Former coach of the Ukrainian national team and Kyiv's Dynamo Jozsef Szabo formed the symbolic team of the Blue and Yellows of the Independence era.
Jozef SzaboShovkovsky - Mykolenko, Holovko, Vashchuk, Luzhny - Brazhko, Maksymov, Konoplyanka, Yarmolenko - Rebrov - Shevchenko.
Goalkeepers. Definitely Shovkovsky. He played for me at Dynamo and the national team, I saw him every day, how he works and progresses. Sasha has grown into a real goalkeeper.
Lunin is just starting out. He has a lot of potential, but if he stays at Real Madrid, he may be lost. He will definitely not play under Courtois. Andriy needs to look for a new club after a good season at Real Madrid. As for Pyatov, he is just an average goalkeeper.
A left back: Nesmachny was good, now Mykolenko is not bad, he shows character, is young, plays in a strong championship. My choice is Mykolenko.
Central defenders: There are no options - Golovko. He played in the first team for a long time, was disciplined and I never had any complaints about him. Golovko played very well one-on-one and could cut off the air to any top striker.
My second choice is Vashchuk, who played as a libero for me. I remember when we played in Paris against PSG in the Champions League, after the match, French journalists came up to me and were surprised: "How do you have such a young guy playing libero? This position is mostly played by experienced players aged 30+."
Vashchuk fulfilled all my requirements, provided excellent insurance, but was a little slower in speed. Zabarnyi is a good defender, but his career is just beginning.
Right back: Luzhny has surpassed everyone in this position. Luzhny is a horse! He attacked from the flank, gave assists, and managed to get back. He was fast, angry, and most importantly, everyone obeyed him. Luzhny was like a playing coach. No wonder Wenger took him to Arsenal.
He was a mainstay: I'll name Brazhko, I really like him. He is a versatile midfielder who can do everything. He is good in insurance and tackling, he has a shot and a vision of the field. We didn't have such players before. I don't understand why no one has bought him yet, probably because Dynamo is not selling him. I am sure that Brazhko will play in Europe, this guy has a great future.
Central midfielder: I would put Maksymov. He was a great player, just like Mykhailenko. They fulfilled all the requirements, were physically fit and good, both in the selection and in the attack.
I also like Malinowski, but he has been losing steam lately. Perhaps, the psychology and frequent transfers from team to team have affected him.
Left midfielder: Konoplyanka was good at one time, I will choose him. Now Mudryk in England has been taught to move back, he has started to take away. I'm very surprised, because he didn't do that at Shakhtar. We expect a better game from Mudryk.
Right midfielder: I will choose Yarmolenko. He is a great footballer! He moved from the flank to the center, scored, interacted well with his partners. No wonder Borussia Dortmund bought him. Why didn't Yarmolenko play in Europe? I think our players break down psychologically when they move to foreign clubs. There is a completely different attitude there. We took the players to the training base for two days before the game, prepared them, talked to them, and then arrived on the day of the game, did some exercises and played the match.
In what ways is Yarmolenko better than Tsygankov? Tsygankov does everything the same as Yarmolenko, he is also a great footballer, it's just that Andriy started doing it first.
He is anattacking midfielder/striker in the box-to-box: Of course, Rebrov! It was me who glued Rebrov and Shevchenko together in the attack. Serhiy is a scorer, a regimented player, he never violated discipline, he did everything. Rebrov also worked well in defense, unlike Shevchenko. Rebrov is an example for all football players!
Serhii was very fond of amateur radio, but it didn't bother me. He didn't stay up until two in the morning, mostly practicing after dinner. No one complained to me about him, and I did not make any comments to him about it.
Center forward: Shevchenko is number 1, there is nothing to say! He could have been lost, but I believed in him, and he became the best. I don't want to mention much about Andriy, because he gets offended. Shevchenko must have read my previous interviews, where I told him how I had to rescue him, and he didn't like what I said. I hope he will realize later that he was wrong.
Andriy Piskun
