The club exams of the 2023/24 season are finally coming to an end and the tournaments involving national teams are coming to the fore, to which all our attention will soon be focused...
The final of the Ukrainian Cup determined the European path of the national championship winners next season, but two more participants in the UEFA competition from our country are still in doubt.
Last week, the Ukrainian media also paid a lot of attention to the national team, which will soon begin preparations for Euro 2024, and continued to analyse the scandalous ending to the match between Dynamo and Shakhtar.
The road to Europe with two unknowns
The final of the Ukrainian Cup, which took place in Rivne on Wednesday, not only determined the first winner of this trophy during the full-scale war against Russia, but also fixed the scheme for delegating our country's representatives to European club tournaments for the 2024/25 season.
The final between Shakhtar and Vorskla turned out to be quite a battle and interesting. For quite a while, the Poltava team managed to completely restrain the Pitmen's attacking efforts, who only managed to strike the first shot on goal at the equator of the first half.
However, at the end of the first half, the Donetsk club managed to break through the opposition's defence thanks to Danylo Sikan, and shortly after the break, when Vorskla took a more active lead, doubled their advantage through Yukhym Konoplya. The Poltava side didn't give up and put Shakhtar in a real fight, reducing the deficit in the end - Mykola Kovtalyuk closed the gap with a beautifully struck fifth-time shot from the flank. But that was all Vorskla could do.
"An interesting match and good organisation. The only thing I didn't like was a certain panic from Pushych's team in the last minutes. Yes, of course, this is the final, everyone understands the status and responsibility. However, somehow it's not respectable for the champion to be afraid of the current version of the Poltava team, with all due respect to Vorskla," commentator Vladyslav Lychyk summed up the final (Ua-football.com, 15.05.24).
Meanwhile, not only the participating clubs and their fans, but also Kryvbas had an interest in the final. Vorskla's loss means that in the 2024/25 European Cup season, the Kryvyi Rih club will start in the Europa League, as the winner of the cup, which nominally holds the only ticket from Ukraine to this tournament, will play in the Champions League.
Thus, Kryvbas will start in the third round of the Europa League qualifiers. In case of failure, it will move on to the play-off round of the Conference League qualifiers.
The silver medallist of the Ukrainian championship, Dynamo, will qualify for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. To qualify for the group, it will have to overcome the resistance of three opponents. In the event of failure at any stage, the Kyiv club will move on to the Europa League, but only if it defeats at least one opponent in the Champions League.
If Kyiv qualify for the Europa League and fail there, they will have a third chance to secure a European place in the Conference League play-offs.
As for Shakhtar, they will get a ticket to the Champions League play-offs. That is, the Pitmen have to go through only one stage to qualify for the group stage, and if they fail, they will move on to the group stage of the Europa League. However, they have the opportunity to go straight to the main draw of the Champions League, but only if Real Madrid wins the final of the current tournament on 1 June.
Finally, the question of our representatives in the Conference League remains open. The fourth and fifth teams of the UPL will start in the second round of qualification (that is, three opponents will have to get through the group). Currently, there are three contenders - Dnipro-1, Rukh and Polissia: before the last round, the Zhytomyr club is two points behind both competitors.
It is also worth recalling that a major reform of all three UEFA European Cup tournaments will come into effect next season. The main change will be the transition from the group format to the general stage, in which all clubs will compete - their places in the single standings will depend on the results of eight matches with different opponents determined by the draw (four home and four away).
The top eight teams in the general stage will automatically qualify for the last 16, while the teams ranked 9th to 24th will compete in head-to-head matches to join the leaders. The format of the Europa League and the Conference League will also change in a similar way (with the only exception - in this tournament, teams will play six matches in the general stage).
