The first European Cup matches of Ukrainian teams in the season-2023/24 and the beginning of the championship of the country in the main division gave the press a lot of topics for reflection.
Photo - Yuri Yuriev"Dnipro Dnipro 1: with hope for a comeback
Last Tuesday will forever go down in the history of Dnipro 1 as the day of their debut in the main European tournament - the Champions League. Unfortunately, the start was unsuccessful: in the first match of the second round of qualification Oleksandr Kucher's team lost to Greek Panathinaikos with the score 1:3.
The press, analysing this game, first of all notes that Dnipro obviously failed to cope with the initial excitement, having blurred the opening segment and missing Shporar, who opened the scoring.
"Panathinaikos" took the initiative and immediately created problems for the defence of Dnipro. The Greeks acted more dynamically and worked better in other episodes. As early as on the 6th minute of the game Djuricic (Sampdoria's ex-halfback) forced Rubchinskiy to foul in front of his own pocket, after which Magnusson hit a free kick into the net. The ball flew a little bit higher.
In addition, they actively pressed on the right flank of the defence. Miroshnichenko did not have a very good interplay with Gutsulyak, which was exploited by Juancar - Panathinaikos' left back. Denis had a hard time during the whole match, and the Greeks managed to get a profit from it already on the 10th minute", - states Football24.ua (26.07.23).
Undoubtedly, the quick goal of the Greek team affected the course of the match. But even with this development of events Dnipro 1 could have hoped for a more acceptable result, as Kucher said after the match:
"I think we did not deserve such a defeat. We could have scored more, and the episodes near our goal, of course, will be analysed. Їx should be cleaned up, because it was easy to score those goals" (scdnipro1.com.ua, 25.07.23).
We can partially agree with the coach. "Dnipro 1 almost did not concede to Panathinaikos in terms of dangerous chances: in particular, on 18 minutes Dovbyk failed to make an accentuated shot from 16 metres, and at the beginning of the second half, at 0:1, Gutsulyak and Rubchynskyi missed good goal-scoring opportunities.
The bare statistics published by the Tribuna website in general speaks of a roughly equal fight (Dnipro-1 had even better in some respects).
"Strike: 11 - 8. Udari u ploshchina: 3 - 3. Kutovi: 4 - 2. Foley: 17 - 9. Passing accuracy: 81% - 78%. Inolodinnya m'yachom: 55% - 45%. Won fights: 39 - 39" (Ua.tribuna.com, 26.07.23).
But at the same time it is difficult not to admit that the match developed according to the scenario of Panathinaikos, whose players imposed a viscous positional football on Dnipro-1, while quickly going on the attack and being as careful as possible with their chances. Our team did not find any weighty arguments to counterbalance it.
Naturally, the media are looking for an explanation for what happened, pointing to a number of reasons in addition to the quick goal of the opponents.
Absolutely all sources complain that the best playmaker in the UPL Oleksandr Pikhalenok could not play in Kosice due to injury - Dnipro-1's attacks lacked speed and creativity, and Artem Dovbik was left on a starvation ration.
"InPikhalenok's absence had a significant impact on the team's performance, as he is a key player in the centre of the pitch. The Dnipro team played too passively, gave too much time and space to footballers "Panathinaikos", - writes Vladislav Prigoda (Ua-football.com, 25.07.23).
"Dnipro-1" in this match had a very small bench of substitutes, those who came out in the second half, the game did not strengthen", - denote another essential nuance by the journalists of "Tribuna" (Ua.tribuna.com, 25.07.23).
And naturally, the press had questions for Oleksandr Kucher:
"The Supernicki have not yet started the season, then why did they look a level higher in terms of functional preparation?" (Football.ua, 25.07.23).
"It is important to say that Shporar's goal ruined Dnipro-1's strategic plans for the game, because we did not see a complete model from SC. Some of them were hindered by the lack of game conditions, some of them were so generous in their defence that it was very difficult to hold on", - read on Football.ua (25.07.23).
It is important that the press does not forget to take into account that Dnipro-1 got a very difficult opponent, which was initially considered the favourite of the pair. "Panathinaikos, as expected, appeared to be a more balanced team than Dnipro-1. And the key aspect, according to the media, was the experience and skill of the Greek club's players, who demonstrated excellent realisation.
"The backbone" of the Greek team was made up of mostly experienced footballers aged close to 30 years and more. Interesting fact: there was only one Greek in the starting line-up of Panathinaikos. Dnipro-1 has only one lightweight" (Sport.ua, 26.07.23).
