The opening of the current season in the UPL can be safely called the 19-year-old Rukh all-rounder Yevhen Pastukh, who scored three goals in 14 calendar matches. The footballer told us who influenced his decision to sign a multi-year contract with the Lviv club:
- At the youth level, I, a pupil of Zhytomyr football, could be called a kind of football pilgrim. I had to study at the football schools of Shakhtar Donetsk, Karpaty Lviv, and Dynamo Kyiv. By the way, when I was at Karpaty, I trained there with Vitalii Ponomariov, my current coach at Rukh. The aforementioned teams were distinguished by their style, which helped me diversify my arsenal.
- Your last youth team was Dynamo Kyiv, where you trained under Yuriy Dmytrulin. According to our information, Kyiv wanted to keep you, but you chose a different path.
- It was Rukh who made me a specific offer of cooperation, and I knew that the club's U-19 team was led by Vitaliy Ponomaryov, whom I knew well from Karpaty. That's why, after consulting with my agent and my father, who always helped me make the right choice, I decided to sign an agreement with Rukh until 30 June 2028. I believe I made the right decision.
- When Ponomaryov took over the helm of the main team, you soon made your debut in the Premier League.
- In the end, I had the opportunity to make sure that I was progressing under Vitalii Yuriiovych's tutelage.
- What is your favourite position on the football pitch?
- I believe that I have never taken someone else's place. In the last rounds, I was at the forefront of the attack and scored a double against Veres, as well as scoring against Chornomorets. Although I play up front because the main strikers Yurii Klymchuk and Denys Tesliuk are injured. Previously, I mostly played as a central or attacking midfielder. I like playing in the middle zone the most.
- And with your 195 centimetres of height, are you comfortable up front or in the midfield?
- It's a sin to complain, I try to do my best for Rukh everywhere. After all, did being a grenadier prevent Zlatan Ibrahimovic from scoring or passing to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or Paul Pogba from dictating his terms in the middle area? These are the players I admire the most and try to follow their example.
- Did you expect to break into the first team so quickly?
- No, I didn't. I thought that it would be good when I became a rotation player. But the great team microclimate gave me confidence in my abilities, and the fact that Rukh has many of my peers in leading roles who have been together for several seasons was also helpful.
- Do you regret that, having gained a foothold in the main squad, you were unable to help Rukh U-19 in the UEFA Youth League, where they withdrew early, losing to Midtjylland from Denmark?
- No, because it was the decision of the coaching staff. Of course, it is a shame that we did not overcome the Danish barrier, but the exams in the international arena will not go away. After all, this season Rukh has a good chance of winning a ticket to the European Cups.