Honored Coach of Ukraine Mykola Pavlov told what he expects from the match between Ukraine and Albania in the 1st round of the League of Nations, which will take place today in Prague.
- We had high expectations from Euro 2024, but one game [against Romania] ruined everything. In the following games, we looked decent, but the aftertaste still remained. Now time has passed and the guys should have calmed down by now. I hope that the game against Albania will not be a repeat of Romania. Our team has already gained invaluable experience. All our opponents in the League of Nations are equal, you can play with them and achieve results.
- What do you think, which Albanian national team is stronger: today's or the times of Dallu, Turri, Januzi?
- I think that generation of Albanians was stronger. And not only because Vorskla were called up. At that time, the striker of Brescia, Bologna and Lazio Tare, the forward of Verona and Chievo Bogdani, started there, Cana - the future midfielder of PSG, Marseille and Lazio, the same Lala played for Hannover for many years.
But I followed that team because my players played there. I don't follow the current Albania so specifically, although, of course, I saw them at Euro 2024 and formed a certain opinion.
- Dovbyk was injured and will not play against Albania and the Czech Republic.
- Yaremchuk and Vanat are also worthy of playing if the coach entrusts them with a place in the squad, but Dovbyk will certainly be missed. At Roma, Artem is still undergoing adaptation. A large sum of money was paid for him, everyone expects goals from him, so Dovbyk is under a lot of pressure. Plus, there is this injury. It is clear that he is a good, decent guy and he is very worried that he is not doing well at Roma.
- Is Mudryk fairly criticized for his performances at Chelsea?
- I had a lot of young guys. If they feel trust and have a good environment around them, they will overcome all difficulties. Remember when Mudryk played for Shakhtar and the national team. At that time, every club in the world was ready to pay big money for him.
As for his current performances, you need to be at Chelsea to find out the reason. Instability is a feature of all young players. And the additional noise in the press about big earnings and so on causes negativity primarily among Mudryk himself. Probably, Mikhail spends more time worrying instead of improving his psychological state. The issue here is psychology.
- Whose performance in the Ukrainian national team do you enjoy now?
- When I finished my coaching career, I no longer look at the players in such a way as to single out anyone. Football is a collective game, and all players are equally involved in the process. I follow more those players who played for me or were rivals of my teams.
I am very worried about Kolya Shaparenko, especially when he had a period of injuries. I often talk to his father. I once stopped playing football after such an injury. After such an injury, it is very difficult to recover and return to the previous level. Kolya, thank God, is doing well.
- Do you think it's time for Shaparenko to go to Europe?
- This should be decided by Kolya and the Dynamo management. Knowing the Surkis brothers very well, I can say that they will do what is best for Shaparenko and the club. A good example is the transfer of Shevchenko to AC Milan.
- Since you mentioned Shevchenko, Dovbyk was nominated for the Golden Ball for the first time among Ukrainians since his time, and Lunin was nominated for the Yashin Trophy.
- This is a great achievement for Ukrainian football. Even though Dovbyk and Lunin will not win, the fact that they are among the best players in the world is worth a lot.
A very important role in their success belongs to the children's coaches who worked with them and gave them a ticket to life. I believe that the children's coaches should also be recognized for the education of the Ukrainian national team players who are defending the honor of our country in this difficult time.
Andriy Piskun