In general, the summary from numerous publications can be deduced as follows: Dnipro-1 is still not ready enough for a serious test of the Champions League. However, it is still too early to write off Dnipro-1. If the circumstances are fortunate, Kucher's charges can make a comeback in the return match.
"Shandsi we have, - believes, for example, former midfielder of the Ukrainian national team Oleh Shelayev. - Teper vyzni goals are not rachuyutsya. It is possible to win 2:0 and take the game into overtime. The Ukrainian team needs a quick goal. Not even that. It is important to go to the break, winning at least one goal.... In short, the game is not closed yet. The window of opportunity for Dnipro-1 is still open" (Sportarena.com, 26.07.23).
"Vorskla" shows character
Following Dnipro-1, Vorskla started the European Cup campaign, which on Thursday played the first match of the second round of the Conference League qualification. The game of Viktor Skrypnyk's team, by all accounts, left a mixed impression. But, most importantly, the Poltava team got the result - a 2-1 victory against Georgian "Dila" of Ukrainian coach Andriy Demchenko leaves a decent chance for the final success.
Here it is appropriate to remind that on the eve of the European Cup start of "Vorskla" in the media publications there were notes of concern. Mostly about the personnel potential.
"With the departure of Seferi and Kravets, two serious holes were created in the starting line-up of the team. Taulant was the main scorer, the master of one-on-one play. Now the team is left with only one forward - Stepanyuk (another attacker Tuzenko - but young and unaware)...
Kravets could "shut up" any hole in the defence. Taking into account his transfer, as well as Chesnakov's injury and Yavorskyy's departure from the team, the defensive order for the new season looks like one more "Achilles' p'yatoi" of Poltava" (Sport.ua, 27.07.23).
As the game showed, the fears were not in vain. The game was not easy for Vorskla. "Dila" started the game more confident and aggressive, which, it must be assumed, was facilitated by good game practice - the Georgian championship is held according to the system "spring-autumn".
"For "Vorskla" it was the first official match in the current season, and before the break it was noticeable that the opponent had already managed to enter the game rhythm. As a consequence - "Dila" possessed a noticeable advantage and from time to time found vulnerabilities in the defence of Poltava. Viktor Skrypnyk's team, in turn, did not either in defence or in attack", - writes on this occasion the site "Terrikon" (Terrikon.com, 27.07.23).
"From the first hvilinas of the match in the Polish city of Tychy we saw how Andriy Demchenko's team looked fresh for Vorskla, - note journalists Football.ua. - Poltava's defence flanks worked hard, and there was no confidence in the fact that the players were not in optimum condition to take these spikes.
The first alarming signal we received already in the second half of the game, when Gomis zlooted in front of the goalkeeper's goal and finished a pass from the left flank over the crossbar. But on this the right side of the Vorskla defence did not stop making mistakes, and the moment of the Ukrainian striker Dilya Mikoli Kovtalyuk at the 19th minute, when the forward was prevented from hitting a shot with an hourly swipe at Ilsenko's legs, was even more alarming" (28. 23.07.23).
A number of media outlets noted: the coaching staff of Dila studied Vorskla very well. When building attacks the players of the Georgian team tried to predominantly load the zone, for which the Brazilian Santana, who appeared in Poltava camp just a few days before the game, was responsible. As a result - the bet worked:
"On the 57th minute of the game there was a banal dribble to the goalkeeper's line, where the Brazilian slept through Mikola Kovtalyuk. The Ukrainian forward came out from behind the back of Vorskla lightweight and sent the ball into Isenk's goal" (Football24.ua, 27.07.23).
Undoubtedly, there were many claims to the Vorskla defence for this episode. But at the same time everyone praised the team for the correct reaction to the missed goal. Until the 57th minute, Vorskla played second choice, trying to be as reliable as possible in defence and looking for chances for quick counterattacks. After Kovtalyuk's goal, Poltava team changed to plan B and sharply increased.
"Skrypnyk's team had to make other speeds, which they did. The guests tried to counteract the Vorskla's desperate pressure by using a foul, expected simulations, tactical substitutions for fresh players, but still the fervour of our team was not left without proper materialisation," - Denys Borysenko (Footclub.com.ua, 27.07.23).
The return goal was organised by Stepanyuk and Yurchenko, with Felipe in the striking position. And the victory for Poltava was secured by Kane, who was recognised by the press as the main hero of the meeting.
"Kane was responsible for the creativity of the team. He was literally everywhere. He dribbled down the flanks (Ibrahim was regularly on both flanks), tipped the defenders, made promising standards and executed them himself (part of them). He also did not forget to turn back in defence. He unleashed a couple of attacks after he dropped into the support zone and snatched the supervisor" (Football24.ua, 27.07.23).
