Former Dynamo midfielder and well-known Ukrainian coach Serhii Kovalets summed up the performance of the Ukrainian youth national team at Euro 2023 U-21.
Serhiy Kovalets (photo: V. Perehnyak)- I would like to thank our armed forces, players and coaches of the youth team for the holiday they gave the country at this difficult time for everyone.Rotan's team united the country: everyone was looking forward to the group tournament matches and the play-offs. We have once again shown the world that despite the war, Ukraine continues to develop, play and win internationally.
I really wanted to get past Spain and play in the final, but football is such a thing that you don't always manage to achieve the desired result, especially when you play against the best.
In general, I congratulate the coaches and players, they have done a good job: reaching the semi-finals and getting to the Olympics.
- In your opinion, what went wrong in the game against Spain?
- During the Euros, we repeatedly talked about the importance of recovery, because the schedule is intense and the tournament is fast-paced. Spain had a day more to spare, and as it turned out, our team had some trouble getting to Bucharest after the match with the French. And in football, as you know, there are no small things.
Even physical exertion had less of an impact than the emotional devastation after the victory over France. Reaching the Olympics is a historic achievement, so you can understand the guys. In the semi-finals, they tried to do their usual job, play their football, but it was hard. And yet, in my opinion, the main point is different.
- What exactly do you mean?
- If France underestimated our team somewhere, Spain was at its best. The opponent played the match very reliably, made almost no mistakes, and we had few chances.
- Did the quick goal scored by Bondarenko calm us down somewhere, did it play a cruel joke?
- I think we scored in time, but the quick goal from the Spaniards - yes, it had a psychological impact. If the winning score had lasted longer, the team would eventually have been able to adjust to playing with three central defenders, as it was with France. Spain is a very mobile team, they managed to attack with great force, creating pressure and danger.
- Why did Mudryk disappear after the break?
- He scored the first goal and then created a goal for Sikan. But during the break, the Spaniards made adjustments and managed to close him down.
- The matches between France and Spain turned out to be mirror images. In the quarter-finals, the opponent scored first, but we quickly won back, and then scored a goal in the locker room after which the Tricolour team never recovered. With Spain, it was the opposite: the Ukrainians took the lead, but the opponent quickly won back and took the lead five minutes before half-time...
- That's why we love football - it's unpredictable, and sportsmen can change their preferences. In the group stage, in the match against Romania, Ukraine scored the winning goal in the last minutes, but in the next game against Spain we lost a draw, also in the last minutes. You need to be psychologically prepared for this, to be able to withstand a blow.
- Out of the five goals we scored, three were long-range shots. Could Trubin have helped out?
- If he could have, he would have. Anatolii played the tournament at a good level, and before that, let me remind you, he played three matches in a row as part of the national team. Sometimes there are matches in which you do not succeed, and the opponent's shot is either under the bar or in the top corner - everything flies. I think I should thank both Trubin and the players, they did their best.
- Who is your MVP among the players of the Ukrainian national team at the Euros?
- As Valeriy Lobanovsky said, there is a team of stars, and there is a team of stars. I liked the teamwork, the national team played their hearts out, played for the whole of Ukraine. The main task - getting to the Olympics - has been fulfilled. This is a very important success for the state.
- In a year's time, Ruslan Rotan's team will play in Paris at the Olympics. What are our chances of a successful performance there, and what can we expect in general?
- Everything can change in a year, but it's important that the players of the youth team have a stable playing practice in their clubs, and gain experience, including international experience. The Olympics is like the World Cup, it will bring together the strongest teams on the planet. And the tasks need to be solved in stages, the first one being to get out of the group. Skill, luck, and fortune will all play a role.
- Three players older than 2001 can get to the Olympics, but the application itself will be limited to 18 players. In your opinion, is it better to rely on experience, invite the key players of the national team, or trust those who fought for a ticket to France?
- It is important that we finally have a head coach of the national team, Serhii Rebrov. He immediately stressed the importance of all the national teams working according to the same tactical scheme, using basic exercises in training. There are six or seven of them, and they can relate to pressing, transitional phases between attack and defence, etc. And that's right, because now all the top teams - France, Italy, Spain, Germany - are working in this way.
We still have one more year, and I am convinced that Serhii Rebrov and Ruslan Rotan will make the right choice, because we have one goal - to represent Ukraine at the Olympics with dignity.
- In the Euro qualifiers, Rotan's team lost to France 0-5, but took revenge in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win. How realistic is the prospect that at the Olympics we have a chance to take revenge on Spain for 1-5?
- You need a solid foundation for high-profile victories and consistent performances. We have slightly different conditions compared to the top teams. For example, in Ukraine, it is winter for six months of the year, and the infrastructure is poor. The salary of children's coaches is 8,000 hryvnias, and it is difficult to keep them.
That's why what the youth players have done is a real feat. We can play on a par with everyone else, but when it comes to technical potential, the Spaniards have the opportunity to train all year round in excellent conditions. The same Germans emphasise that the foundation of football is precisely the technique, the work with the ball, which is laid from the age of 7 to 14. We need conditions and sports infrastructure. Then the balls will fly into the opponent's goal from any distance.
Valerii Lobanovskyi said that it is difficult for us to demonstrate technique at the level of the leading national teams, but it is important to be well prepared functionally, tactically trained and motivated.
Serhiy Sytnyk
