Before Ukraine's national team starts preparing for the start of the League of Nations, the last qualifying matches and draws for the main stages of European competitions took place, and the UPL tournament is gaining momentum, with a fierce battle going on amidst the sound of alarm sirens.
Indeed, the past week of football was surprisingly eventful.
The greatest attention of the Ukrainian football media and fans was, of course, focused on the match between Dynamo Kyiv and Salzburg in the Champions League playoffs.
After a nominally home defeat in the first match with a score of 0:2, the task before the Kyiv team was extremely difficult, but the quality of Oleksandr Shovkovsky's team's play at the start of the season allowed them to perceive the situation as not hopeless at all.
However, on the eve of the game, it was much harder for Dynamo's players and coaches to focus on their goal, even with the two-and-a-half-year-long situation in Ukraine. After all, Russia's massive missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in different parts of our country last Monday shocked absolutely everyone.
"First of all, I would like to thank our defenders and air defense forces who are protecting Ukraine, because tonight and in the morning there was a massive shelling of our country, many cities and villages were left without electricity," said Dynamo midfielder Volodymyr Brazhko(fcdynamo.com) at the official pre-match press conference . Now the whole team is thinking about Ukraine.
When we are abroad, everyone follows the news, because the guys have families, children, and parents in Ukraine, so we are very worried. In particular, my grandparents are in Zaporizhzhia, so I always ask them how they are, what they have heard, etc. Honestly, I feel bad when I read such news without being in Ukraine"(fcdynamo.com, 26.08.24).
"I would like to join the words that Volodymyr Brazhko has just said: in the morning we were all nervous because of the massive shelling in Ukraine. What has been happening in our country over the past ten years and two and a half years of Russia's full-scale invasion has left its mark on all our thoughts and feelings," added Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi(footclub.com.ua). " We do not separate ourselves from Ukraine and our people, even though we are abroad. It's very difficult, and God willing, no one else will ever feel this way.
I would also like to express my immense gratitude to our defenders for their work, for giving us the opportunity to play football and give us much-needed positive emotions. It's not easy, but we are well aware that it is much more difficult for them"(footclub.com.ua, 26.08.24).
The unambiguous and meaningful messages of the Kyiv club representatives once again emphasized the importance of the mission of leading Ukrainian athletes representing our country abroad. Shovkovsky made it very clear to the Austrian and international media why it is difficult for his team to concentrate solely on football matches given the events in Ukraine.
"You have to understand one thing: as I said, we never separate ourselves from the Ukrainian people. The situation is extremely difficult right now: many towns and villages are without power as critical infrastructure has been hit. In some cities, the air raid lasts for more than 15-16 hours, and in the frontline areas it is almost constant (sport.ua, 26.08.24).
Many of our defenders are football fans, they support Dynamo and other clubs, so we want to do everything we can to give them at least some positive emotions, because it is extremely important to them. Therefore, we will do everything in our power to perform well within the principles and rules of fair play and turn the tide of this match in our favor," he emphasized.
And it should be noted that the Kyiv team really fought not only for the result and honor of the club, but also for all the fans and Ukrainians in general. The match in Salzburg ended with a score of 1:1, which did not allow Dynamo to move on, but the content of the game, courage, dedication, and fight to the last second - all this brought the white and blue team a lot of well-deserved compliments from the media, experts, and fans.
"Shovkovsky and his team were head and shoulders above the opponent, but all the chances only led to a 1-1 draw, which adds points to Ukraine's points table, but Dynamo loses 1-3 and is eliminated from the Europa League. Kyiv played boldly, frankly, and truly as a team, but when everything worked out, nothing went in the net. There was no phenomenal performance from the Salzburg goalkeeper, we were just unlucky," journalist Artem Rossinsky said(obozrevatel.com, 28.08.24).
"I will not dare to say a crooked word against Dynamo for the match against Salzburg. Moreover, I want to say not just kind words, but compliments. For dedication. For the crazy mood. For the skills and desire. Finally, for not giving up. And for not losing in the return match," emphasizes columnist Valeriy Vasylenko(sport.ua, 08/28/24).