"Dynamo celebrates name day and honours Meter
On Monday, Dynamo Kyiv celebrated its 97th birthday. Although the word "celebrate" is hardly appropriate here, as there is no time for loud celebrations in a time of war. Not surprisingly, the club itself celebrated this date very discreetly, and in its official statement on the occasion paid special tribute to its fans who are defending Ukraine at the front, as well as the Armed Forces and other defence forces.
"This year's birthday is celebrated by the famous Kyiv club in a difficult time for Ukraine and together with the whole country it is making every effort to bring victory in the war closer," the club said on its official website Fcdynamo.com. " Despite all the difficulties of wartime, the club is developing and improving its infrastructure. A lot of attention is paid to nurturing new talents that will glorify Ukraine - the Dynamo club academy, which includes many players of youth national teams of different age groups, works on this every day.
The main task for the club - in addition to working for our country's victory in the war - is to support the development of football in Ukraine, preserve and increase the glory of the great club and country on the world stage.
On this day, we pay tribute to everyone who has contributed to the history of the club, as well as a special tribute to those Dynamo fans who are now defending Ukraine at the frontline with arms in hand. Every day we thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for preserving football in Ukraine and look to the future with optimism and hope"(Fcdynamo.com, 13.05.24).
However, even before the war, this day was marked with tears, as 13 May is also the anniversary of the death of the great Valeriy Lobanovsky. And the club traditionally honours the memory of one of the greatest coaches in football history with a number of events.
In the morning, the people closest to Valery Vasilyevich came to the Meter's grave at Baikove cemetery. They included his family, including his daughter Svitlana, and his students - legendary footballers Volodymyr Muntyan, Leonid Buryak, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi and others, as well as Dynamo's managers and employees.
A traditional rally in memory of Valeriy Lobanovskiy was also held in the city centre, near the colonnade of the Dynamo Stadium, which bears his name and where a monument in his honour is erected. The colonnade gathered both the Meter's relatives and those who did not know him personally - fans, journalists, and students of the Dynamo Children's and Youth Sports School, which also bears the name of Valery Lobanovsky.
"The most outstanding triumphs in the history of Dynamo Kyiv are inextricably linked to the name of Valeriy Vasylovych, who in different years and decades won outstanding victories and trophies with Dynamo. His name is forever inscribed in golden letters in the history of Dynamo Kyiv," reads aDynamo report on the commemorative events(Fcdynamo.com, 13.05.24).
At the end of the week, Dynamo gave itself and its fans a good present by beating the bronze medallist Kryvbas 3-1. By the way, the Kyiv club was the only one to defeat Yuriy Vernydub's team twice this season.
Although this match was no longer of tournament significance, it still aroused great interest among fans, media and experts. It was a very good decision by the teams to move their meeting to Saturday in order not to overlap with other matches of the tour and to allow as many viewers as possible to watch the broadcast on a public TV channel.
It was also a good opportunity for both coaches to conduct some experiments. Thus, Vernydub gave several Kryvbas reservists a chance to try their hand against a powerful opponent, while Shovkovskyi primarily drew attention to the 3-4-3 formation.
Two quick goals from Kyiv showed that Dynamo's unusual formation could really confuse the opponents, but later Kryvbas came to their senses and put up a serious fight, and only in the end did Shovkovskyi's men put all the questions to rest, winning 3-1.
"A lot of teams play according to this scheme, and we need to understand how to act according to it, because at any moment we may need to adjust accordingly. We had chances, we could have scored. Not everything worked out, the events on the pitch did not develop exactly as we planned. That's why at half-time I decided to return to our traditional formation. But I believe that this first half will definitely give us some options in the future," Shovkovskyi explained his experiment(Football.ua, 18.05.24).
In addition to the tactical highlights of this match, the media also highlighted Vladyslav Vanat's 14th goal, which further consolidated his status as the league's top scorer, and especially Mykola Shaparenko's masterpiece goal, which once again demonstrated the excellent form of one of Dynamo's leaders.
