TheSbirnawebsite talked to Arseniy Batagov, a player of the Ukrainian youth national team and a newcomer to Trabzonspor. The footballer spoke about Unai Melgosa's team, his move to Turkey and much more.
- Arseniy, the youth team won eight out of eight matches in the Euro 2025 qualifiers. What is the main strength of this team?
- First of all, we have very skilled players. But we also do a lot of teamwork on the football field, understand each other well and have a good team. Everyone here fights for their teammates.
- In September, Unai Melhosa's team won two games against Serbia (2-1) and Northern Ireland (2-1). But it all started with a controversial goal against us. Was this goal by the Serbian team legitimate?
- A player of the opposing team interfered with Ruslan Neshcheret. I'm not sure, but maybe if there had been VAR, the goal could have been canceled.
It's always hard to concede, especially when it's a goal from a set piece. But this ball gave us some momentum. After that, we started to control the ball more and, in general, play better. At that moment, the team did not fall into a hole, but on the contrary.
- The match against Serbia was nominally a home match and took place in Ukraine's friendly Latvia. Did you feel that our team was the home team?
- Yes, it did. In terms of atmosphere, it was a home match. A lot of people came to support and cheer for us. After the match, people came up and took pictures. We can say that after the game we also held an autograph session (smiles). We took pictures for about 15 minutes.
The thing is that there were a lot of children. Several children's teams from Chernihiv came, so we managed to communicate a bit with the younger generation.
- In July, you took part in the Olympics. What did you expect from this tournament?
- I wanted to at least get out of the group (the Ukrainian national team took third place there - author). But our quartet was very strong. Morocco (2:1) and Argentina (0:2) were the top teams that claimed to win the tournament. Then we saw how well they played in the playoffs.
As for the opening match against Iraq, we were a little unlucky there. We had a lot of chances, but unfortunately we couldn't realize them and in the end it turned out the way it did.
- There has been a lot of talk about Ruslan Rotan's team's preparation and problematic equipment. How do you feel about these conversations?
- In my opinion, strong people went to France. Therefore, I do not believe that if other players had gone there, the result would have been different.
- What was missing in the match with Iraq (1-2)? In the TV broadcast, it seemed that after the first goal your team needed time to recover. And then the second goal happened...
- Perhaps we were not enough psychologically. After the penalty kick and before Iraq's second goal, only a little bit of time passed. I think the team was a little confused. It's always bad when you have chances to attack but don't score, and then concede from a half-chance. It always affects the morale of the players.
- If we had the opportunity to play this Iraqi Olympic team ten times, how many of them would Ukraine win?
- In nine (smiles). We lost this one.
- After the tournament, there were opinions that reaching the playoffs would be a leap over our heads. How do you feel about this thesis?
- It's hard to say. The fact is that even if we had beaten Iraq 1-0, we still would not have qualified for the 1/4 finals with these results (three teams would have had six points each and we would not have qualified on the basis of the sum of goals scored and conceded).
I cannot say that we played badly in this tournament. We had our moments with Argentina. In the match against Morocco, we outplayed them in terms of the quality of football in the first half. Therefore, I do not believe that reaching the playoffs would be a leap over our heads.
- Arseniy, refereeing was a separate topic at the Olympics. How would you assess the decisions of the referees in the matches against Iraq and Morocco?
- I don't know what to say about the penalty against Iraq. It struck me that in this match all the controversial episodes were interpreted against us. It was hard to play, feeling that the referee was treating our team very badly. And it was clear from the first minute.
- So it wasn't even a low level of the referee, but rather bias?
- I don't know. Well, maybe the referee's qualifications were low, but I felt that way on the football field, that it was a biased attitude towards Ukrainians.
- Then you were very unhappy with Volodymyr Saliuk's sending off in the match against Morocco. Was the referee against us there too?
- No. I didn't feel that way in that match. As for the red card, we were told later that when a defender does not intend to play the ball but deliberately knocks down an opponent, it is a sending off. But I don't know, I didn't see any desire to foul. I think that in this episode Volodymyr was trying to play the ball.
