On Monday, August 5, a press conference was held with the participation of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Rebrov, which was mainly devoted to summarizing the results of the national team's performance at Euro 2024.
Sergei Rebrov. Photo — A. Popov- This Euro has passed, we should really analyze our performance there and move on, we have new goals, we will move to the qualifying cycle of the World Cup-2026. It doesn't matter how the task of reaching the World Cup will be solved - through the Nations League or through the qualifying cycle. We have to prepare and use all the potential that Ukrainian soccer has.
If we talk about the analysis, the first thing to mention is scouting, which concerns the national teams U-17, U-19. Because we have all the information on the national and youth teams. Now it is very important to watch players who left Ukraine and play in small clubs, to find video materials with them. They can potentially become national team players of different ages. So we are trying to improve scouting and watch as many of them as possible.
- A lot of time has passed since the start of the Ukraine national team at Euro-2024. And now we would like to hear a detailed answer from you regarding the match with Romania. There is an opinion that the players should have taken this game with more responsibility. There is an opinion that they burned out. What is your opinion about it now? Why did we got 0:3 from Romania?
- It is not necessary to separate any match. I told the players before the European Championship that this tournament is very fast. There is no time for some kind of rehearsal, to go out on the field and see how it will be - we need to play from the first minute.
I do not agree that we lost the match with Romania by all indicators. I think we played well, but in some components we lost to the opponent. I like statistics, I have statistics not only of all our matches, but also of the matches of the leading national teams that played at Euro 2024. So, in the game against Romania we controlled the ball, but, unfortunately, we did not create chances. And I drew the players' attention to it during the break. We did not complete attacks. It was a problem. In the other team's half of the field we took away a lot of balls. Even more than top teams did. But, unfortunately, we didn't use it. We didn't complete our attacks, we didn't have enough players in the opponent's penalty area to complete these attacks. Yes, we controlled the ball, we lost it, we took it away again and controlled it, but again we didn't complete the attacks.
In addition, unfortunately, in key moments we made ridiculous mistakes. And here we must say that a lot depends on how players play in their clubs. For example, Lunin's mistake in the case of the first conceded goal. Why did he played on the wing? Because in Real Madrid they require him not just to kick the ball out in such situations, but to find the addressee in his own half of the pitch. But we are not Real Madrid, we can not play the way this team plays, we do not have players of this level. So sometimes when we are under pressure, we have to play simple.
Also, we have not adapted to the defense that Romania had, and it was very compact, very tight. It is always very difficult to crack such a defense.
Finally, in my opinion, our leaders did not show their true level. And not only in the match with Romania. A lot of our players play in top championships, and everyone expects them to play at the appropriate level, but they did not show it at the Euro.
But I am grateful to the guys. Perhaps, we needed such a match. And with Slovakia everyone played quite differently. Soccer is not only attacks and counterattacks, soccer is more often a transitional phase. So it's important what we do in the transition phase, what we do when we lose the ball and what we do when we get the ball. And it's important how we react to that. And in that respect, in the match against Slovakia, there was a very different team on the field. I can't say it was our best game, but it was a different team. I don't know why we reacted only after a very hard blow to the head - from Romania.
We have analyzed all our matches at Euro 2024, and now it is very important to draw the right conclusions. And move on.
- Comment on the goal in the match against Romania, which we conceded from a corner kick. Was it a momentary lapse of concentration? Or the team stopped believing in their abilities? Because to concede such goals at the European Championship ... We were all shocked.
- I was shocked too. If you think that we do not tell the players that they should do what they should do, we do not tell them that there should not be, for example, a situation when there are two opponents on a corner kick and nobody goes there, then it is not true.
As for the state of the team, at the European Championship not even points, but goals decide a lot. And there is a huge difference between 0:2 and 0:3. Yes, we tried to refresh the team with substitutions, but, unfortunately, what happened happened.
With Slovakia it was completely different, but we have been working for a year, and we made these mistakes in the qualifying cycle. It is very important how we react to these mistakes. How did we react to the defeat against Romania? Yes, the resonance was very big. And I "got it", and the whole team, and we all deserved it. But, fortunately, the players reacted in the right way.
- And why the team failed to look with Romania the way it looked with Slovakia? Did it really need this blow so much for them to react? After all, all the players said that they would come out, they would fight, they would give, but it did not happen.
- Unfortunately, we have a war going on. I read a lot about the Euro, I read a lot of reviews, I read that we did not properly set up the team, did not give them motivation. And what other motivation can there be?!
There is also the problem that all players are different. One of them needs to be motivated, while the other one is at such a level that when he goes on the field, he does not know what to do. Motivation can put a lot of pressure. Now, after a year of working in the national team, I already understand who needs more motivation and who needs less. But we had the youngest team at Euro 2024. And what is a young team? It's a lot of movement, but it's not about experience. The problem is experience. Even for me, it's the first Euro. And it was the first Euro for so many players.
