Former Dynamo midfielder Oleksandr Aliyev recalled the European U-21 Championship 2006 at which Ukraine U-21 took the second place.
Alexander Aliyev- How did you prepare for the semi-final of UEFA EURO 2006 with Serbia and Montenegro?
- I think, you all know how well Aliyev and Milevskyy can prepare for the matches. We had a professional approach to every match. And it is clear that after Denmark (the match of the third round of the group stage - editorial note) there was a sit-down, it is a matter of course. It has always been there.
But when there were two days before the game, it was completely different. There was complete preparation specifically for the semi-finals. I remember perfectly how Mykhaylichenko and Litovchenko (youth team coaches - editorial note) said: "Don't worry, we will go through to the final".
And so we did, even though I did not score a penalty shoot-out. So, I had made the right preparations for the match.
At UEFA EURO 2006, Ukraine won the group against Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands, and then in the semi-finals, on penalties, got past Serbia and Montenegro. In the final, Oleksiy Mykhailychenko's side were defeated by the Netherlands (0-3).
