The first part of the Ukrainian Premier League season has recently come to an end. Former Ukraine and Dynamo midfielder Serhiy Kovalets summed up the interim results of the UPL.
Sergey Kovalets- Serhii Ivanovych, what can you say about the first part of the UPL season in general?
- Currently, the standings are in an interesting position, as five teams are challenging for the championship. I am sure that an exciting fight awaits us in the spring. Personally, I want the UPL to have an unexpected champion - not Shakhtar or Dynamo Kyiv.
- Can the performances of Kryvbas and Polissia be classified as sensations?
- Absolutely. Despite not having any top-level players, Yuriy Vernydub and Yuriy Kalytvintsev are building teams. It is the collective actions of the Kryvyi Rih and Zhytomyr teams that are at a good level. Another issue is that Kryvbas and Polissia have no experience of competing for the top places.
But that's okay, you have to start somewhere(smiles). It is also important that the referees work without mistakes. I want to see a real champion.
-Vorskla, Oleksandriya,Zorya are the teams that fought for European Cup places last season, but now they can't boast of the result. What is the reason for this?
- Zorya had a coaching change, and the team also played in European competitions. It is difficult to show the game and the result when each coach sees everything in his own way.
In Oleksandriya, the vector of development has changed. We remember that they have always had an experienced team, which even won the bronze medal in the championship. Now the team has a lot of youngsters, and it will take some time to reach a higher level.
"In my opinion, Vorskla always lacks a little bit of stability, but at the same time, Poltava continue to be a thunderstorm of authority. Last season, it seemed that they were not going to make it to the European competitions, but the team still jumped on the footboard of the last carriage...
As for me, these three teams will play the second part of the championship at a good level.
-Dynamo hasn'timpressed so far, has it? They dropped out of the European Cups early, they arefifth in the table, although they have a few matches to spare...
- I agree. This season, the White and Blues are still missing stars from the sky. Probably, the players could not withstand the pressure from the authoritative Mircea Lucescu. We can only hope that Oleksandr Shovkovskyi will be able to relieve this tension.
So far, the new coach has succeeded - Dynamo has won four in a row and is now on a par with Shakhtar in terms of points lost.
Much will depend on how the Kyiv team prepares for official matches during the winter break.
- What doyou think of Shakhtar Donetsk's performanceand results?
- I would never have thought that Shakhtar would change coaches so often. The club has always taken consistent steps before. I don't understand why Igor Jovicevic left the team in the off-season, why the Pitmen were led by Patrick van Leeuwen, who never worked out at the helm of the current champion. And now we have another coach, Marino Pušić.
So Shakhtar surprised me to some extent. Nevertheless, I must pay tribute to the Donetsk team. The club's management did a great job in terms of the fact that the stadium in Hamburg was always almost full at their home games in the European Cups. And the team itself showed a good result in the Champions League.
Now we will support the Orange and Blacks in the Europa League - so that they earn as many points as possible in the table of coefficients for Ukraine.
And in the UPL, as before, everything is in Shakhtar's hands. But how they will use their potential in the spring will again depend on their winter training.
- Is our championshipinteresting in terms of the fact that two teams are relegated and two more will play transitional matches with teams from the first league?
- I think so. In the current unstable situation, this is probably the best option for now.
At the same time, representatives of the clubs and the Premier League should always engage in a dialogue, looking for the best options for today's realities, so as not to lose what we have now.
- Would you try to predict the top three teams in the UPL at the end of this season?
- I won't do it only because it is not yet known in what form and condition the rivals will approach the spring matches of the championship. But, in my opinion, five teams will fight for the championship - Kryvbas, Dnipro-1, Polissia, Shakhtar and Dynamo.
And this fight will continue until the last round. Yes, Shakhtar and Dynamo have more experience of such battles, and they still remain the favourites among the above teams. However, again, I would like to see an unusual champion in the Ukrainian Premier League this season - it will only benefit our football.
Yaroslav Pyatnitsky