"In less than a year, Shovkovsky has made Dynamo a team that has forgotten what indifference is. This team fights for the result, strives to demonstrate that it is no worse than its rivals and sometimes takes its own with this very thing - unbridled desire and grim impudence. The team's game has an idea and belief in itself. These are the qualities that Dynamo fans have missed in previous years," emphasizes journalist Maksym Salivon(champion.com.ua, 08/28/24).
"When Dynamo, with a fierce desire, attacked the favorite Salzburg with high pressure from the first minutes, it looked impressive. Unfortunately, this time they had to pay for their courage again - and too quickly, which was not very fair. Losing 0-3 on the sum of two matches already in the 12th minute, when you dominated from the start, is a very hard blow," said Oleksandr Sazhko, deputy editor-in-chief of the Tribuna website.
"But, perhaps, Dynamo should be given even more credit for their ability to gather themselves after such a setback, when their chances of progressing were literally close to zero. In such conditions and against a stronger and richer opponent, it's easy to give up, but it was the opposite. "Dynamo fought until the last minute, scored a goal in the first half and could have scored more - they were unlucky, just as they were unlucky in the first match," the author summarizes(ua.tribuna.com, 28.08.24).
The media note that this is exactly the kind of play we want to see from Ukrainian clubs at the international level, especially when they lack individual level and resources. Pressing, trying to respond to attack with attack, not giving in in martial arts, having the right mentality - Kyiv really set an example for everyone.
"When fans see that the team does not give up and tries to fight to the last, they are ready to forgive a lot. Especially individual mistakes that are caused either by the boldness of the plan or the level of the opponent. Ukrainian clubs need to learn this simple truth and start at least trying to play football.
I want to support this team. You want to worry about every mistake and rejoice in every successful action. It is so sincere and real. It was a great hunt. "Dynamo lost the Champions League but won our hearts. This is already a lot. Please don't stop," Sazhko adds(ua.tribuna.com, 08/28/24).
Meanwhile, the authoritative journalist Ihor Linnyk notes another important aspect that is evident in this virtually new team. In his opinion, under the leadership of Shovkovsky, who probably has to overcome and change the stereotypes that have formed in the minds of young players, the current generation of Dynamo players is only getting acquainted with their new, growing capabilities.
The author even suggests that the White and Blue coach has to convince them that only when they reach a new level of readiness will they, as a team, be able to claim much greater heights in football. And perhaps today this task is among the top priorities for Shovkovsky.
"And the players trust the head coach. This is already evident - because of the desire, pressure and dedication with which the renewed Dynamo held the Champions League qualifiers. It's a pity that the Kyiv team failed to give their best and get everything at once in exchange for a more complex and intense training process. But now the main thing is to preserve and consolidate the chosen direction, not to stop, not to be disappointed, not to doubt it," Linnik summarizes in his Facebook post(dynamo.kiev.ua, 28.08.24).
The football community agrees that Dynamo has shown its ability to compete in the Champions League this season, but Salzburg, which is much more powerful in financial and personnel terms, has been a little more effective on the field, although not without a bit of luck.
But the Europa League, according to the media, will be an excellent testing ground for further testing the new capabilities of Kyiv in the international arena. And in the UPL, with the quality of Dynamo's football, it is likely that few opponents will be able to challenge Shovkovsky's team.
Another Ukrainian representative in European competitions, Kryvbas, also approached the return leg of the Conference League playoffs against Betis against the backdrop of a 0-2 home defeat. And there were hopes that Yuriy Vernydub's team would put up a good fight against the Seville club's far from the main squad and possibly score some points in the coefficient table.
However, the Kryvyi Rih club failed to make a sensation and dropped out of the European competition, losing 0-3.
"The miracle did not happen, Kryvbas lost to Betis in the return leg, this time conceding three times and again failing to score at least a prestige goal. 0:5 - by the amount of the match. It hurts. "Kryvbas is nowhere near resembling the 'men' who are able to impose a fight, dictate their own rules of the game, fight for every ball, pull out matches on the veins... " - states journalist Anatoliy Yashchenko(footboom1.com, 29.08.24).
