Ruslan Rotan: "We must be men first and foremost"

Ruslan Rotan, head coach of the Ukrainian Olympic team, gave an interview toFootball 24before the team's departure for the Olympic Games in Paris.

- Ruslan Petrovich, in June, the Olympic team won a tournament in France. The result is, of course, great. I am interested in whether the team showed the game you want to see the players play?

- We anticipated that not all the players from the national team we could count on would be able to play at the Olympics. That's why we needed the tournament in France to see other candidates. As you can see, we did everything right. We are going to France with this team.

At the international tournament, we pursued several goals. The guys needed to be introduced to our principles of play, to play the lineup. The team played five matches. We received useful information from them, which we analyzed in theory. The fact that we did not lose in the matches gave us confidence. The players got a taste for victories, which is also important on the eve of the official tournament.

- Are you satisfied with the team's performance in the tournament?

- I think the quality of the game was very good. This is what we paid attention to in the first place. The game resulted in a win, which is good news. With victories, the guys believe more in themselves, in the coaching staff, in the national team. This is also an important point. Because the Olympics is a completely different tournament. This is a second responsibility, a duty to our country. Therefore, we will do everything in our power to represent Ukraine with dignity.

- The team is being formed without yesterday's leaders. Are there any new players who can lead and unite the team?

- Yes, they are currently being born, and this is very important. And it's good that it coincided: we won the tournament, and when there is success, the players feel confident. In these matches, I would say, small leaders were born who should become full-fledged leaders. Because in a tournament like the Olympic Games, you have to be, first and foremost, men who understand what they are doing on the football field, who are fighting for the country, fighting for their honor, and proving themselves on the international stage.

- Three weeks have passed since the tournament in France. What did the players do during this time?

- The players were given vacations. Then they gathered at their clubs, which hold so-called training camps, picking up the pace of work. They got involved and came to us, and we are preparing for the first friendly match with Egypt on July 14. And we will hold a rehearsal before the Olympic Games on July 18 in a match against Paraguay.

- Is the players' functional training more or less balanced?

- No, it can't be balanced now, because some players have just come back from vacation, some started working earlier. Therefore, we will devote the next week to balancing the players' readiness, bringing them to a certain level so that they are in a more or less equal state.

- Does the Saint-Paul-le-Dax base, where you will be preparing for the Games, satisfy your training conditions?

- From what I saw on the video, everything we need is there. What we need are good football fields, conditions for recovery and nutrition.

- But it's a bit far from Lyon and Saint-Etienne, where will you play your group tournament matches against Iraq, Morocco and Argentina?

- When choosing a training base, we proceeded from whether we could find sparring partners. In Austria, where we originally planned to hold the training camp, it was quite difficult to find opponents for a friendly match. And in France, all the Olympic teams will be there at that time, and we will play against two of them on the eve of the Games.

- Are you planning to attend the opening ceremony?

- I think not. We have a game on the 24th in Lyon, then we move to Saint-Etienne. But we will definitely delegate someone from the coaching staff to the opening of the Olympics. And on the spot, like the rest of the country, we will cheer for our athletes in various sports.

Gennadiy Chekhovsky