Viktor Leonenko: "Shakhtar players have no class. How are you going to play in the Champions League?"

Former Dynamo Kyiv forward Viktor Leonenko shared his thoughts on Shakhtar's unsuccessful start to the Ukrainian league season.

- Viktor Yevhenovych, why is Shakhtar failing at the start of the season?

- I don't see any failure yet. Moreover, it is the beginning of the season and we already have an excuse - we need to wait for four rounds. Personally, I will draw conclusions after the Champions League matches.

In the game against Polissia "Shakhtar should have won, but the Zhytomyr team survived. "Oleksandriya were given goals in general. This shows Shakhtar's lack of class. In addition, the Pitmen have no chemistry yet. As I said, all our teams will face problems in the European competitions. Now Dynamo still has to get relegated from Salzburg, and we can forget about the 30 million for the Champions League. Only one thing will help Kyiv - if the entire Austrian team gets poisoned.

- Shakhtar conceded four goals to Oleksandriya! How did this happen?

- I will analyze the goals of Oleksandriya now, and you will understand everything.

- Try it.

- Pushic is to blame for Filippov's first goal! Here you need to call Srna and tell him to buy a rake and give it to Pushich. Why? Because Shakhtar have already conceded a lot of goals because of the passing defense. If they get another one like that, everyone will be laughing. But Filippov did well to take advantage of the mistake and performed well.

"Dynamo also tried to get out of the defense through a pass with Salzburg, but for some reason the Austrians did not hesitate to just kick it out. We all appoint ourselves "technicians" and "stars"!

- Kalyuzhny's second goal.

- Sudakov and Sikan are not selected, plus they were standing in the wrong place. Sudakov first ran to the corner of the penalty area, and then did not have time to reach Kalyuzhny. Sikan didn't make it either.

I congratulate Kalyuzhny on his beautiful goal - not everyone hits the net! The goal is beautiful, but it is also luck.

- The third goal. Bondar's hand and a penalty kick by Filippov.

- Bondar probably wanted to be a goalkeeper in his childhood, playing with his hands in the penalty area. But such penalties are not always given. Mykhavko also played with his hand at the beginning of the match against Salzburg, but the referee did not give a penalty. It all depends on the referee.

- Filippov's fourth goal.

- "Shakhtar ran to win back the game with the whole team and made a gross mistake. I've never seen anything like that before - no one in the center! This again shows the lack of chemistry and class among Shakhtar's players, which is why they are suffering. I can understand when everyone runs forward with the goalkeeper in the 90+ minutes, but not in the 56th!

- Why did Shakhtar fall apart so badly in Stepanenko's absence? It turns out that they haven't found a replacement for the veteran defender? Kryskov doesn't impress in his position.

- I don't see Shakhtar falling apart without Stepanenko. "Crumbling" can only be applied to the last goal, and even then, the question is not about the center back, but about the defenders.

- What can you say about Riznyk? It seems that he is not yet up to Trubin's level.

- I wouldn't say that. I don't see any gross mistakes. The goals conceded are set pieces, penalties and the 'nine'. The goalkeeper has nothing to do with it. This shows that Shakhtar's players have no class. How the f*ck are you going to play in the Champions League?

- What's going on with Bondar and Matvienko? Why are Shakhtar's central defenders playing so pale?

- Bondar is a weak defender. He is definitely not up to Shakhtar's ambitions! Kryvtsov was exactly the same - he didn't play, he was just present at Shakhtar. Bondar, like Kryvtsov, plays only because of the limit on legionnaires.

As for Matvienko, Arsenal almost bought him earlier, but now everything has quieted down. But I don't even want to discuss this topic. His wife or mother could have asked me to write about it. Remember how Konoplyanka was bought by the whole world, and in the end he ended up in Sevilla and disappeared. Is Vanata being "bought" by Inter right now? What the fuck is Inter?

- Sudakov is considered Shakhtar's main asset, but he is still far from last season's form.

- Yes, Sudakov is generally weak, even last season. I don't think he does something fantastic that costs a lot of money. We should have sent him to Napoli right away and sold him when they offered 40 million. They might still give him that amount if Sudakov happens to play well with someone in the European Cups. Here he should be sold immediately!