"3-0 in this match, 5-0 on aggregate - Betis showed that the difference between the classes of the two teams is huge. Now Manuel Pellegrini's wards will deservedly play in the main round of the Conference League, and Kryvbas, using an outdated cliché that our coaches so often liked to use ten or fifteen years ago, will focus on domestic competitions. To get back into the European Cups, of course... " - said the columnist Oleksandr Snitko(sport.ua, 29.08.24).
And his colleague Oleksiy Slyvchenko, who was even more irritated, apparently asked the question too emotionally: "Was it worth starting to play in Europe at all? Was it necessary to rush there so much if you are still not ready?"(sport.ua, 08/30/24)
"Kryvbas' results in the current European Cup campaign were unattractive: 4 matches, 4 defeats with a total goal difference of 1:8. And we are talking about the third best team in our football at the end of the last championship. " The notorious experience is nothing compared to the overall quality of the players' performances ," he insists, " If the latter does not match the level of European competitions, then there will be nothing to "catch" in continental tournaments, even if you are more experienced than the most experienced club in the world"(sport.ua, 08/30/24).
However, there were also other comments from journalists, because where else can our clubs gain experience, where can they check the objective state of their affairs, if not in the crucible of the most demanding competitions? That's why many tried to support Kryvbas, which returned to the European arena for the first time since 2000.
"I don't want to criticize or scold Kryvbas. The first pancake is out. This is a very bitter experience, but a very necessary one for further growth. Sometimes you just need to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. The main thing is to analyze and draw the right conclusions from this cold shower," Vladyslav Lychyk emphasizes with good reason(ua-football.com, 08/29/24).
The famous Ukrainian coach Volodymyr Sharan also thinks in the same direction:
"The team lacked European Cup experience. Logistics is difficult when you spend 3-4 hours at the borders in a bus, then recover. There are no complaints about the dedication and desire of Vernydub's team, but it is difficult to go to the game when you arrive, have one training session and play the next day ," Sport-express.ua quoted the specialistas saying .
"And the opponents are far from being no-names, as they say now. Victoria has been playing in European competitions for so long! The names of the players and the head coach will tell you about Betis. Kryvbas should be commended for trying to play football, for not shutting down, even though they are inferior to their opponent. It's great to play in European competitions when there is no war, so as not to touch on the logistics," Sharan insists(sport-express.ua, August 30, 24).
At the same time, the media rightly state that no Ukrainian club other than Dynamo Kyiv has brought points to the UEFA coefficient table in European Cup qualifying matches.
"For the first time in the history of Ukrainian football, three teams stopped participating in European competitions with zero points. "Dnipro-1, Polissia and Kryvbas did not score even 0.5 points in total. Even if we do not take into account the Dnipro club, which has not even started in the current European season, two "zero" teams in one campaign is still an anti-record. "Polissia and Kryvbas scored one goal each and conceded 12 goals apiece," writes Ua-football.com (08/30/24).
Thus, the hopes of the Ukrainian football community in the European arena in the fall and winter will traditionally be associated with two domestic giants. This season, Shakhtar and Dynamo are guaranteed to play eight matches each in the main draw of European competitions for the first time, as the Champions League and Europa League are being held in a new format.
From now on, there will be no traditional group tournament, instead a general stage in the form of a single league will be held, but each team will play eight matches with different opponents (four at home and away). Following the results of the general stage, the top eight clubs will go directly to the 1/8 finals, the teams from 9th to 24th place will play butt matches for the remaining eight tickets to this stage, and the rest will finish the season in Europe.
On Thursday, the draw for the general stage of the Champions League took place, and it became known that Shakhtar will play Bologna (September 18, away), Atalanta (October 2, home), "Arsenal (October 22, away), Young Boys (November 6, home), PSV (November 27, away), Bayern Munich (December 10, home), Brest (January 22, home) and Borussia Dortmund (January 29, away).
Journalists took the draw results for the Ukrainian champion cautiously, but with an optimistic note.
