Taras Mikhavko has shown tremendous career progress over the past 7 months. In the summer of 2023, Mikhavko moved from the youth team of FC Lviv. He immediately became the main player in the U-19 team (where the competition is huge and the defence consists of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 national teams of Ukraine). During the winter training camp, he played in the first team and made his debut in a match against Metalist-1925. In the autumn, he made his debut in a match of the 2005 youth national team of Ukraine, where he immediately became a major player.
Taras Mikhavko. Photo by Yurii YurievIn the case of the second missed goal in the match against Metalist-1925, Mykhavko's technical error was fatal. Taras missed the ball. You also need to look at the case of the first goal, because Mikhavko was also involved in the episode. Also, let's not forget that Metalist-1925 did not create any problems for Dynamo's defence. Almost everything they had ended in goals against Heorhiy Bushchan. Kyiv dominated the field. The defence didn't have much to do. The ability to defend should be judged by the matches against Shakhtar, Dnipro-1, Kryvbas, and Polissia.
There is no football without mistakes. It's just that the mistakes of the defenders and the goalkeeper are most visible. In the match against Metalist-1925, Vladyslav Vanat failed to score a clean one-on-one, and the score did not change. And Mikhavko missed the ball, and that was it... When you play in goal, or in the centre of defence, in the support area, the responsibility of your actions is enormous. One wrong move or wrong decision immediately turns into a missed goal. Remember how many mistakes Volodymyr Brazhko made in the autumn? The main thing here is that they do not repeat themselves. Today, for Dynamo, every mistake can cost them their chances of becoming a champion. Therefore, their number should be getting smaller and smaller.
I didn't see anything new in Mikhavko's actions against Metalist-1925. Everything is about the same as it was in the youth team. Taras plays very well with the ball, he can push the ball forward, but he is not always reliable in defence, he lacks anthropometry, and has problems in the power struggle. It is important for the coach to hide his weaknesses as much as possible and use his strengths. He has great potential for development. Today, Dynamo plays team football, not individual actions.
Today, the main difference between Mykhavko and other Dynamo centre-backs Oleksandr Syrota, Denys Popov and Maksym Dyachuk is that he is younger. Taras's prospects in the first team depend on whether these mistakes are repeated. Taras got his chance not so much because of his talent and progress, but because of the problems of other central defenders and the lack of transfers to this position.
Here, the trust of the head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi becomes an important factor. How much trust will Oleksandr Volodymyrovych have in the young defender? The head coach has all the prerequisites to bench a player or give him the opportunity to play again. A goal mistake is a chance for another player to prove himself (Syrota), but a goal mistake is also a chance to correct it. Brazhko played a not very successful match against Obolon in the Ukrainian Cup, and then in the next game he became the hero of the match against Oleksandriya.
Now the main thing for fans, experts, and journalists is not to turn Mikhavko into a star and a second Zabarnyi. There is no need to raise high expectations to avoid disappointment. Taras does not need any additional pressure. After all, there is the situation with Georgiy Sudakov, who has been hailed as one of Europe's top talents, but the Shakhtar's leading player is frankly struggling in the second part of the season. Expectations are huge, but the reality is a little different. If you are willing to pay 40 million euros and the leading clubs in Italy are hunting for you, then you have to show something on the pitch. Shakhtar's management simply gave out wishful thinking, which definitely did not benefit the undoubtedly talented player Georgy Sudakov.
Mikhavko is only taking his first steps in adult football. There will be no mistakes here a priori. This should be treated with understanding, and not demanding something that Taras is simply not capable of giving today. There is no need to create any pressure on the player by comparing him with this or that player. Any serious conclusions about Taras Mykhavko's game will be inappropriate until the end of April or early May, when he will play a certain number of matches at the adult level. Then it will be clear what prospects this player has.
Serhii Tyshchenko
