Ruslan Rotan, head coach of the Ukrainian Olympic team, spoke about the team's preparations and objectives for the 2024 Games in France.
"When I was 13 years old, I saw Olympic champions being born in a sports boarding school in Dnipro. And there were really a lot of them there. Later, when I became a football player, I probably never imagined that I could make it to the Olympics. And it never happened. Instead, I managed to get there as a coach. I am very proud of this achievement - of our players and our country.
After the last match of Euro 2023, when we lost to Spain and everyone was upset, I could see in the guys' eyes that there was something left to be said. There is one more tournament where we can achieve our goal. All the players just wanted to go to the Olympics and do everything to defend the honor of our country. Maybe not all of them succeeded, but they gave other young performers a chance. And those guys who will take part in the Games in Paris are worthy of this challenge.
As for the goal for the tournament, I want to move forward step by step. I don't want to predict anything. Now our goal is to prepare well, and only then, from match to match, will we set tasks. I think it will be better and calmer for the players. I don't want to put pressure on them. We are well aware that some of our players have not played in tournaments of this level, so it will be difficult for them. The entire coaching staff must accept this psychological pressure. We need to make the guys feel relaxed, because only in this state will they be able to demonstrate their best qualities.
During the preparation, we have to bring all the players to a single functional state, because after the break they started training at their clubs and are not yet in the best physical condition. We understand this and have to balance them. On July 14, we play against the Egyptian national team, and on July 18, we hold a dress rehearsal before the Olympic Games - with the Paraguayan national team. Then on the 19th, we move to Lyon, where we will be based before the opening match at the 2024 Olympics. There we will prepare for the match with Iraq, which we will play on July 24.
What was the atmosphere like in the NOC? First of all, it was a lot of fun. And what I really liked was that the NOC supported us very much, wished us to perform as well as possible at the Olympic Games, to bring each match to victory.
This gives us wings, we will try hard and we understand for whom we are going there - first of all, our military, thank you for their support! We also understand that we are facing a big challenge, we want to represent our country with dignity," said Ruslan Rotan.