"In general, this draw for Shakhtar cannot be called bad. Among the opponents are the top teams, but there are also those who can be beaten for sure. To reach the playoffs, 8-9 points should be enough, and the Donetsk club has someone to gain them with. However, a lot will depend on the form in which the team approaches the start of the tournament: In order to fight for a place in the knockout matches, it definitely has to be much better than it is now," writes Mykhailo Tsiruk(×sport.ua, 30.08.24).
"Shakhtar's Champions League draw is not a disappointment, but a prospect. Even if it's hard to believe at the moment due to the unconvincing start in the UPL, this Shakhtar is not weaker than a year ago. Only three teams look "unattainable" for the Pitmen... The Pitmen can play and win against representatives of Serie A and Ligue 1. Shakhtar can also count on points in matches against teams from the Netherlands and Switzerland," said Maksym Salivon(champion.com.ua, 08/29/24).
On Sunday, Shakhtar had a chance to cheer themselves and their fans up when they visited Kryvbas, who were exhausted from their trip to Seville, in the fifth round of the Ukrainian league. The Miners made a start by opening the scoring before the break, but in the 50th minute the match was interrupted due to an air raid and subsequently rescheduled.
A positive background accompanied the expectation of the European Cup draw for Dynamo Kyiv, which, although it did not reach the main draw of the Champions League, proved to be very good in terms of the quality of play. As for the UPL, Shovkovskyi's team is without a loss, although a nervous victory over LNZ on Sunday (with a minimum score of 1-0 and the only goal scored by Yarmolenko from the 11-meter mark) showed that the white and blues were indeed a little "full" after such a tense period at the start of the season.
Nevertheless, even before the Europa League draw, journalists and experts agreed that Dynamo's performance really gave them hope for a successful performance in this tournament.
"Given the current capabilities of the team, as well as in terms of the sporting component, playing in the second most prestigious European competition for the White and Blues is an option even better than playing in the Champions League. By the way, as well as for Ukraine's point balance in the UEFA coefficient table. And whoever becomes the opponent in the eight guaranteed matches of the Europa League, these will be games worth watching," said columnist Maksym Salivon(champion.com.ua, 08/28/24).
"I am optimistic. Although Dynamo's opponents are still unknown at this stage, this season Kyiv have proved that they have potential, that they are improving with each match and therefore have every chance of moving on," agreed Taras Mykhalyk, a former Dynamo and Ukraine defender, the day before(sport.ua, 08/29/24).
The mood in the football environment did not change even after Dynamo learned its rivals on Friday. Thus, in the general stage of the Europa League, Shovkovsky's team will play Lazio (September 25, at home), Hoffenheim (October 3, away), and Roma (October 24, away), "Ferencvaros (November 7, at home), Viktoria (November 28, at home), Real Sociedad (December 12, away), Galatasaray (January 21, away), RKS Riga (January 30, at home).
After the draw, the chances of Kyiv were assessed by none other than the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov. First, he noted that Dynamo, despite the loss to Salzburg, had performed well in the Champions League qualifiers, where they can take credit for all six matches, and then stated that compared to the beginning of last season, this is a completely different team.
"It will be interesting to watch every game of Dynamo in this tournament. If we talk about the most dangerous, uncomfortable teams, then, most likely, these are Roma and Lazio. But Real Sociedad is also a strong opponent. Yes, the team from San Sebastian did not finish in the top three of La Liga, but they looked very decent last season. Last season, they reached the 1/8 finals of the Champions League (ukrfootball.ua, 08/30/24).
"Ferencvaros? Of course, a very difficult team. Yes, they had a hard time getting through the final qualifiers, but they have a lot of quality players now. It's a pity that Dynamo failed to make it to the Champions League. But now Kyiv has to show their level in the Europa League. You can play and win with all opponents. I think we can safely set a goal of reaching the playoffs. Dynamo has faith in this. The team has prepared well for the new season," Rebrov said.