So, taking into account all the circumstances, the overall picture is not bad, but a 2-1 victory does not guarantee our team anything yet.
"So, the game left a lot of questions, and the victory was won on character. It will not be easy in a match in a week. "Doing" aggressively acted on a foreign (neutral) field, and in the home walls will probably play even more bravely. But "Vorskla" already know what to expect from the opponent, and how to score. Moreover, Poltavians miss the opening round of the UPL, so they will be able to recover, gain strength and get ready exclusively for the match with "Diloy", which will take place on 3 SerpnI", - emphasises Sergiy Sytnik (Footboom1.com, 27.07.23).
Sensation in Lviv
Eurocup matches of Dnipro-1 and Vorskla became a kind of prologue to the start of the Ukrainian championship, which was opened by matches involving UPL newcomers. "Obolon" managed to defend a draw against "Kolos" (0:0), and "Polesie" dealt with "Veres" (2:0). By the way, Yuriy Kalitvintsev's team made a very decent impression on the press. So the forecasts about Polesie's European Cup ambitions may turn out to be quite reasonable.
There is no doubt in the media that Zorya will compete for a place in the European Cup zone. However, in the opening round the bronze medallist of the championship-2022/23 suffered a setback - 1:2 in Lviv with "Rukh".
Some publications assess the result of this match as a sensation. Although it should be noted that Vitaliy Ponomarev's Ruh is a tough nut and the core of the team has been preserved, while Zorya has a lot of newcomers, including head coach Nenad Lalatovic.
Well, the conclusion is as follows: Lviv were better prepared physically, while Luhansk are experiencing a certain personnel hunger.
"Rukh" made the most out of the failed first half - overexcited, overpowered the opponent and won the victory.
Functionality, stability of the squad and good substitutions made three points.
"Zorya"? The team played only the first half. It can be attributed to the new coach, the squad, the start of the season and so on, but before the start of the Eurocups it becomes alarming" (Ua-football.com, 29.07.23).
Another coaching debut, which was expected with great interest, came on Saturday's match Metalist 1925 - Shakhtar, in which the Pitmen won their first victory under the leadership of Dutch specialist Patrick van Leeuwen (2:1).
Here is what Oleksandr Snitko writes after the match:
"From the very beginning of the match Shakhtar tried to make us realise that they have no intention to give their opponents any chance to gain control of the ball. And then it was up to the skills of the Hirniki players..." (Sport.ua, 29.07.23).
That is, Shakhtar acted in their usual manner. Although there was an interesting nuance. Fans of statistics note that the Donetsk club's players did not try to play the ball to the right every time, as they used to do before, but very often hit the goal - in fact, at the slightest opportunity. In total, Shakhtar had 23 attempts (10 on goal), compared to eight for the opponents. In addition, van Leeuwen's team had a huge advantage in corner kicks - 17:3, after one of which they opened the scoring.
Summing up the game, the media wrote that Shakhtar won absolutely on business, although they did not avoid failures in defence, thanks to which Kharkiv were able to get one goal back and restore the intrigue.
"Close to the end of the game, we had a feeling that Shakhtar were losing their grip: M1925 had more space in the Pitmen's half, which, however, they did not know how to use.
The game was not easy for the favourite, but it fulfilled its main task: started with a victory, gave debut to Riznik, Castillo, Pedroinho and Neverton, and also fought with a rather toothy supervisor without many important players", - summarises Oleksandr Ryzhenko (Ua-football.com, 29.07.23).
Lucescu's preparations
Sunday matches closed the programme of the starting round of the Premier League. "Chornomorets" defeated LNZ (2:0), "Alexandria" on its field took the upper hand over "Kryvbas" (1:0), and the jewel of the evening and the whole weekend was the match between "Dynamo" and "Minai" (4:1).
The media unanimously agree that it was the brightest match of the first round: decent speed, interesting combinations, emphasis on attack, five goals scored...
It is clear that journalists in their publications emphasised the game of the winning team. But before talking about Dynamo, many sources give credit to Minay - the Transcarpathians with their high pressing created problems for Kyivians, opening the score in the opening and creating several good chances already at 1:2. In short, this is a case when the losing side should also be thanked - for character, organisation of the game and the ability to impose the struggle on the favourite.
