The new head coach of Ukraine's U-19 national team spoke about the scandal involving Shakhtar's former coach Oleh Kuznetsov and explained how the team is looking for young players.
- There are two weeks left before the official matches. You have already decided on the coaching staff. Will there be any surprises from you in the team's application?
- I don't know what surprises are. Who are the surprises for? We are looking at a lot of players and those guys who already play for the first team, although these are rare cases. But there are such players. Many players train with the first team, which is a completely different level. There are players who play in the First League of Ukraine. The level of the U-19 championship is different from these competitions. I would like a more competitive environment here. But there is also a downside, because many guys play abroad for U-21 teams.
- There were a lot of scandals around the national team and Danylo Krevsun. Oleg Kuznetsov said at the time that he could not keep track of all the players around the world. How do you plan to solve this issue so that you don't lose or miss anyone?
- Even if he plays somewhere in Germany, it's hard to find. Well, okay, Dortmund, he plays in the UEFA Youth League, he's a former Shakhtar player. It was not a problem to find him here. But you can't even imagine how many Ukrainian players are now playing abroad. In Spain, they play in the third league. And it's a very normal level to play for the U-19s there.
And you have to keep an eye on everyone because they progress very quickly. It's hard, but you have to look, talk and somehow find out information. It's not like you can't find out unless someone calls you. With players who are already playing at good levels, it's easy. Many players left, for example, from Kherson. Nobody knew anything about him. Two years have passed, he has grown, progressed and become a strong player. I know that there are 20 players in Germany. That's why we keep an eye on whoever we can.
With Krevsun, it's clear. He was called up, he plays for the U-19s at Borussia. But this does not mean that if a player plays in Germany or Spain, he is immediately a player for the national team. There may be stronger guys here. But you need to watch everyone and follow everyone who plays abroad. It is really true.
- Speaking specifically about Danylo Krevsun. Did he deserve his challenge then and does he deserve it now?
- Listen, I will never give such an assessment. At this age, a footballer at point A and point B can be different players. You can't say what is or isn't necessary. Could you have imagined that Shakhtar's Viktor Tsukanov would be a first-team rotation player at the age of 18? Six months ago, when he was still playing for the U-19, did you think so? No! This can be said about any player, progress happens very quickly. Now Krevsun is a good player, he plays all the time, he played in the UEFA Youth League. And he deserves to be called up to the U-19 national team. Now he is a very decent player for his age. And what happened? Well, I didn't see it. They say he has progressed very quickly.
Nazariy Shmigil