Former Dynamo Kyiv forward Viktor Leonenko has named his symbolic team for the first part of the 2023/24 Ukrainian Championship.
Viktor LeonenkoGoalkeeper: Dmytro Riznyk (Shakhtar)
- Thank God, there are no problems with goalkeepers in Ukraine. For me, Riznyk is number one. He is more interesting than Volynets, who I will put in second place. Neshcheret sometimes plays good games. Bushchan is a good goalkeeper, but he plays on and off.
Left-back: Ivan Dibango (Kryvbas)
- Is Azarov from Shakhtar a former prime minister? He hasn't played enough yet - for a third of the championship, competitors occupied the left-back spot, so he won't be in the team for sure. Dubinchak and Vivcharenko are of the same level, they also shared playing time with competitors, so it's hard to judge if a player played half the games in reserve.
I'll name Dybango. He is active and aggressive on his flank, boldly runs into the attack, which is now fashionable among centre-backs.
Central defenders: Mykola Matvienko (Shakhtar), Serhii Chobotenko (Polissia)
- Svatok from Dnipro-1 brings a matchmaker in every game. The centre of Dynamo's defence is a quiet nightmare. Syrota gives a lot of assists, though in his own goal. Dyachuk is still a novice footballer, so it's too early to talk about him. Is Lazio interested in Slyubik from Rukh? That's the agents' job. They can talk a lot. Remember Konoplyanka, who was bought by the whole world, and where is he now?
My choice is Chobotenko and Matvienko. The former is good up top, and the latter is good down below. So they will complement each other. Also, both are fine with standards.
Right-back: Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv)
- The problem with all our defenders is that they play well in attack, but not in defence. In my opinion, Tymchyk looks the most interesting. He runs forward boldly and is definitely better than Karavaev, because he is weaker in defence. I don't consider Karavaev a defender at all, look at how many goals he has scored.
It's much easier for Yarmolenko to play when Tymchyk is around, running and taking away. He can run for three halves, but Yarmolenko can't. Tymchyk is followed by Konoplya and Gocholeishvili.
Left midfielder: Beni Makuana (Polissia)
- I put Makuana in this position. He is currently more interesting than Sudakov. There is even a statistical comparison. The Congolese has four goals and two assists, while Sudakov has only two goals. Makouana is technical and scoring. Everyone here talks about Sudakov, but he has only two goals. Maybe after the European Cups and the national team he is tired, as we like to say. Who cares at this level?
Is Sudakov ready for Juventus? Of course not. I don't think he has proved himself seriously. To go to Juventus, you need at least ten goals and as many assists. But he has to mock rivals in the UPL to talk about Juventus!
I don't think Sudakov is a head above the other Shakhtar players. If he joins Juventus now, he could become the second Mudryk in terms of expectations. In Italy, you need to select, and Sudakov doesn't know how to do that.
Central midfielders: Oleksandr Pikhalonok (Dnipro-1), Volodymyr Brazhko (Dynamo)
- Pikhalonok and Brazhko are weak in defence but strong in attack. Both have a good shot and technique. They have the main skill of midfielders - to make sharp passes. They are constantly sharpening.
Buyalsky has nothing to do here, Brazhko and Pikhalenok will have more fun. Buyalsky can only play in Dynamo. Bondarenko was sometimes used on the right in defence at Shakhtar. I don't know what came to the coaches' minds to make such a decision.
Probably, everyone wants to follow Guardiola. Hello to blond Zinchenko. It's like Kucher putting Nazarenko in defence. I don't understand these cheap numbers with a haircut to suit someone. Although we are now at a level where we can play the goalkeeper as a backup.
Right midfielder: Oleksiy Hutsulyak (Dnipro-1)
- Hutsulyak always boldly goes into the box, can score and pass. The only downside is that he is injured. Is it Zubkov? No, of course not! Remove him from Shakhtar and you won't hear about him again. Voloshin is still young. Hutsulyak is much more interesting than anyone else in this position, and he is also effective.
Forwards: Yurii Klymchuk (Rukh), Oleh Kozhushko (Kryvbas)
- We don't have any great strikers, because the top scorers this season have only seven goals each, and that's in our championship. I will choose Klymchuk and Kozhushko.
Klymchuk is a scorer and not greedy, which I have always liked. He can pass to his partner if he's in a better position, and he won't pull the blanket over himself. "Rukh is not in the top 5, but Klymchuk still scores consistently, which is a sign of class.
Kozhushko is a newcomer to Kryvbas, but he has already scored. He has speed and feels good in the team. Vernydub must have believed in him, and he felt it. I am glad that Kozhushko has found his team.
Why did I not include Vanat? For me, he is more wooden than Kozhushko. Filippov is not up to the best yet either. He wasn't the best scorer of the season and hasn't scored much for a long time.
Coach: Yurii Vernydub (Kryvbas), Yurii Maksymov (Dnipro-1)
- I will have a tandem - Vernydub and Maksymov, like Lobanovskyi and Bazylevych. Vernydub removed 20 players from Kryvbas after Babych, took new ones and made a combat-ready team, which is very difficult. Kalytvintsev did the same thing with the newcomers at Polissia, and he will be my third. It rarely happens that a debutant club in the UPL is in the top 3 of the championship after the first round in its first season.
Maksymov was the sporting director of Polissia, managed to raise Zvyagel to the second league, and then Dnipro-1 to the UPL. Although Dnipro-1 has serious problems. It can only happen in Ukraine that a team is at the top of the table and then can simply disappear.
I would also like to remind you how Maksymov pulled Obolon out in his time. He is just unlucky with teams, because wherever he goes, there are always problems.
Do I believe that Shovkovskyi will lift Dynamo? I don't understand the behaviour of Ihor Mykhailovych [Surkis] at all. He said that there would be no more Dynamo hearts, but apparently he was joking again.
I don't mind Shovkovskyi taking over Dynamo, but it's too early to talk about him. Firstly, not enough matches have been played, and secondly, he could be dismissed in the spring if Dynamo suddenly loses to Minaj by accident.
I have a question for Igor Mikhailovich: why not take Maksimov? Our presidents like to be heard, but they pay their money, so they deserve to get results.
Andriy Piskun