"Minay", in my opinion, was an ideal opponent to test their strength and readiness at the beginning of the season, - believes Sergiy Sytnik. - Uzhgorodians do not grab stars from the sky, but the team has its own flavour, it is able to create problems and fight for the result in every match. And Dynamo players Volodymyr Sharan's team managed to bring them out of the equilibrium" (Footboom1.com.ua, 30.07.23)
However, the final superiority of Dynamo is not in doubt. Although from the 33rd to the 57th minute Kyiv played in the minority due to the suspension of Denys Popov.
When assessing the match, the media expectedly pay maximum attention to Andriy Yarmolenko, who returned to Dynamo after a long break.
"Yarmolenko immediately became the most active player on the pitch, taking the initiative: he shot, dribbled, found Oleksandr Timchyk's run in the pocket, fulfilled standards, even played in defence....", - read, for example, on the Tribuna website (Ua.tribuna.com, 30.07.23)
It is obvious for everyone that Yarmolenko's return is a big plus for Dynamo: it is both quality on the right flank of the attack and character with experience. However, Andriy failed to score his 100th match in the UPL, but his unexpected burst forced the Minai goalkeeper Oleksandr Bundura to commit a last hope foul, after which the referee equalized the match.
Undoubtedly, the return of centre-half Mykola Shaparenko after injury also had a positive impact on Dynamo's game. the 10th number of the Blue-Whites led the attacking game of the team, especially impressing in the episode with the second goal:
"Shaparenko showed how lacking he was in the team last year - he stretched the ball through the entire other team's half, and then Dubinchak and Buyalskyi organised a comfortable shot for Vanat, who made a double in three minutes", - writes Serhiy Repyuk (Sport.ua, 30.07.23).
Journalists also note the good form of Heorhiy Buschan, Serhiy Sidorchuk, Vitaliy Buyalskiy...And, of course, Vladislav Vanat impressed, demonstrating the qualities of a mature goal-scorer. It is no coincidence that Mircea Lucescu singled out his forward at the post-match press conference, praising him for his quick decision-making. And the UPL expert council, in turn, not only highly appreciated the game of Vanath, recognising him as the player of the week, but also paid tribute to Lucescu himself, awarding him the prize of the best coach of the tour.
The work of the Kyiv coach, who, by the way, celebrated his 78th birthday the day before, really deserves high praise. There is a fighting spirit, correctly chosen tactics and successful substitutions, which allowed to give a new impetus to the team's attacks in time.
"Dynamo caught the opponent on the forward pass. In combination with movements and passes of Buyalskiy, Yarmolenko and Vanat, chewing fullbacks and ready to reach jokers, it gave the effect of an ice rink. "Minai" had a solid look, but against such an easy and quick Dynamo it had no chance", - sums up Taras Kotiv (Football24.ua, 30.07.23).
However, paying tribute to Dynamo's powerful game in attack, the press pays attention to the problems in the centre of the team's defence, which were revealed by the persistent Minai. But here it is important that the Dynamo players themselves speak about their weakness. In particular, Mircea Lucescu, whose post-match statements instantly spread on numerous resources:
"Our main problem is the position of the centre-back. We have a lot of young footballers in this role, but this position requires experience. But our young players do not have it. Perhaps, we will solve this problem by the end of the transfer window" (Dynamo.kiev.ua, 30.07.23).
In general, Dynamo's readiness in comparison with last summer should definitely make the fans of the team optimistic. In this context, it is appropriate to pay attention to the material by Dmytro Vartas, who thoroughly analysed the pre-season of Kyiv team and suggested that with such a well-organized work there is every reason to count on the fight for the title.
"This time Dynamo approached the training camp in Austria very systematically:
- absence of hasty integration of players, who missed the start of preparations through additional leave;
- balance between sparring with serious opponents and weak teams, where we can reward new links and test the reserve;
- implementation of precise mechanics - return to the high tempo of the championship season, e.g. when Sidorchuk presses someone else's centre-back;
- work in the end zones - the space in the other team's pocket is attacked by 3-4 players, not 1-2;
- work in the "triplets" on the flanks - full-backs, space "under themselves", pulling the attention of the defenders.
All these are real preparations and ideas, which turned out to be effective" (Ua.tribuna.com, 30.07.23).
In support of Harlan
In conclusion - about the main topic of the week, which is not directly related to sport number one, but to which football Ukraine simply could not but react.
We are talking about the situation in which our famous sabre fencer Olga Kharlan found herself, who refused to shake hands with her rival from Russia, Anna Smirnova, who was competing under a neutral flag, after her victorious fight at the World Championships in Milan.
