The head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhii Rebrov spoke about his return to Ukraine after six years abroad, about the path of the Ukrainian national team to Euro 2024 and which UPL clubs impressed him the most.
Serhii Rebrov. Photo by O. Popov"It's not easy to switch from a club coach to another job"
- Can your return to Ukraine after six years abroad be called a personal highlight of 2023?
- If you asked me how long I had been away from Ukraine, I wouldn't be able to answer quickly (Smiles). It is very important for me that I have returned to Ukraine in this very difficult period for our country. It is a great honour to work here and be with my people. For me, this is really the main highlight of 2023.
- While working abroad, you tried not to lose touch with Ukraine. Since returning, over the past six months, what has struck you the most?
- When the full-scale war broke out, I saw that Ukrainians rallied in the face of serious danger. Now you can feel for yourself how we are living through this rather difficult period in history.
Now we are more respectful of each other. We are helping each other more. I'm constantly in touch with our legionnaires, who are happy to respond to any call for help(Rebrov, along with other Ukrainian athletes, runs a fund to help the army - ed.) This is really very important for all of us. I am sure there is not a single Ukrainian living abroad who does not help us.
- You meet a lot with the military and the families of the fallen heroes. Can we say that football is about something more for us?
- This is the least we can do. What I can do. Respect and attention to these people is needed now more than ever. When I am in Kyiv, I am happy to respond to requests for such meetings.
- Is the specificity of a club coach's work very different from the national team of Ukraine?
- For me, this is a completely new experience. It's a completely different job because you don't have to work with the players every day, talk to them. Working in the national team, a break for meetings and conversations can take a month or more. Now, for example, it's four months, but even during this period there is a lot of work to do.
This is a completely different job. It's not easy for me to change jobs, but I enjoy it and share the experience I gained abroad with my players. Working outside Ukraine, you don't feel the same atmosphere as when you work with Ukrainian players. For example, when I worked at Dynamo, there were a lot of Ukrainian players who listened to you, and together we did something and achieved something.
"It is very important that the guys believe in our football"
- After the many-month saga with your appointment as head coach of the national team of Ukraine, was it difficult to pick up the team when the selection for Euro 2024 had already started?
- I consciously took this step. I am interested in working with good players. It's not just about our players abroad, but also the guys who play in the Ukrainian championship. It was very important for me to direct them towards a single goal. We have always had, have and will always have high-class players. But it is very important to create a team that understands what it is doing and believes in its own strength.
My main task, especially in the matches against Germany (3:3) and Italy (1:2, 1:1), was to show that they can play football and stand up to such giants.
I understand that against North Macedonia and Malta, our team will always be labelled as favourites. It is very difficult. It is very important that the guys believe that they can play their football against any opponent.
- The main scourge of the Ukrainian national team at all times is when we can play well against a strong opponent, but manage to lose points against those teams that were written down as underdogs before the matches. Can the Euro 2024 qualifiers be called a turning point in this regard?
- I agree, but I have been working with the team for only six months. I do everything in my power and my assistants.
- How did you manage to keep the players' psychological level up when you had to switch to Malta after England?
- This is a problem not only for the national team of Ukraine, when you don't have two equivalent squads and have to play in two days on the third. It is very difficult for us now, given the logistics. I am grateful to the players that in such a short period of time they really want to play the football I am trying to give them. They help me and I help them.
It's too short a time to say that we have created something, but reaching the playoffs and a few matches against the giants have shown that we are on the right track and will move on.
"If you want to beat Bosnia, you have to think about your game while respecting your opponent"
- In the spring, our national team will try to make it to Euro 2024 through the Nations League play-offs. Is 3 months before the match with Bosnia the period when you can already estimate the theoretical chances of success?
- I hope that by that time all the players will be fit and without injuries. Now we are watching a lot of videos with the assistants, watching the players. In January, Vicente (Vicente Gomez, - Rebrov's assistant in the coaching staff of the national team of Ukraine - ed. note) and I are going to go to Turkey to look at the national teams and future candidates. Some teams will be training in Ukraine - we will visit there as well.
It is very important for me to move from match to match. There is no need to look ahead and think about what will happen in a few months. Now I am setting up the players in such a way that they concentrate on their clubs and prepare for the meeting with Bosnia through the games. If you want to win, you have to think about your game, respecting your opponent.
- Is today's Bosnia capable of causing us problems, given that the best days of Djeko and Pjanic are behind them?
