On Wednesday, the national team of Ukraine born in 2005 will start qualifying for the Euro (U-19). During the first qualifying round, the Ukrainians will face the teams of Malta, Kosovo and Slovakia. To qualify for the elite round, which will take place in March, Oleg Kuznetsov's team must take one of the first two places.
David Fesyuk has been with the team since the first qualifier at the U-17 Euros in autumn 2021. During this time, the Ukrainian goalkeeper was able to reach the final of the UEFA Youth League with his club Khaiduk. David spoke about his prospects in the qualifiers with the national team and club affairs just before his departure for Malta.
David Fesyuk- What are your expectations from the first round of qualification?
- We need to set ourselves the task of winning all three games and getting the most points. Coming out of first or second place is a big difference, which then goes into the draw for the elite round.
But there's no need to make any predictions in advance. All three games will not be easy. I have a teammate in Hajduk from Kosovo, Alpi Shahini, who says they are preparing. They have a good team - many players from the German club system. The Kosovars have a large number of legionnaires, somewhere up to 90 per cent. I won't talk about Slovakia at all. I have many friends there with whom I played. Nino Marzelli already plays for the Slovan first team on a regular basis.
- Your family lives in Bratislava. Will the match against Slovakia be a crucial one for you?
- I don't really think about it. For me, every match for the national team is important. I always set myself the highest goals.
It will be nice to play against Slovakia against my friends. I know many of them from the Slovan Academy, I played against some of them. But on the field, there are no friends or acquaintances, only rivals and the victory of your team. Especially when it comes to the national team.
- Which Slovaks do you keep in touch with?
- I know 6-7 players. Milon Regus from Hoffenheim, Michal Svoboda from Bologna. Andy Masalik plays in the Slovak first league. The aforementioned Nino Marzelli. Maximilian Marko from the Slovan youth team.
- Is Slovakia our main competitor?
- At first glance, you might say that it's an easy group with Slovakia, Kosovo and Malta and it's easy to get out of it. But nowadays football is such that no opponent should be underestimated. Malta will play with the support of their own fans. Kosovo has a lot of legionnaires who are trained in Europe Slovakia has a strong generation of players. There are no weak opponents here. You need to be 100 per cent ready for everyone.
- What is the main strength of the Slovaks?
- They play well on the counterattack. They have a good defence. Most likely, they will play with three central defenders. They have fast wingers like Nino Marzelli, who can run away. In the middle of the field is Milan Regus. He conducts Hoffenheim's game in the youth Bundesliga. The team is on the move.
- In April 2022, in Siena, Ukraine played against Kosovo in the elite round of the U-17 Euros. We managed to snatch a victory only at the end of the game. What are your memories?
- A completely different team will play against us. They have changed a lot. Their coach has changed. There were 2-3 training sessions. We held a section. They set themselves the task of playing against the next round.
- A month ago, the team played in a friendly tournament in Korea. In Seoul, they took second place. What did you lack to win?
- Most likely adaptation. It was difficult for us to play the first game against the hosts because of the climate and the different time zone. We started confused. Then it was easier. The best game was against Morocco in the last round. When we defeated a year older opponent.
- In Korea, you missed a lot. What was the problem?
- It was sniffing around each other. The team had changed personnel. We were getting used to each other. After all, the last time we saw each other was a year and a half ago. All three games were very difficult, against strong opponents. Almost no one played zero in the tournament. The attack prevailed over the defence. Everyone wanted to score and win.
- The 2005 Ukrainian national team had a long break from April 2022 to October 2023. Did you keep in touch with the players?
- Of course, we missed the national team. We wanted to see the guys. We have very good relations within the team. We communicated. It was nice to see everyone. We have a very friendly team. This is one of our advantages, that we are all like a family.
- How was Korea in general?
- I didn't really like it. The food was not very good. It was spicy and salty. I had to get used to many things.
- Vyacheslav Surkis was your competitor. How did you get on with him?
- We became friends. He is a very nice and pleasant guy, despite his father's status. Slavik is very humble and hardworking. I have only good impressions of him.
- Who are you best friends with from the national team?