And in this situation very useful experience is not the moment when you score, but the moment when you concede, the moment how you will react when you lose 0:1. And in these situations it is very important to have a leader on the pitch. I remember, we had Luzhny on the field. And when we conceded a goal, we instantly realized that now a completely different game would start. And now, unfortunately, I do not see a leader on the field, who would show what to do with his labor and words.
I remember the match with North Macedonia in the qualifying cycle. When we were losing 0:2. If we take the first half of this meeting, I do not remember the Ukraine national team playing so badly at all. But the first goal added confidence to the players and as a result we won 3:2.
And, here, I do not understand why before the match with Romania everyone said that the Ukraine national team is the favorite. Romania won its qualifying group. Yes, the group was not very strong, but Switzerland was in it - a very strong team. And so I do not understand why everyone said that we should beat Romania. This team showed their quality after the first goal scored by us: they worked very skillfully in defense, and continued to do so.
A goal from a corner kick. Let someone didn't go where he should be. But there must be someone around to tell him: "Hey! Go there! Go quickly! Yes, it's 0:2, but nothing, there's a chance, we have to play!". And, unfortunately, everyone got confused, thought about themselves, about their position, but did not think about the whole team.
But in the match against Slovakia in standard positions everything was completely different. Everyone tried to help each other, to talk to each other. But I do not understand why we had to lose the first match...
- What questions did you have for the players after the match with Romania?
- There were a lot of them. Even the players themselves asked each other a lot of things. When the post-match press conference was over, Andriy Yarmolenko came to me and said: "Can we communicate inside the team?". Because there was a problem: when I went into the locker room after the match, I saw that some players were looking at their phones to find out what grade they got for the game, what fans were writing to them and who they considered guilty. That is, they did not consider themselves guilty, but were looking for the guilty. Probably, that's why Yarmolenko wanted to talk to the team.
What do we think about when we say all sorts of words before the match? I always say to the players: "When you go on the field with Ukrainian flags, it is very beautiful and patriotic. But everyone will look not at how you hold the flag, but at how you fight on the field - only there you can show how you love your country".
- Did you ask Yarmolenko what he talked about with the team?
- No, this is their internal conversation.
- So the main problem is the attitude of the players, their mood? Is this the root of the problem?
- Are you looking for the root of the problem? And what is the root of the problem that after a year of work all our national teams made it to the Euros, to the Olympics? We've only been working for a year. I have never separated the players and myself. The first fault is mine, that I didn't convey something to the players. But I don't understand why journalists are trying to find some scandal. I sit at the pre-match press conference and think only about who I should replace the injured player, and they ask me: "Maybe you didn`t guess the lineup?". I think that journalists should respect the coach. Because when he comes to a press conference, he also thinks about something that is very important for the team. Sometimes I can give an answer that someone will not like, but it's not because I don't respect someone, but because at that moment I'm thinking about other problems.
So I'm not saying it's the players' fault for what happened - it's the fault of all of us. Probably, I didn`t adjust the players the way I should have.
- What conclusions did you draw from the results of Euro-2024? What should be done to prevent this from happening again?
- Not repeat what exactly? We got four points. For the first time in the history of European Championships, the team did not leave the group with four points. We should draw conclusions from our first match. They say that we chose the wrong tactics for this game. But Romania didn't even press: they just stood on their half of the field. It is always difficult to break such a defense. Especially when the team leaders do not show their maximum, and the team itself does not create chances.
But, I repeat, even in the match against Romania, we took away a lot of balls in the opponent's half of the field. I can not say that we lost the game - we lost the result, we lost in key moments. And, unfortunately, the first shot in the Romanian goal was only around the 80th minute of the game. That's a problem! That's what we have to think about. We have to play forward. Soccer is about goals, not about ball control. Ball control is important in order to prepare an attack, but this attack must be completed. And unfortunately, in the match against Romania we did not do that.
- The Nations League and the group with Albania, Czech Republic and Georgia are ahead. How difficult will it be to play against these opponents?
- It will be difficult with all of them. All these teams played very disciplined at Euro 2024. We have information about each of these teams. I always say: we must respect any opponent. I think we played well against Germany, Italy, England, but we must concentrate on our game. We must analyze the problems we had at the Euros, try to correct them and go on the field confident in our abilities. It is very important. And it is very important to have a team ready to fight for Ukraine. And not only to talk about it. This applies to the players and me: we have to defend our country on the soccer field.
- If you had an opportunity to change the application of the Ukraine national team for Euro-2024, would you change something in it? Do we have any deficit positions?
- There are such positions. But we are working to solve this problem: we are trying to create a structure with a scouting department. Now scouting itself exists, but the people who work there are employed not only in the UAF. And for us it is very important that scouts are focused only on the work aimed at the national teams. Scouting is very important.
Why did we naturalize Brazilians earlier? Because some positions sometimes require a different level of competition. I can't say that we have no competition now, but on the other hand, there are players who can't compete in the national team in some positions.