"Shaparenko picked up the ball almost near the centre of the pitch and, in the style of Messi in the match against Real Madrid in the 2011 CL semi-finals, made an individual raid on Kryvbas' goal," journalist Vladyslav Lychyk describes the episode(Ua-football.com, 18.05.24).
Such a form of Shaparenko in the spring part of the season is probably especially pleasing to the head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhii Rebrov, who may have problems in the centre of midfield given the current situation with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Heorhii Sudakov and Ruslan Malinovskyi. In terms of potential, Shaparenko looks capable of becoming one of the key players for the national team at EURO 2024.
Rebrov's list: no surprises so far
However, in the match against Kryvbas Shaparenko, as well as Andriy Yarmolenko and Volodymyr Brazhko - two other important players for the national team - were replaced due to injuries. After the game, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi assured that they would all be fine soon.
Obviously, the Kyiv coach was playing it safe, including taking into account previous agreements with the head coach of the blue and yellows Serhii Rebrov. But still, against the backdrop of other potential losses for our national team, this is disturbing news.
By the way, about the aforementioned agreements.
"After the match with Shakhtar, I had a conversation with the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, we talked a lot about the condition of our players, about their attitude to work. We agreed that in the match against Kryvbas we will play with the most optimal line-up, but after this game our players will get a short holiday to rest for about a week and then start preparing for EURO 2024 as part of our national team," Shovkovskyi said(Football24.ua, 18.05.24).
Needless to say, such agreements between the head coaches of the national team and the leading domestic club are quite unique. And the position of Dynamo's coach only once again underlines the readiness of the Kyiv club to do everything possible for the sake of the interests of the country's main team and, ultimately, all of Ukrainian football.
The squad announced by Rebrov that will take part in the Euro 2024 training camp includes six Dynamo players (the same number as Shakhtar), with three more in reserve. Given that a number of players from the main list are currently undergoing treatment, the reserve list is definitely not a mere formality.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian media is really worried about the possible losses of the national team for Euro 2024. The main one at the moment is Vitaliy Mykolenko, who was injured in Everton's match against Liverpool in late April. There was talk that the left-back would need surgery, but he later said that he would do without surgery in order to recover in time for the tournament in Germany.
Sudakov and Mykhailo Mudryk are also in the infirmary, while Malinowski played only about ten minutes on the pitch for Genoa for the first time since 30 March.
"We found out about Sudakov's injury before the start of the Ukrainian Cup final match between Vorskla and Shakhtar. There has been no official information from the Donetsk club's doctors yet, but most likely Georgiy has injured the muscles of the back of his thigh and will miss 3-4 weeks. Mudryk may have suffered a concussion on 15 May in a match for Chelsea against Brighton. Mykhailo will need a little more than 10 days to recover," Sport.ua notes (16.05.24).
It is also worth noting that Valencia's Roman Yaremchuk has only recently recovered from an injury to the back of his thigh, while Arsenal's Zinchenko has not played for the Gunners since the end of April, coming on as a substitute in Sunday's match of the last round of the Premier League. In general, this season he has already been out several times due to calf muscle injuries.
According to Tribuna.com, despite these problems, only 26 of the main squad, without reserves, will travel to Germany for the training camp and friendly matches(Ua.tribuna.com, 16.05.24).
"Therefore, there will be no comparisons in the training process or anything like that - Rebrov has already decided on the final application, unless there are force majeure events," writes Ua.tribuna.com columnist Dmytro Vatras. " In general, the Ukrainian national team has a young squad (in general, the youngest among the Euro participants in qualifying matches), but in the centre of the field Rebrov decided to balance this situation by adding experience. Thus, Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Malinowski and Serhii Sydorchuk were included in the main list.
Stepanenko has not had the best period at Shakhtar - Marino Pushic prefers Dmytro Kryskiv, and Taras has started only three times in 9 matches after his injury. Malinowski has missed 6 Genoa games in a row. Sydorchuk had a difficult start to the year at Westerlo, but he has been playing steadily lately"(Ua.tribuna.com, 16.05.24).
