Oleksandr Sopko: "Rinat Akhmetov saw that Jovicevic is not the right coach"

Well-known football expert Oleksandr Sopko discussed the topic of changing the head coach of Shakhtar Donetsk.

- The result that Jovicevic has achieved, given the situation at the start of the season, because there was essentially no team - it is perfect. And in the European cups, and in the championship. Most likely, the club leaders, perhaps, the president Rinat Akhmetov himself - he saw, and perhaps not by one game or some episode, he saw as a result of dialogue with Jovicevic that this is not the coach who burns with ideas, a new vision of football. He just squeezed the result and that's all. The team did not prove with their game that the players have grown in terms of skill.

Apparently, the president, seeing Mudryk's example before his eyes, expected a similar breakthrough from other players. But it turned out that they did not make a breakthrough - on the contrary, they turned into a kind of venerable senators and stopped in their development. I mean Matvienko, Bondar, other players from whom more was expected.

- The 1:7 loss to Feyenoord in the Europa League was a kind of trigger, after which the decision was made not to prolong the cooperation with Jovicevic?

- It was the first call, but the final decision, I think, was made later, when the series of 5-7 games in the national championship was won, as they call it, on the veins, with elements of chance, luck, in the last minutes. And the quality of the game itself did not give any reason to say that it was just bad luck, the ball did not go in the goal. It was all too frantic.

- Can Van Leeuwen do better with this squad, given that the new coach will be expected to at least keep the bar set?

- The main motive for inviting van Leeuwen was that with the players who were written off from Dynamo's squad, or were given away on loan, he managed to build a nice team and show football that gave both results and aesthetic pleasure. The players who were not demanded in the top clubs under van Leeuwen grew much faster and of higher quality. This shows that the specialist is in his place and, in addition to the result, develops the game itself, and the players develop in this game.

Plus he is familiar with the club's system, he is not a stranger to the club. Some will say that he has no experience of working with top teams, so it can be good for him. Van Leeuwen will be devoid of any stereotypes, hardened passions. He has his own zest, and then everything will depend on him and the players. His game without standing still for long periods of time, without constantly rolling the ball, should please both the club's leaders and the fans.

Arthur Malkin