As for the application... Take, for example, Pikhalenka. He is a potential player of the Ukraine national team, but before the Euros he was recovering from an injury for a very long time. Therefore, those who had game practice and experience were included in the application. And I can`t say that I would change something in the application in hindsight.
- You said that you didn`t see the leader in the match with Romania...
- I was talking not only about this match, but in general. Take the same match with North Macedonia in the qualifying cycle. We did not react to the first conceded goal in any way. We reacted only after the break. And even after the break, without that first goal, I know how the match would have ended. We didn't have a leader in this game either. The players got confidence at the expense of another thing - the first goal.
- Did you think that scoring one more goal against Slovakia is easier than beating Belgium?
- After 0:3 from Romania, I had the idea that it is very important to get three points in the match with Slovakia. Do you think that with the score 2:1 we had to run to their goal with the whole team? Slovakia is a very good team. They beat Belgium before that. And I can not say that our substitutions were aimed at keeping the score 2:1. The only exception here is the last substitution in the last minute of the game, when Taloverov came on. I did not tell the players that we should keep the score 2:1. Yes, I told them that now we need more concentration in defense, but it does not mean that we should not attack.
At that moment, the most important thing was that we got the three points. Here, we would have let the second striker out. And we'd have gone 2-2. And what would you say to me at the post-match press conference?
My goal was to win this match. And I'm sure that after 0:3 all the players also went on the field with the desire to get three points at any cost.
- Gleb Platov will continue to work as an analyst in your coaching staff? Could you debunk the myth that it was him who made decisions about substitutions in the matches against Romania?
- Who said such a thing in general? That's interesting to me! Has anyone ever seen Gleb come up to me and say anything? Don't blame the UAF for the war between Gleb and agents. I have a lot of respect for Gleb, I've been working with him for a long time. And where I work, he will work. In what capacity, I will decide myself.
If a soccer association invites a coach, this coach comes with his team. I trust Gleb, and everything I need, he does. But I do not understand why our soccer community thinks that he is vertically superior to me. I will tell you how the vertical looks like: first me, then Unai Melgosa (head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine - ed.), and then - Gleb, who gives us information and we use it. I really like working with Gleb, because he clearly understands his role. He doesn't get in the way and will never say anything unnecessary. And he will work with me, he will stay with me in the headquarters.
- How will you solve the problem of the lack of a leader and the problem that the players did not hear you in something?
- You cannot go to Kryvbas and say: "We need a leader. We have the backbone of the team. The fact that the team is young gives us a big advantage, but we need time for it to play. And to look for a leader... We don`t work in a club and we can`t tell the scout: "Look for a player with leadership qualities in Europe". Yarmolenko, when he plays constantly, is a leader, he helps the players with his authority. The same can be said about Stepanenko.
It is impossible to find a leader for the national team. It is constantly changing. Now we will call some other players, look at candidates for the national team. But I can`t say that I`m going to search for a leader now. Probably, after these matches at Euro-2024 the players will go on the field with a different attitude. Success can be achieved when everyone gives their best. I do not understand why there was talk that we should have won Euro-2024. This is a young team. I see a very big prospect for it. But we need to work. And we need time.
- Why so often the Ukraine national team does not get the game in the first half?
- We will solve everything. Again, probably we needed this match with Romania. So that the team could readjust a little bit. I can not say that with Slovakia and Belgium we showed our best game - no, there were a lot of mistakes. But I saw a different team, whose players understood that the result depends on everyone. And not that I won't run back, because there are enough players, or I won't run in attack, because there are enough players. After the match with Romania, the guys had a completely different attitude to the game. We'll see how it goes from here. And it will be important. Because Albania, Czech Republic and Georgia are very strong teams. If we do not show our maximum with these opponents, it will be very difficult for us.
The Ukrainian national team always has maximum tasks. We understand what time we work in, we understand all the difficulties with logistics, but what is it compared to the motivation you have when there is a war in your country?
- What do you see your fault in what happened in the match against Romania? What would you change if you had such an opportunity?
- We have analyzed everything, we understand what happened, but I say again: I never separate myself from the team and I will not blame any of the players. Yes, there is a setup for the game, which clearly says that we should do A, B, C. But it's all tactical. Players are not robots. There are situations in which we should play simply, in which we should not lose the ball. On the other hand, the level of players in the current national team allows us to do anything in the last zone. We need to take risks in the last zone. The players tried to fulfill the set-up for the match, but they didn't show their maximum. Why did it happen? We had a lot of debriefings in the team, analyzed all the matches, and I'm sure that for the next cycle the players will approach the next cycle with a completely different attitude, with a completely different psychological state.
- Maybe we should have refused the sparring with Moldova?
- But it is impossible. Yes, some teams had two friendly matches before the Euro, we had three such matches. But if you have seen these games, you could notice that in the end all our players got approximately the same load. There was no such thing that all three friendlies were played by one team, one squad that went to the Euros and was not ready.
Alexander POPOV
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