However, it makes no sense to say anything for sure until 7 June, when all national teams must submit official applications to UEFA for Euro 2024. There is no doubt that the coaching staff of our national team will weigh up the pros and cons as carefully as possible, and in his final decision, Rebrov will definitely not be afraid to resort to surprises if necessary.
The example of the debutant Brazhko, on whom the head coach of the blue and yellows relied in the qualifying matches, proves that Rebrov knows how to take risks - of course, if this risk is well calculated and supported by proper analysis.
"We have announced a bid for three friendly matches. We have time until 7 June, when the final application will be submitted, we have time to prepare for the tournament. We will see how the situation develops. Mykolenko. I'm in touch with Vitaliy, we hope that he will start training with us in the general group when we get together. We hope that everything will be fine. We have a few friendly games, it is important to check the condition of all the players in them," Rebrov confirmed(Dynamo.kiev.ua, 19.05.24).
Finally, it should be added that the national team will begin preparations for the final tournament on 30 May in Nuremberg, where it will play a friendly match with the hosts of Euro 2024, the Germans, on 3 June. The next day, our team will fly to Warsaw, where they will play their next sparring match against Poland on 7 June.
The final game of the training camp will be a meeting with the national team of Moldova on 11 June in Chisinau. On the 12th, the blue and yellows will arrive at their permanent location for Euro 2024 - the city of Wiesbaden. And their first match in the final stage - against Romania - will be held on 17 June in Munich.
"Repeat offender" Belik
Last week, the domestic media also continued to actively cover the scandalous events after the U-19 Ukrainian Championship match between Shakhtar and Dynamo. And not only the press was interested in this situation.
On Monday, the Ethics and Fair Play Committee of the Ukrainian Football Association announced that it had launched an internal investigation, and later the UAF Control and Disciplinary Committee announced the opening of a case.
However, the UAF also stated that, given the need to clarify additional circumstances, a full and comprehensive examination of the evidence, the decision will be made at the next SCC meeting, which will be announced later(Uaf.ua, 17.05.2024).
Meanwhile, when analysing the most egregious incident after the match, namely the attack by Shakhtar's youth team coach Oleksiy Belik on the 70-year-old director of Dynamo's academy Oleksandr Ishchenko, the media reported that the former Shakhtar striker's aggression was not isolated.
"Just ten days before the match, Belik 'distinguished himself' with aggressive behaviour in Odesa ," Sport.ua learned. - " This episode, unacceptable for professional sports, took place on 30 April 2024, during the 12th round match between the U-19 teams Chornomorets and Shakhtar (1-2), postponed from the autumn part of the championship.
The manager of the visiting team decided to direct his dissatisfaction and excessive emotions at the head coach of the Seafarers, Anatoliy Didenko. Belik began shouting obscene words at his Odesa colleague and making physical threats. Witnesses of his aggression were shocked to hear the phrases "Let's go and sort it out - one on one!", "I'll run you over!".
The extremely aggressive Donetsk coach used "two-storey" swear words, which were heard not only by colleagues from both coaching benches, reserve players, the fourth referee, but also by other officials. When witnesses thought that the final whistle would bring the incident to an end, it did not. Belik also ignored the traditional handshake of the coaches after the match"(Sport.ua, 16.05.24).
I would like to believe that the UAF SCC's stated need to clarify additional circumstances also involves verifying the facts reported in the media. The Regulations empower the KDC to take into account in its investigations significant information from open sources, including those published in the media, and the material on the Sport.ua website clearly falls under this definition.
It is also expected that the UAF SCC will give a proper assessment of Shakhtar's obvious failures in the organisation of the match, which led, in particular, to the massive run of fans onto the pitch after the final whistle and clashes.
Meanwhile, Shakhtar goalkeeper Vyacheslav Surkis, who plays host to their youth team, provided additional details of the incidents in Shchaslyve in a high-profile interview with the TaToTake project.