The entire sports world understood and approved the Ukrainian champion's gesture: it is beyond common sense to welcome a representative of a country waging a bloody war of annihilation against your homeland. Moreover, Smirnova openly supported the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, and her brother went to kill Ukrainians with weapons in his hands. However, the International Fencing Federation removed our athlete from the tournament and disqualified her for 60 days.
This scandalous decision caused a storm of indignation. Olga Kharlan received incredible support from the world press and of course from the whole Ukraine. Including - from representatives of the football community. Andriy Shevchenko, Roman Zozulya, Yevhen Levchenko, football clubs Dynamo, Shakhtar, Karpaty...The quintessence of numerous publications in the media and social networks, perhaps, is most fully reflected in the statement of FC Dynamo president Igor Surkis:
"The behaviour of sports officials is ganba and fear. Harlan's behaviour is an example for our athletes, what you should do when a Russian representative is near you. It is not just an informational excuse to tell the world about the war in Ukraine and the atrocities committed by the occupants - it is a crucial test for the search for truth and justice.
The disqualification of Olga Harlan demonstrates the subversive standards that still exist, but the reaction of our society, representatives of the sports community and the authorities give hope that Ukrainian athletes will be protected from similar swaviour in the future. I thank Olza especially myself and our entire club for this achievement and her patriotic stance" (Footcluv.com.ua, 28.07.23).
Naturally, the official state structures were not left out. In particular, a powerful statement in support of Olga Kharlan was made by the relevant Verkhovna Rada Committee on Youth and Sport.
"The decision of the International Fencing Federation to exclude Olga Kharlan from the competitions not only looks soulless and immoral, but also lacks the very sporting values, the ostensible turbot about which this organisation is supposedly ruling, allowing representatives of the aggressor country that started and is waging the worst war since the Second World War.
On the background of its rhetoric about the high interests of sport, the International Fencing Federation through some kind of arrangement, an insignificant formality deprives the athlete of her deserved victory and the right to compete, whose fault lies only in the fact that she cannot and does not want to close her eyes to the grief and suffering experienced by her country and its people....
Olga Kharlan simply could not do otherwise out of respect for all Ukrainians - athletes and non-athletes - who suffered and continue to suffer from the ganebious and crooked invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. No matter what you call Russian athletes - neutral or otherwise - they are still Russian athletes and represent Russia....
We ask the International Fencing Federation to revoke the disqualification of Olga Harlan and urge the whole international sports community to support us in this just plea.
The Committee also appeals to all relevant sports and Olympic bodies of Ukraine with a request to urgently implement all necessary measures for the protection of the Ukrainian national team in order to protect the interests of Olga Kharlan and the whole Ukrainian sport and promises from its side maximum favour and support at the parliamentary level", - says the document, which was published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada (Rada.gov.ua, 28.07.23).
As a result, the International Fencing Federation backtracked, cancelling Harlan's disqualification. And IOC head Thomas Bach, in order to somehow dampen the scandal, allocated a personal quota for Olga Kharlan to participate in the individual tournament of the Olympics-2024.
Thus, Ukraine once again demonstrated fantastic cohesion, having won another important victory.
Other aspects of football life
Melgosa takes over the youth team. On 25 July, the name of the new coach of the Ukrainian national youth team was announced. It was 47-year-old Spanish specialist Unai Melgosa, whose candidacy was approved on the initiative of the head coach of the national team of Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov.
The press makes it clear: Melgosa's appointment indicates that the game of the youth team will be built on the same principles that Rebrov professes. After all, the Spaniard has been working in conjunction with Sergei Stanislavovich for several years. Melgosa assisted Rebrov at Ferencvaros and Al-Ain, and even earlier he worked at Dynamo Kyiv.
"Melgosa from 2015 to 2017, during the time when Rebrov was the head coach of the Bilo-Syni, was in the structure of the club, - recalls the website "Ukrainian Football". -At first, he was one of Serhiy Stanislavovich's assistants, and later he took charge of the U-19. Volodymyr Shepeliev, Mykola Shaparenko, Viktor Tsygankov, Denys Popov, Vladyslav Dubinchak, Bohdan Mykhailichenko and other Ukrainian talents grew up under his leadership" (Ukrfootball.ua, 30.07.23).
It is also important to note that Ruslan Rotan, under whose leadership our "youth" entered the quartet of the strongest at the recent Euro-2023 and secured a ticket to the Games-2024, also remains in the structure of the national teams - as a coach of the Olympic team.
Well, Melgosa's baptism of fire is scheduled for 8 September - on that day the players of the Ukrainian national youth team will have an away sparring match with their peers from Germany in preparation for Euro-2025.
Viktor Zhuravlevlev
