Famous Ukrainian coach Volodymyr Sharan told what he thinks and feels after the match of the 1st round of the group stage of Euro-2024 Romania - Ukraine (3:0).
- We all expected a starting victory, which could be extremely important for our soccer and the country as a whole. Especially if we take into account the current situation in Ukraine. Unfortunately, it did not happen. Even from abroad - from Germany, Poland - started calling me. Everyone asked: "What do you say?". And what am I going to say? I am in shock, like every Ukrainian, who was rooting for our guys with all his heart.
- And yet: what do you think about such an unexpected fiasco?
- You know, before the start of the European Championship I kept silent, because even in the game against Germany I hoped that our national team would be playing the lineup. And then - with the Polish national team. However, we kept on experimenting, experimenting....
Practically the main squad played only with Moldova, which is too weak opponent to make any conclusions on modeling the game in the opening match of the European Championship. Although we realized that Romania will also close. However, Romanians are not the national team of Moldova, which we saw in Monday's match.
And I have said many times that no matter how you spin it, but the game discipline and order still beats the class to a greater extent. And if there is no class, then everything in the game is equalized and the team that fulfills the coach's requirements more wins.
In the current Romanian national team I know only the name of its captain, I don't know anyone else from the Tricolor players. But the Romanian "youth" was not a bad team last year. Now this generation of players is trying to make a name for themselves in the national team, but so far this process is still in a transitional stage. But no matter how it is, the Romanians proved the effectiveness of their style. In the Romanian team I saw "Alexandria" of the time when I worked there as a head coach.
- What do you see parallels in?
- First of all, it is the organization of the game in defense. Because for me the foundation of the team game is exactly the construction of defense, aimed at keeping the goal intact. However, this does not mean that we have to keep the defense deep. No. We need to properly use three defensive options: depth, the middle zone and, of course, pressing.
And in the first twenty minutes of the match in Munich, the Romanian national team showed how to play the right way to play with defense depth, when the initiative was completely given to the Ukrainian team. And when the commentator during the broadcast in the middle of the first half said that according to statistics the number of passes of our national team is almost four times higher than that of the Romanians, I thought: "Do only passes play a role in soccer?". Yes, of course, ball control is great, but if we go back to the Munich game, we didn't have a single moment. And when I saw that after two flank passes from Konoply only one Dovbik was near the goal, and neither Sudakov, nor Mudryk, nor Shaparenko were there, it was strange for me.
How not to remember the opening match between Germany and Scotland, when in the first twenty minutes in the penalty area of the British had five players of the home team? Is it any wonder then that the Germans literally demolished Scotland. This was due to the fact that the "inclusions" were behind the backs of the defenders and into the areas from where the goals are scored.
Again, yes, ball control is indeed a thing of beauty, but that is not the most important thing. If there are flank passes to the other team's goal, and none of the Ukrainian players are in the penalty area, then how can you score! How can you even create chances under such conditions? Ball control without finishing strikes is a utopia for soccer.
- You mentioned about the midfield players, from whom in the match with the Romanians you expected a much more effective game....
- Sudakov too often abused individual play. There were situations in which it was necessary to pass, and he obviously delayed with it. Mudryk had the same thing. In one of the characteristic episodes he was pressed, "covered" by several players at once, so Mikhail should have passed to a partner under the striking position - in particular, Stepanenko.
But all this did not happen, people just played for themselves. This, frankly speaking, I was very surprised. And soon our team got a goal, after which, as always, we were under psychological pressure. There was confusion and it was obvious that the players did not know what to do. We started chaotic running forward with opening, which led to nothing. But the Romanians did the opposite: there was confidence, after which we scored the second goal, and then on the spur of the moment and the third.
- How do you assess the actions of goalkeeper Andrei Lunin in this match?
- Unfortunately, in the second missed goal he did not help us. And in the case of the first one, our goalkeeper made a mistake during the pass. And the third goal - it was not a goal at all. Two Romanian players play a "standard", and we have only one player runs out. Why didn't the second player run out?! How can this be? I don't understand. It is not necessary to have two players on the flank at once. Romanians take and calmly take away Shaparenko on a swing, there is a pass from the flank - and we get the third goal.
It's just horror. For me, however, as well as for all people who support the Ukrainian national team, it was something like a blow under the breath. If in the next two matches - with Slovakia and Belgium will be the same game, then what can we talk about?
- What do you see as the main reason for the starting fiasco?
- In the opponent's actions I saw the game discipline, order and charge for the fight. But our players, I think, were stiff. They came out before the game - and it was noticeable. I do not think there was any self-confidence. And although at the beginning of the match there was activity in the attack, but it never came to the escalation.
Perhaps, a certain imprint on the players of the Ukrainian national team was imposed by the excessive information about their transfer amounts. As for me, the level of our players - in particular, such as Sudakov, Shaparenko - is too much inflated. These sums are exorbitant. At the same time, little-known Romanians simply "snacked" all the blue-and-yellow stars. Once again I say: in the performance of the Romanian national team I saw "Alexandria" of the best times.
- How do you see the future course of events in our group?
- After another sensation, which was the victory of Slovakia over Belgium, the situation in the group in the next matches may escalate so that it becomes difficult to predict. Still, I hope that the bitter lesson from Romania will force the Ukrainian national team to make serious conclusions and they will play the final two games to the best of their abilities.
Andriy Pisarenko