- They have changed their coach(Bosnians are coached by Savo Milosevic, the top scorer of Euro 2000, who played for the national teams of three Balkan countries - Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia - ed.) In recent matches, this coach has used many players in each position, so it is difficult to name their optimal line-up.
I think that Pjanic and Djeko are very important players for the Bosnians. The youngsters are quite good. When the time comes, it is very important that players have enough practice before important matches.
- Now our national team is more represented by players who play in foreign teams. Are you satisfied with the amount of practice our guys get abroad?
- This applies to all players who play abroad. I'm very glad that Dovbyk, Zinchenko, Mykolenko, Tsygankov have regular practice now. Mudryk at Chelsea and Malinowski at Genoa have started to get more time. We are satisfied at the moment, but I remind you once again - the match against Bosnia is on 21 March. It is not known what form the guys will be in by then. It is important to follow the players now and see what form they will be in before the decisive matches of the national team.
- What about our goalkeepers?
- Trubin demonstrated with his performance in Benfica that he was a worthy replacement for Vlachodimos. Anatolii has made a very important step, he is progressing. I am sure that in Benfica Trubin will continue to improve his level of play. I have already mentioned Lunin, if he has practice, he will be invited to the national team.
"I invite players to the national team not because of personal sympathies"
- You have received a lot of criticism from domestic clubs who believe that their leaders have been ignored by you for one reason or another. Will the situation change in 2024?
- Personally, these criticisms do not bother me. I understand the direction we need to move in. I call up a player to the national team of Ukraine based on how many players are available for a particular position.
If we call up four players for one position, the players we don't use will ask me: "Why did you invite me?" Now there is competition for every position. We have a few positions for which we invite three players, and two for others. In our opinion, it is very important that they fit our model of play.
- And yet, do you realise that when Kryvbas, Polissia, Rukh are among the new leaders of the championship, sooner or later questions will arise about their leading players?
- I am sure that there are many players in Ukraine who deserve to be called up to the national team. We analyse a lot, we look at many factors and elements that are really important for our game model. Those people who talk about their players see the potential in them. They are all potential candidates. We follow everyone.
Unfortunately, in these six months we have played only two friendly matches: against Germany and not with the national team in Poland(we are talking about a control match against Lechia from the first division - ed.) Each game was decisive for us and we did not have the opportunity to watch all the players who are on the radar of the national team of Ukraine. If we called up 4-5 players, it was simply not possible to involve them.
If you look at our calendar, when we get together and have only 2-3 days for full preparation, we play in two days on the third day - and the national team leaves. It makes no sense to call up 30-35 players when you have no training process.
- Are the guys who performed well at the European Youth Championship and made it to the Olympics for the first time also on the radar?
- I'm sure that this year the national team will have new players, and the guys from the youth team will get their chance. We see the potential in many players, but unfortunately, there was not enough time to test them in the Ukrainian national team camp. The process is ongoing and it is very important.
- The renewed youth team has made a good start in the new selection. Do you have anyone to watch there?
- I am very pleased with the competition in the youth team. We are in constant contact with Unai (Unai Melgosa - head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine - ed. note), who tells us about the progress of the players.
When you come to the national team, you have to accept the fact that everyone understands football, how to play football, who should play. But, given that I am the head coach, I have the last word. I make decisions without being guided by personal sympathies. The statistics I receive are important to me. Plus the vision of my own game model.
"I liked Rukh in the first round of the UPL"
- You could often be seen at UPL matches. Who could you single out among the teams or your colleagues?
- "Kryvbas is showing a mature and high-quality game this season. So does Dnipro-1. There are a lot of surprise teams. Any team where Yurii Vernydub works has discipline. I can see why they are among the leaders. Each player understands what is required of him in attack and defence.
The same "Alexandria" is not in its place. They play interesting football.
- Why are they in the middle, but not among the leaders?
- The problem is that they concede a lot, but it's open football. I like what Ruslan Petrovych is trying to instil in his team.
- Who else do you remember?
- In the first round, I liked Rukh because they don't have many stars. They have a lot of players who are represented in different national teams. They play dynamic football, constantly pressing. They concede a lot, but I like the style they try to play.
I pay tribute to Roman Hryhorchuk and his Chornomorets. They understand how they can score points. As long as they have enough energy to play one-on-one, they play as much as they can. When you run out of energy, it's hard to play.
- And what about our giants?
- Dynamo have shown in recent games that they will fight for the championship. "Shakhtar's confidence was boosted by the way they played in the Champions League, but in the Ukrainian league they don't always show the game that is expected. There are not many foreigners in the UPL now, and our players are taking their chances.
Oleksandr Karpenko