- A few hours after our defeat by Iraq, Morocco defeated Argentina. After that, the fans drew parallels with Slovakia's victory over Belgium at the Euros. Did the players of the Ukrainian Olympic team follow the results of their rivals?
- No, we didn't. We didn't think about it. We realized that it might be a surprise for someone, but we were not surprised at all that Morocco could beat Argentina. For us, the Moroccans were at least a top-3 team at the Olympics. This applied to both the game and the selection of performers.
- Arsenii, before leaving for the Ukrainian youth national team, you spent several weeks at a new club , Turkish Trabzonspor. How did this option come about for you?
- It was during the Olympics, so maybe we were watching the tournament matches at the club. Later, everything was resolved quite quickly.
- Before moving to Turkey, did you consult with anyone about this option? After all, many Ukrainians have gone through the Super League in recent years.
- More with agents. Yes, there were a few more experienced players than me. But I didn't have any other options, so I decided to make this move.
I had a year left on my contract with Zorya, so it's not clear what would have happened afterwards. We all understand that.
- Did you have any other offers? The Olympic Games are a great talent fair, and you played in that tournament.
- No, there were none.
- Over the past 12 months, Dynamo, Shakhtar, Polissya and even the Dutch AZ have been mentioned in the context of your career?
- It was all just talk. There was no such specifics as in the case of Trabzonspor.
- And even after reaching the semifinals of Euro 2023 U-21?
- Yes, yes.
- After the Olympics, you found yourself in Zorya's application for the first round of the UPL. Were you still planning to play in the Ukrainian championship then, or did you already know about your upcoming departure?
- At that time, everything was still at the negotiation stage. I returned from the Games and had a minor injury. Given this, as well as the fact that I returned only two days before the opening game, the Zorya coaching staff decided to give me a break.
- How is your acclimatization going in the new team ?
- All the players are treated very well here. That's why it's much easier to go through this first stage. On the streets, all players are treated very well, and in general, Trabzon is a football city with many fans. You can always feel the football atmosphere here.
- By the way, Turkey has very contrasting fans. They are known for loving players after victories, but hating them after defeats. Have you ever had to deal with their temper?
- I have not experienced this yet.
- Stefan Savic became your teammate. He is probably the main star of Trabzonspor. Are there any players who stand out in terms of their performance, or is it a balanced team?
- There are a lot of national teams in the team. There are many high-class performers who work well with the ball, play one-on-one and make good quality passes. And if we talk about Savic, he is a top defender from whom you need to take as much as possible.
- If you could adopt one of his game characteristics, what would it be?
- Playing with his head.
- You haven't made your debut at the new club yet, but you've already been in the matchday squads. Why did the team drop out of European competitions so quickly?
- I don't know. I think we were unlucky in the second half of the Conference League playoffs against St. Gallen (0: 0, 1: 1, 4: 5 on penalties - ed.). In the first game, we could score in the first half, but in the next game it was the other way around. It was hard for us in the first half, but in the second half we completely outplayed the opponent. In addition, the home crowd helped.
Unfortunately, then there was a penalty shootout, which is always 50/50.
- What tasks does the club's management set for Trabzonspor players?
- I was not in the team before the start of the season. I came when the Turkish championship was already underway. But I know that now the team's task is to fight for victory in every match and be as high as possible in the standings.
- Do you know which Ukrainians played in Trabzon before you?
- When I joined, I found out that Yuriy Kalytvintsev played here...
- Also there were the first captain in the history of the Ukrainian national team, Yuriy Shelepnytskyi, and goalkeeper Viktor Hryshko. The latter played the most of all three - 78 matches in three seasons. So you have the opportunity to beat this result.
- Thank you! I also know that Jaja Coelho and Jose Sosa played there. This also brings back memories from my childhood, as I watched these players when I played in the Metalist academy.
- Who was your favorite football player in your childhood?
- I can't single out one, because I didn't follow them much back then. I just went to Metalist matches (smiles).
Oleksandr Shcherbatykh