"At first, everything was fine, and then in the second half, when I received what I think was an unfair sending-off for Zakharchenko, but that's not for me to decide, the Shakhtar fans started shouting. I want to say that it wasn't Shakhtar fans who were shouting the most, but the children from the U-13, U-14, U-15 academies brought by Shakhtar.
I believe that this has no place in football. They started insulting my family, my family, me, some Dynamo players and the club itself. I can say that it was addressed first to me, then to my father, and then to my whole family. I heard it. During the last 30-35 minutes, after our second goal," said the son of Hryhoriy Surkis ("TaToTake", 18.05.24).
Describing what happened when spectators from the stands rushed onto the pitch after the referee had scored Dynamo's goal, Viacheslav confirmed media reports that one of the offenders had attempted to use physical force against a player of the visiting team.
"One of them tried to hit me. I was lucky, I was able to dodge it. Then our guys ran up, took me away and calmed me down. I think I behaved well at that moment. I didn't give him any answer, didn't hit him. I kept my emotions in check. After that, I went to the team, where our president Ihor Mykhailovych, who was present at the match, congratulated us, and we calmly went to celebrate the victory, thanking the fans for their support," Surkis Jr. said (TaToTake, 18.05.24).
At the same time, the Dynamo U19 goalkeeper emphasised that he had no complaints against the players of the Donetsk club, as they were not involved in the conflict.
"On the field, we are principled rivals, but off the field we have respect for them. I hope they have respect for us. Because we play in the same national team and represent the same team - Ukraine. We have to win together. When we were in the same team, we all communicated well and spent time together. Everything is fine between us," he said (TaToTake, 18.05.24).
It is very unfortunate that the coach of the Shakhtar boys, O. Belik, with his shameful behaviour not only ignited an unnecessary conflict between the clubs, but also "planted a pig" in his colleague in the U19 team, Dmytro Mykhaylenko, who will be taking his team to the EURO in the summer.
However, I am pleased that the players themselves, as the example of Vyacheslav Surkis shows, understand their responsibility and set their priorities correctly even at such a young age. And so there is hope that these incidents will not affect the national team's performances. And in any case, the UAF competent authorities must give a proper assessment of these events and impose fair sanctions on the perpetrators.
Other aspects of football life
Dynamo boys are one step away from gold. Meanwhile, the Dynamo U-19 team took another step towards winning the Ukrainian Youth Championship. In what was nominally a home match against Kryvbas in Kryvyi Rih, Igor Kostyuk's team won convincingly with a 6-1 victory and maintained a two-point lead over Shakhtar before the final round. Dynamo will finish the season with an away match against the reigning champion in this category, Rukh, in which the Kyiv team will be happy with a draw.
Congratulations to theabsolute champion. On Sunday night, one of the main events of the entire sports year took place: Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in a fight for the world heavyweight boxing title. Paradoxically, this legendary success of the Ukrainian boxer was shared by the Ukrainian football community, as Usyk is formally a player of FC Polissya and even came to the fight wearing the symbols of the Zhytomyr club.
It is clear that this is nothing more than a PR stunt, but Usyk's love of football is well known. Although despite his association with Polissia, the outstanding boxer has never concealed that he has been a lifelong supporter of Dynamo Kyiv. It is not surprising that the capital's club warmly welcomed our champion.
"Every success is important for our country now. You have once again madeUkraine known to the whole world and once again demonstrated your patriotism and incredible thirst for victory," the club's president Igor Surkis was quoted as saying by Fcdynamo.com. " You have not only defeated a previously invincible opponent, but also dedicated this success to your country and the brave defenders of our state.
Nowadays, any success of Ukrainian sports raises the spirit in our society. Your will to win is a true example for all sports, including our players and coaches"(Fcdynamo.com, 19.05.24).
Orest LELEKA
