Oleksandr Sopko: "Shovkovskiy can polish something, tighten the nuts somewhere, but he is not ready to take the brunt of it yet"

Former Shakhtar Donetsk player Oleksandr Sopko analysed Dynamo Kyiv's preparation for the spring part of the season, and also shared his expectations from the work of the team's head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskiy.

- Oleksandr Shovkovskiy has worked in different teams, but as an assistant, he has not yet had a full-fledged career as a head coach. It is a very big difference - to be on the staff or to take full responsibility, especially when you need fundamental decisions, the prospect of which at a certain stage looks uncertain.

What I see for him is not a danger, but a difficulty - all the coaches who have achieved great success, the same Lobanovsky, others - they challenged the established patterns, time, went ahead of the world, were not afraid of revolutionary decisions, not afraid to go against the opinion of fans, functionaries, were characterised by a certain boldness, self-confidence within reasonable limits. Alexander has resilience, he has proved it many times, but I don't see something revolutionary in him now. He has good material, a well-built team, he is able to tighten some nuts somewhere, to polish something, to make the team better than it is. But I think he is not ready to take the brunt of it.

The same Vernidub with Kryvbas, I do not want to praise him to the heavens, but he already has experience from a little-known team, or, let's say, a barely formed rookie to make one of the leaders of the championship. He has a certain skill, handwriting, a steady eye for football.

- During the off-season Shovkovskiy was practically absent in the media space, at the same time, a number of Dynamo players gave quite detailed interviews. How can you explain this fact?

- Players need to prove their ambitions more on the pitch, and it is not very desirable to do it in interviews at the training camp. The training camp is given for that, to work hard in order to spend the second round at a high level. Yes, the time has changed now, the relationship between the players and the press is somewhat different, and in a certain aspect it is also the club's policy in terms of openness of players. Perhaps it is right, but I still think that there should be a certain line even in this openness.

The fact that Shovkovs'kyi does not talk much about the plans and goals of the team now - perhaps, he just does not want to give food for conversation, because our public is such that they can pick on any word and then do not let a person go. Now he's just taking a break, and then in the process of games and their results he will surely be able to find a language with the press, to cover his work, his plans. He has enough intelligence, erudition and humour for this.

- Speaking about Dynamo's business, the team has not signed anyone in the off-season so far. What do you see more pluses or minuses here?

- On the one hand, we can say that in this situation Shovkovskiy is somewhere insured from unnecessary pressure, saying that no one has been bought, I work with those who are in the squad. Moreover, it would not hurt to strengthen any position, especially the defence, which did not shine in the autumn. And here we come back to what I have already mentioned - if Shovkovskiy shows his compromise and willingness to work with those he has, without any revolutionism, then it will definitely not be enough for the team.

On the other hand - maybe he doesn't know who to strengthen the team with? Maybe the selection processes are so neglected that the coaching staff doesn't have much choice? So, he can't slam his fist on the table and say that it will be like this and like that, and no other way, and it's all under my responsibility. I think that Shovkovskiy does not have such determination yet because of the lack of experience as a head coach, who is responsible for the result.

- If you had an opportunity to follow Dynamo's friendlies, can you draw any conclusion from them, even though they are unofficial?

- I had an opportunity. From what I watched, I didn`t see anything new, no breakthrough in the intensity of the game, no serious tactical changes. The squad was played with an even load for everyone, everyone was given chances. Even the players we hardly knew about in the autumn, the same 18-year-old Taras Mikhavko is playing almost as a main squad player.

I didn`t see a new team, but it, by and large, could not be, because the training camp is a preparation, it is a physical conditioning and so on. Already in the second round, five or six games later, we should see that team, that pattern of play that Shovkovs'kyi makes. But there is a certain anxiety that not much will change in terms of tactics, position of players, intensity, speed. I have not seen any new touches so far.

- What place is Dynamo really capable to fight for now? What is better to emphasise now - to win gold medals, or to build a foundation for a competitively capable team?

- If the winner goes directly to the Champions League group and it is accompanied by a serious bonus from UEFA, who would refuse it, especially now, when no team can afford any money? There are two tasks to be solved, and all the current leaders of the championship without exception will do it.

Of course, we have to look into the future, but building a team is not the same as taking young guys who have been playing together for 5-6 years and getting used to each other. There should be continuity, players who develop the game, with them you can build different schemes, improve the organisation of the game, young players gradually pull up to them, among whom new leaders emerge. This is a natural and harmonious process.

And here, by the way, there is a problem at Shakhtar, why there is no serious breakthrough there. There is no breakthrough there, because the cohort of players aged 25-28 has fallen out, who should be experienced fighters, who have been through, as they say, both Crimea and Rome. And the promising youngsters may have already achieved something, but due to the lack of generation continuity they are boiling in their own juice.

But Dynamo are much better in this aspect, they have enough experienced players, the same Buyalskiy, Shaparenko, Yarmolenko (God willing, he will gain form), others. And also young, but already announced themselves players. And this symbiosis allows to solve two tasks at the same time. Especially, in conditions when we have several teams of the same level, plus or minus, who are real contenders for the championship. And this season has all chances to become a serious breakthrough - both in terms of the emergence of new leaders on the field, and a new coaching team.

Evgeniy Savchuk