Serhiy Rebrov did a heroic deed already when he agreed to lead the Ukrainian national team, which was placed in the same group as England and Italy. This is in addition to returning to a warring country under bombs. And there is no difference whether the national team would have made it to the Euros or not. The coach came here, not left here. Here, as they say, the question is removed.
Such an act of Rebrov mobilised his charges as well. It can be seen that the players want to play in the national team, they are ready to go there with injuries and play on injuries. And for the guys who defend us on the front line, and, of course, for the coach to be like him. After all, if you cost 100+ million, you must show that you are not weaker mentally.
Character. That's what this team has and what other national team options have lacked. I was thinking, is character instilled, can it be trained? Probably not. And definitely not in the national team. It can only manifest itself. And now life is such that you can't go anywhere without character. And in general, there is no time for sentiments and coddling. Time is tough and cruel.
Yes, we again could not do without Validol, but.... I think that our head coach in this qualifying cycle tried to remove the reason that often prevented us from achieving results in the second games of the Sparks. For every second game in the "Sparca" we had a slightly modified squad with fresh players. This allowed them to add to the second halves of all games, and most importantly, it worked in the playoffs. And to make sure that absolutely all of the called and announced players were ready for the game is the coach's skill.
Everyone wonders whether Rebrov came up with the idea of losing the first half on purpose to tear the opponent apart in the second half, or did it happen by accident? The mentor himself grins and jokes away. Yes, he says, he told Yaremchuk to score a goal....
In my childhood there was such a book on chess as "Give to Find". In one of the old materials about Rebrov - the head coach of Dynamo I mentioned this construction. So, anyone who plays chess at any level knows that when making a sacrifice you can't always say clearly that it will bring success. It's your gut that comes into play. Whoever has a better instinct wins.
Stanislavovich demonstrated in this selection an incredible coaching instinct. From the very selection of players, to the minutes when this or that performer had to be released on the field. Each player received from Rebrov his "words" to perform. Not only the main squad, but in general all those who went on the field: and Karavaev, who scored from the centre of the field in an empty gate Macedonians, and Vanat, who broke the second half of the first match with the same Macedonians, and Yarmolenko, who in his 34 years was the most important player on the field in matches with the top of our group England and Italy. And finally, Gutsulyak, who took to the field in Bosnia with such a charge of energy that it did not always help to meet the ball. But it scared the opponents, so when Dovbik compared the score and Gutsulyak jumped for the same ball, nobody tried to interfere.
Note that Rebrov used three (!) goalkeepers in one cycle. At different times he saw everyone's condition and put the one who is better prepared psychologically. All of them conceded, all of them were sometimes at fault, but they did not "crumble" and did not "float".
This team does not play beautifully, it plays effectively. It plays to win. Of course, there are a lot of reasons to criticise. And mistakes when playing the ball in their own half, which, as one respected football expert aptly put it, make your back go cold. And again, late entry into the game. And the fascination of our stars with individual actions, so that partners do not know where to run to open up or wait for the ball in their feet.
I want to believe that these are diseases of growth. And this team will still grow and progress. I think it has not exhausted its potential. Wars and cataclysms often give birth to super teams. Let's remember Romania and Croatia. Let's also remember the Swiss national team, which is more than half made up of Kosovars. War mobilises everyone concerned, if not to go to the front, then at least to act as effectively as possible in their place. Perhaps, in the most difficult period in history, we will have the strongest national football team in history.
Artem ZHOLKOVSKY
