Today, the Ukrainian Olympic team will start its performance at the Tournoi Maurice Revello international tournament in France with a match against Indonesia. Head coach Ruslan Rotan commented on the upcoming start of the prestigious competition.
Ruslan Rotan. Photo: UAF press service"First of all, this tournament is very important for our country. Ukraine is currently at war, and everyone understands that winning matches in such competitions enhances the image of our country. So, first of all, we have to fight for the country, for our soldiers, because it is much harder for them there. We need to make Ukraine known all over the world, and we have to stand up for it, so to speak, on this front.
From a football perspective, the tournament is important because we still don't know which players will go to the Olympics, who will be released and who won't. This will become known after the competition in France. Then we will announce the final squad for the Olympic tournament. There will be more debates, but I would like our Olympic team to be represented by the strongest squad.
In addition, the experience of playing in the tournament in Marseille with representatives of other continents will be important for us. After all, it is with them that we will meet at the Olympic Games. Asian, African and South American football.
Now I want to pay more attention to my game and work more on my own ideas. As for the information about the nearest opponent, we provided it to the players. As far as I know, the Indonesian national team is a young, newly formed team that has played only a few matches in this line-up. The fact is that their main Olympic team did not enter the tournament, losing in the transition matches. So, first of all, we will look at our game, our understanding and structure.
We had a conversation with Serhii Rebrov, because we have Sikan and Yarmolyuk on our list. They are also on the reserve list of the national team and may be called up there. In our camp, we currently have 26 players who will have to play matches in three days on the fourth. We have taken this into account and therefore do not plan heavy loads in training. Each of the players has had a difficult season, and there is some fatigue, both physical and moral. But I want to emphasise that we are preparing for the Olympic Games. There will be time to rest a little after the tournament in France," said Ruslan Rotan.
