Jozsef Szabo: "Brazhko should play with Germany, he is the strongest player in the Ukrainian league now"

Former Dynamo Kyiv and Ukraine coach Jozsef Szabo has told us what he expects from the Germany-Ukraine friendly to take place in Nuremberg today.

Jozsef Szabo

- Rebrov played his first match in charge of the Ukrainian national team a year ago against Germany. That game ended with a score of 3:3. Should we expect such a goal extravaganza this time?

- I remember that match. At times, it even seemed to me that the teams had agreed with each other. Well, strong teams cannot play like that and concede such goals.

Tomorrow will be a completely different game, the teams are preparing for the Euros and the coaches need to review the players, who is in what condition. We will see serious preparation for the European Championship.

- Do you think the line-up that Rebrov will release for Germany will be indicative of the Euro?

- I don't think so. Against Germany, Rebrov will not play all the main players. He already has a base that he played in the qualifiers, and in this match he will look at some other players. Perhaps the first team will come out from the first minutes, and in the second half there will be substitutions. This is a must.

Trubin will play in goal, because Lunin was ill and took part in the Champions League final (albeit in reserve). But at the Euros, Lunin will be the main one. Trubin is a good goalkeeper, but Lunin is better.

- What surprises do you expect in the Ukrainian national team?

- I am often asked about Zinchenko. He is a good, technical footballer, but he is not selected, he doesn't shoot much and he is not a scorer! That is why he is not playing at Arsenal now, Arteta realised that he had made a mistake by signing Zinchenko. It is not clear where he will be in the new season.

I'm not even sure that Zinchenko will be the main man in the Ukrainian national team. Our midfield is not bad without him. Mudryk will definitely play, he was taught at Chelsea to step back and take away. He plays in a completely different way, not like he did at Shakhtar.

In any case, Sudakov should be played, he has now opened up. Malinowski is a good footballer with a great shot, he is efficient. But he doesn't always play either. And Brazhko should play, he is the strongest player in the Ukrainian championship right now.

On the right, Tsygankov has more chances to start, he plays consistently at Girona. But it's too early to write Yarmolenko off. And I am impressed with Hutsulyak, but to fly high and become a top player, he needs to improve his performance.

Dovbyk will definitely start from the first minute, and in the second half Rebrov will replace him with Yaremchuk or Vanat. Dovbyk is currently the best player in the Ukrainian national team, he is a scorer, he has become the best scorer in La Liga. There is a lot of hype around him now.

- Will the veterans, Stepanenko, Yarmolenko, Sydorchuk, help the national team, or did Rebrov call them up as "grandfathers" of the dressing room?

- Rebrov did everything right - well done! Veterans are veterans. If Rebrov doesn't call them up, they will tell the young players something in the dressing room and during training.

- Will the application for the Euros remain the same or will there be changes?

- Rebrov called up all the strongest players. I think the application will not change, unless, God forbid, someone gets injured. I don't want to offend Sikan, but he is not suitable for a central striker - he is weak. The same goes for Vanat, but Rebrov trusts him more, since he called him up. They are suitable for our league, but the Euros are a completely different level.

As for Yarmolyuk, he is not the main player of Brentford. It's too early to call him up, we have stronger guys.

- Is the current German national team strongly superior to Ukraine or not?

- It's not the same Germany as before. They don't have the same power and discipline! Even the change of coaches does not help them, and there are not so many top players. And we have a good team, many of our players play in the top championships. In terms of names, we are not inferior, and perhaps even superior to the Germans.

- What is your prediction for the Germany vs Ukraine match?

- The Ukrainian national team will play football. It won't be like the game against Shakhtar in the Ukrainian league, when all the teams stand near their penalty area and fight back, hoping for lonely counterattacks.

I think Ukraine and Germany will play out a fighting draw -1:1 or 2:2.

- You played against the German national team, which was the reigning European champion, in the 1997 Euro qualifiers. And against that star team, Ukraine looked decent, losing 0-2 and drawing 0-0. How did you manage to hold off the Germans then, what were your settings for the game?

- In 1997, we had a good team. Almost all of my players from that squad became qualified coaches: Shevchenko, Rebrov, Maksymov, Kalitvintsev, Shovkovsky, Golovko. We were not inferior to the Germans or the French.

We had to beat France away from home. Five minutes before the end of the match, Sheva went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, the French were making an artificial offside position, but one defender was delayed. Andrii wanted to hit Barthez between the legs, but it didn't work out.

How did I set up my team for matches against top opponents? I remember saying: "Guys, play simply, so there is less chance of making a mistake. Only a good footballer can play simply. Give, open, receive". Plus, the game discipline, everyone had to be able to defend, especially the middle line. This was the key to a reliable game.

- Which Germany is stronger - the current one or the one of 1997?

- Today's Germany is definitely weaker. They have a high turnover of coaches and players. I think this team will not go far at Euro 2024.

The level of the current European Championship will be lower than the previous ones. I don't know why it was expanded and more teams added. Probably for the sake of money. The same goes for the Conference League. Why the fuck did they create it? No one takes this tournament seriously and will not take it seriously.

Andriy Piskun