However, of course, it is very difficult to make any predictions and analyze anything in detail at this stage, because both tournaments will have an unusually long general stage: it is very important how our teams will be able to maintain their form, especially in the context of two matches in January - this is an extremely important factor for representatives of countries like Ukraine.
In addition, at least on paper, Ukrainian clubs face very difficult opponents: out of 16 teams, 10 represent the top 5 leagues (including four from Italy and three from Germany) and five more reigning champions of their countries, as well as the very experienced Czech Victoria, which recently dealt with Kryvbas in the Europa League qualifiers without any problems.
Rebrov makes a choice. Club football takes almost a two-week break for national team matches. Our national team will play two very difficult matches at the start of the Nations League against Albania and the Czech Republic. Interestingly, Ukraine will play both of these matches in Prague - nominally a home match against Albania on September 7 and an away match against the Czech Republic three days later.
Ukraine's head coach Serhiy Rebrov announced the list of players called up for these matches last Tuesday. Dynamo Kyiv was the most represented club with nine players (Shakhtar had five). The media especially noted the call-ups of Vladyslav Kabaev, Denys Popov, and Oleksandr Pikhalenko, who have been playing very good football at the beginning of this season.
The top players join the cup. On Wednesday, the draw for the 1/8 finals of the 2024/25 Ukrainian Cup took place. At this stage of the competition, the strongest UPL teams, which took first through eighth place last season, inclusive, will compete. They were joined by the teams that overcame the third preliminary stage of the Ukrainian Cup.
Among the pairs formed, the meeting between Dynamo and Vorskla in Poltava, the match between Polissia and Kryvbas, as well as the confrontation between Shakhtar and Zorya stand out. The base date of the 1/8 finals is October 30. The final is scheduled for May 14, 2025, and the UAF has not yet determined the venue.
The first single TV pool in the UPL. On Friday, an event took place that the media called historic and epoch-making: The Ukrainian Premier League announced the creation of a single TV pool based on UPL.TV.
"Together with FC Dynamo and FC Zorya, we managed to take two more steps towards uniting all UPL clubs within a single TV pool. From now on, absolutely all VBET Ukrainian Premier League matches will be broadcast on UPL.TV. Thus, all UPL clubs have confirmed that they are looking to the future together, and UPL.TV is a great platform for the development and popularization of the Ukrainian Championship," reads the UPL release(upl.ua, 08/28/24).
"Epochal: a single UPL TV pool has been created - Dynamo has finally joined. At the same time, it seems that Dynamo still has a special history of joining - at least, the league's website states that the club's next match against LNZ will also be shown by the 2+2 channel, which is part of 1+1 Media," journalist Kostyantyn Varvaryk reacts to the news(ua.tribuna.com, August 28, 24).
Soon after, the Kyiv club confirmed that its home matches in the UPL would be available on the Dynamo Kyiv YouTube channel, 2+2 TV channel, and UPL TV channel and platforms(fcdynamo.com, 08/28/24).
"The 5th round of the 2024/25 season can be called historic, as from today all UPL matches will be broadcast on one platform. It is worth noting that the unification of all clubs under one "television roof" is a historic phenomenon for domestic football. After all, this has not happened since the distant 1990s, when at the dawn of Independence the matches were shown by UT-1 and duplicated by regional channels," columnist Kyrylo Stadnychenko emphasizes the remarkability of the agreement reached(champion.com.ua, 08/30/24).
Ten from Dynamo's youngsters. Another remarkable event took place on Saturday in the Ukrainian youth championship. In the match of the 5th round, Dynamo U-19 defeated LNZ U-19 with a score of 10:! Vladyslav Gerich scored a hat-trick, and in the added time after the 90th minute, Vyacheslav Surkis saved a penalty kick by Mykyta Veligorsky and kept Dynamo's goal dry.
"It's good that we got three points before the break due to national team matches and scored a lot of goals. In general, the game was good, we controlled everything. But we need to play even more aggressively and better in the finishing phase, because in the second half there were many moments when we opened the flanks well, but the players did not reach their areas where they needed to be," Kyiv coach Ihor Kostiuk said after the game(fcdynamo.com, 31.08.24).
Orest LELEKA