Viktor Leonenko: "Shakhtar can already be congratulated on their UPL title. I will bet on Dynamo in the Ukrainian Cup

Former Dynamo forward Viktor Leonenko shared his expectations from the new season of the Ukrainian championship.

- Who will become the UPL champions?

- Shakhtar can already be congratulated with the championship. Van Leeuwen, as a coach, is much stronger than Jovicevic. If the Donetsk team managed to become champions with the Croatian, they will do it even more with the Dutchman, given the fact that they managed to keep the squad. Dynamo have a lot of hopes for Yarmolenko, but he should be retired already, as well as Konoplyanka, and the latter still went to Romania to disgrace himself. It is not clear how much time Lucescu will give him.

- Who will be in the top 5 of the UPL?

- 1. "Shakhtar. 2. "Dynamo. 3. "Dnipro-1. 4. "Vorskla. 5. "Kryvbas". The other teams are all the same. I do not expect anything from Zorya, they have a new coach and almost all the main players have left. One hope for Guerrero, if he stays. "Alexandria" will also play Rotan-style, that is in the square.

- Who will drop out of the UPL?

- Any team can go out, because there are a lot of the same ones, there is no one to single out. I would not be surprised if even "Polesie" will go out.

- Who will win the Cup of Ukraine?

- As I have already said, all the teams are the same, and the Cup is such a tournament that one game can be won by chance. I will bet on Dynamo. Let them win at least something. Although I already know Lucescu's excuse: "We have a young team". But look at the squad: Garmash, Sidorchuk, Buyalskiy. Are they young?

- Who will perform best in the European Cup, and who will fail?

- I would like everyone to go as far as possible. I can say that it will be hard for everyone, everything will depend on the draw. There is no stability in any of our clubs. But "Vorskla", I think, should beat the Georgians.

- Who will be the top scorer of UPL?

- I would like to see at least someone. Dovbik? We need to see how many penalties he kicks and what kind. Dovbik needs to prove that he is a striker. If he scores 20 goals this season, then it will be clear. You see how much he's worth and where they're calling him? Nowhere and for nothing! And this is, for a minute, the top scorer of last season.

Everyone expects goals from Wanat, but he's not a footballer. He has speed, but he bangs into defenders and gets yellows. He needs to go one-on-one more than a few times to score. It seems that Vanat's task now is the same - not to collect reds and yellows.

Now on Shakhtar's forwards. Traore clings to balls well, but he suffered a serious injury, we'll see how he will play. Kelsey scores, but he is not the main one. Sikan is forever young and promising. He should not play at Shakhtar, but in a lower league or a weak team. Shakhtar keep him, most likely, simply because he is their own.

- Who will be the discovery of the championship among the young players?

- I would name Alefirenko (Zorya), Bragaru (Chornomorets) and Brazhko (Dynamo). I would like them to play this season not worse than last season. They need to prove that their successful performance was not an accident. However, there are some questions about Brazhko. He showed himself well in Zorya, but in Dynamo another team, other requirements and other tasks, he may not even get into the squad.

- Which of the coaches will be the first to resign?

- Nobody will resign, but they can be fired. I would not want any of the coaches to be sacked, it is bad for their health.

- Which player of the UPL club do you expect to be transferred to Europe this season?

- To answer this question we need to get into the presidents' heads, and they have a very rich imagination. As far as I heard, Dovbik's transfer to Girona will be handled personally by Kolomoisky. He was also involved in Konoplyanka's transfer from Dnipro, and in the end he left for free, maybe Dovbik will leave for free.

Andriy PISKUN