- It's hard to say with whom I don't communicate. The team is very open, everyone communicates with each other. It is clear that I communicate most with my teammate Stepan Lysenko. But I also have good relations with players from Dynamo, Shakhtar and other teams. When someone new arrives, especially from the legionnaires, we all try to help him adapt to the team as quickly as possible.
- What is Oleg Kuznetsov like as a coach in general?
- Oleg Vladimirovich is an experienced specialist, a true professional. His first priority is to be responsible for every move, not to make simple mistakes when playing the ball. He has a balanced defence, in which the players do not engage in aggressive tackling, but rather positional tackling. From the forwards, he wants to see one-on-one play in the outer zones and the ability to score, to look for their moment. We are all united around the coach, around the players. We have a good team. We can go far. We just need to take a responsible approach to the training camp. If we show our best qualities, we will be able to overcome the qualification.
- What can you say about goalkeeping coach Krakovskyi?
- Serhii Viktorovych Krakovskyi is an experienced coach. It is a pleasure to work with him. Despite the fact that we rarely have meetings and that we actually have so few training sessions, Sergey Viktorovich gives really valuable advice. But what impresses me the most is that he is just a very good person.
- Oleg Kuznetsov called up three goalkeepers during the qualifiers. Aren't you afraid of competition?
- On the contrary, it's better when there is competition. There is room for improvement and I need to work even harder. I hope to get my playing time and help the national team.
- How are things going in Croatia?
- I am satisfied. I have a stable playing practice in the youth team of Hajduk. We share first place in the standings with Dinamo Zagreb. Once or twice a week I train with Hajduk's first team. The system here is special. That's why training is very important. You need to get used to many things.
- Last season, Khaiduk was in the final of the UEFA Youth League. What were your impressions?
- It was a miracle that we got there. No one was expecting us there. It was a real sensation. We reached the final, defeating Gabala, Apollonia, Shakhtar, Man City, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan. As a result, we brought the UEFA League silver medals to Split. We are very grateful to our fans who supported us. Fans are the best in the world. I have never seen such support for a youth team. It was an incredible motivation when 15,000 people come to an away match. We wanted to play for them, and then we thought about ourselves.
- In the summer, your team-mate Luka Vušković, 16, joined Tottenham. Can you tell us more about him?
- He is a very professional footballer. He constantly takes care of himself. You can see the hand of his father, who brought up not only him but also his brother, who now plays in Germany. "Haiduk earned about 17 million euros from the Vushkovych family.
"Luka is a great talent. When I first joined the team at U-17, he was very young, but he already stood out at this level, being 2-3 years younger than the others. But he is also a hard-working footballer. He tries his best at every training session. When he was already in the first team, but was sent down to the youth team after an injury to get fit, he gave his best. It happens so often that when a player is relegated to a lower level, it is perceived as an insult. Luka understood everything and worked even harder than the others to regain his fitness.
- There is a former Aston Villa and Croatia goalkeeper Lovro Kalinic in the Hajduk first team. What is your relationship with him?
- I probably communicate with him the most from the first team. We also spend time together. He gives me a lot of advice. He is a very good person. He tells you what to do in small details. When I didn't get the ball, he laid out the episode on the shelves for me to correct. He is a very simple guy with a good sense of humour. He is somewhat similar to another former Croatian goalkeeper, Daniel Subasic, who used to be in the team.
- You worked together for almost a year with Tomislav Rogic, who was Hajduk's goalkeeping coach. He is a former assistant to Mircea Lucescu. What can you say about him?
- He is a very specific coach. He has his own coaching methodology. It's a bit different from the one I had at Haiduk before. You need to be able to endure a lot of physical exertion. It is clear that he is a great professional. His training helps me to progress. I took something new from him.
Rogic was very worried about the team. When we lost, he was in a bad mood all week. He worries about every defeat, every goal. He is a very emotional person. But this does not take him out of his professionalism during training. It is a pity that Rogic recently left Hajduk. It was a pleasure to work with him.
- David, in conclusion, I would like to wish you and our youth team a successful performance in the qualifying round in Malta. Together with the whole of Ukraine, we will be cheering for you.
- Thank you. It is a great pride and honour for me to represent Ukraine, especially in such a difficult time. I would like to take this opportunity to send my greetings to my hometown of Dubno in the Rivne region and wish all of Ukraine a quick victory and a peaceful sky.
Sergey Tishchenko
