Journalist: "Shevchenko needs to do what he did when he was coaching the Ukrainian national team - pick a professional team"

Journalist Mykhailo Spivakovsky shared his opinion on the election of Andriy Shevchenko as president of the UAF.

Михайло Співаковський

"First of all, I would like Andriy Mykolayovych to forget that he is a football legend. What he got involved in is a different kind of sport altogether. None of us will forgive him for his dilentism, indifference, and bias just because of what he once did on the football field.

Some of the points included in the basic programme announced by Shevchenko were tried to be implemented by his predecessors. But they failed. Because they not only failed to break the existing system, they mimicked it, became part of it, and then led it. The UAF president needs not just to please, but to work well with both regions and clubs. At the same time, he must be able to keep his distance.

By and large, Shevchenko now needs to do what he did well when he was coaching the national team - select the most professional team of assistants. A good manager is not the one who tries to do everything himself and clean the skirting boards on every floor, but the one who selects very competent assistants and delegates authority properly. At the same time, without losing control over everything that happens.

I expect high-quality personnel optimisation at the Football House, where, unfortunately, there are a lot of completely unnecessary people in rather sluggishly working bodies. And yes, I agree that some of these institutions are headed by people with a non-football background. The main thing is that they should be professionals in their highly specialised field. In fact, the more new people there are, the less likely it is that the corrupt and nepotistic mechanisms on which Ukrainian football is built will work.

I would like to see Shevchenko, speaking in favour of transparency and openness, provide examples of this in his communication with the press. Andriy needs to understand that a generation of journalists is growing in Ukraine who can work in an unbiased manner and who are already opinion leaders. I wish Andriy Shevchenko to permanently erase from our vocabulary the phrase "The fifth floor of the Football House" as a synonym for helpless and impenetrable muddle," Spivakovsky said.