The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine, Unai Melgosa, visited the camp of Lviv's Rukh at a training camp in Slovenia and attended yesterday's control matches of the team against local Gorica (0: 2) and Primorye (2: 0). In a commentary to Rukh's club media, the youth coach shared his impressions of what he saw, spoke about the prospects of the players and assessed the coaching work of the Lviv team's head coach Vitaliy Ponomaryov.
Унаї Мельгоса. Фото — uaf.ua- I have seen some of Rukh's games, but I wanted to see how the team looks live, talk to the guys and coaches, and watch the matches. I like the attitude of Rukh players and the way the coaching staff works with them. I talked to Vitaliy Ponomaryov and he said that when his players come to play for the youth team, he likes the way they behave during training, take in information and demonstrate their qualities. It is important that the club works with young people and this is very valuable for national team coaches.
Rukh has a lot of talented players, and in addition to the players who have already played for the youth national team this season, we have been watching other guys. Many players from this club are on the extended list for a possible call-up to the Ukrainian youth national team, we are talking about players born in 2004-2005. Today, there were also players born in 2007 on the field and we are following them as well. There is a high probability that one of these guys will receive a call-up to the youth team.
Style is important, of course, but it is not the most important thing that Ponomarev's coaching staff gives to his players. In particular, he instils discipline in the players and they have the right attitude. It's about punctuality, politeness in communication, professional behaviour - it's a demonstration of good human qualities and it's very important to me. In each club, the coach tries to instil his own playing style, while in the national team, attention is paid to the basic skills of the players and this is the basis for working with them.
After the matches, we managed to talk to the players and coaches. It was a light and humorous conversation in a pleasant atmosphere. The work in the club and the national team is different, because the players are in the clubs all the time and work here every day, so I can't tell them how they should act at Rukh. There is Vitaliy Ponomaryov's vision and the football his team plays.
It was important for me to come to Rukh's location. It's great when you have the opportunity to communicate with clubs and coaches and understand them better - this is the part of the job I like. The progress of the players is very noticeable, especially over the last six months. You can also see the coach's hand and the team's individual style in Rukh's game.
