reinforcement for Dynamo?
- First of all, Andriy was tired. He should not have taken the penalty. After the penalty kick, we had to change him immediately, because he was tired. I think that Andriy will not be involved in the work with Dynamo now if he signs a contract, but will go to rest. As you get older, you need to keep yourself in good shape - train 100% and give your best in matches. This is the only way to keep yourself going. At Dynamo, Andriy should be an example for the young people in deed, not in word. This is the only way this transfer will be successful. If he is standing there giving tips, then nothing will come of it. But first, he needs to recover. I wish Yarmolenko to play.
Mykola Tymoshchuk
