This year, Ukrainian football will be represented at the Olympics for the first time. In the height of summer, managed by Ruslan Rotan, the Ukrainian Olympic team will go to France, where for a fortnight will be held competitions of the best athletes in the world. Already now the thoughts of the coaching staff of our team are connected both with the preparation and formation of its composition, where in addition to players of the appropriate age have the right to play three senior performers.
Vladimir YezerskyWho exactly they will be - it will be finally determined later, because a little earlier the national team of Ukraine will play in the final part of the European Championship-2024 in Germany. In addition, the Ukrainian championship usually starts in the third decade of July, and the qualifying rounds of European Cup tournaments will continue.
Therefore, the question arises: how willingly will the UPL clubs meet the Olympic team, letting players go to the main competitions of the quadrennium?
Here is what coach Volodymyr Yezersky, who worked together with Rotan in his staff for many years, thinks about it.
- Participation in the Olympic Games is a significant event for Ukraine, for its football history, - says Yezersky, - After all, for the first time our team won the right to qualify for the Olympics through the European Championship. All of us are well aware of the significance of this achievement. I am sure that each of the players wants to take part in the Olympic Games. I am convinced that with a proper approach to this issue and with quality preparation, our team can achieve not just to get out of the group, but much more.
I believe that the coaching staff and the UAF collegially need to make sure that those players who correspond to the level of the Olympic team and whom Ruslan Rotan and his assistants want to see, are released to their clubs. Of course, this issue will not be easy, because there is a national championship and certain performance objectives for each of its participants. However, I still hope that all representatives of our clubs will maximally understand what is happening. This is a historical moment, a landmark event.
Therefore, I do not believe that there will be people who will live the interests of their teams, not the Olympic team and Ukraine. I am sure that there will be no such people, and coaches of UPL clubs will want their representatives to represent our state at the Olympics. This is such a sports forum, which is not forgotten and probably happens once in a lifetime. Personally, I remember when the 1988 Olympic Games were held in Seoul, the USSR national team won the championship title there. I watched the matches with great interest. Everyone still remembers it to this day - the national team themselves, coaches, football officials and fans. And although it was the Soviet Union, it is already history....
- What can the Ukrainian Olympic team count on?
- We have all the opportunities for our team led by Ruslan Rotan to play worthily at the Games. He has experience, earned also at the European Championship last year. Now we just need to prepare well and, again, for the clubs to go along with it. Each coach should not think about his own ambitions, but consolidate around the interests of both the national, youth and Olympic teams.
I repeat: this is a very responsible business for our country. Especially in such a difficult time. As for the players, the very fact of participation in the Olympics is worth a lot in the career of each of them. And if, God willing, they also achieve some results, then even more so. This is already a historic moment - both for the players and for our national team. The guys have earned the right to be at the Olympics with their dedicated work. They have travelled a difficult path for this.
- Having worked with Rotan and knowing his views, what do you think: from what range of candidates will he choose three older players for his squad?
- They will be those players who fit his vision of football and the model of the game. Could they be national team players? Yes, they can - why not? If a position needs strengthening and the coaching staff is satisfied with a player's qualities, he will definitely be brought into the Olympic team.