Probably, Shakhtar hope that he is still young and can be sold for more. But I am sure that Sudakov will not play better. He is unstable and even in the Ukrainian championship he does not have a lot of effective actions.

- Did Oleksandriya fairly beat Shakhtar?

- Of course not! Did you see that Filippov said that they were setting themselves up to win? But you can say anything after the game. I would have asked before the game: who thought what?

"I don't want to analyze Oleksandriya at all, because Shabliy recruited his own players there. It used to be a team of draws, so let's see what happens next. So far, I haven't noticed anything interesting.

- You talk about Shakhtar's lack of chemistry, but Pushic came at the end of last season and fully participated in this season's training camp. Didn't he have enough time to play together?

- It means that the players have not yet understood Pushic's philosophy.

- How much patience will Akhmetov have, because the Shakhtar president did not wait for the players to accept van Leeuwen's philosophy and fired Jovetic after one failed match against Feyenoord.

- Most likely, Akhmetov will give Pushich time. He will see how Shakhtar performs in the Champions League. If Shakhtar wins several victories in European competitions, the defeats to Polissia and Oleksandriya will be forgiven and forgotten. There is definitely no need to fire the coach before the Champions League.

- Perhaps Shakhtar's choice of coach is lame? After all, after Van Leeuwen, Pushic raises questions.

- So far, I don't see any problems. We will draw conclusions after the Champions League. In the league, you can still catch up and overtake everyone. Everyone will lose points!

- I am a little confused about Shakhtar's transfer policy. The Donetsk club signed Franjic from Wolfsburg as a fullback, and Pushic uses him in the center of defense instead of Matvienko. Many Brazilians don't play, and those who do don't really stand out, except for Pedrino.

- Most likely, Pušić is just looking at how Franjic looks in this position. The coach is still looking for optimal positions and connections. Probably, he has not yet decided on the main lineup. Perhaps someone else needs to be given time. Although a great footballer starts playing immediately and without warming up. And we are used to buying for millions and then waiting. If Shakhtar loses like that again, then I think there will be more Brazilians in the lineup.

- Didn't Pushich have enough training camp to see the connections and Franjic at the center back position?

- Apparently not. At the training camp, some players might not have been ready, injured, etc. They may have been signed in the midst of the training camp, missing some important stage. Basically, those who are worn out at the training camp do not play in the championship. Some of the main players are taking a long time to get fit.

- Marlon got his second injury in a year. Is the Brazilian just "crystal" or maybe the preparation was wrong?

- Perhaps he is just unlucky. Other clubs have the same problems - a player has just recovered and gets injured again. You can get injured even just going down the stairs.

- Why is Pušić "marinating" on the bench of center back Alaa Gram? Why was he bought in the first place?

- The question here is who bought him. The coach is not an enemy of himself and will not put weaklings in the squad. Perhaps the newcomers still need time, because it was the same under Lucescu, maybe they are overweight or some other factors. But I don't understand the purchase of players who are sitting in the reserves. They should be thrown off the bridge! Perhaps Shakhtar were simply deceived and "sold" these players. What the f*ck is the point of buying substitutes if you can give your own players from the Academy a chance?

- Is Pushich a weak coach or not?

- It's hard to draw conclusions. Everything is just beginning. It's hard to criticize coaches in general, especially those who come to another country and championship. Pushich should be given time until December, and then draw conclusions.

- Srna said that he was impressed by Rotan. Do you think Ruslan Petrovich could lead Shakhtar in the future?

- I think he won't be hired. Rotan hasn't shown anything yet and hasn't won anything.

- But he beat Shakhtar and took the youth team to the Olympics.

- So, what, should we take him right away? What does Shakhtar need Rotan for - a bunch of draws? If he is hired by Shakhtar, it will show that the Pitmen's management is not very competent.

Supryaga scored three goals for Dynamo for Dnipro-1, and he was immediately recruited to the Kyiv club. We all remember how that story ended. Vlad has good speed but a weak character. One guy from Chelsea also has speed, but he can't figure out where to run and what to do on the field.

Andriy Piskun