The defender of the youth national team of Ukraine and German Werder Ivan Yermachkov shared details about his career and ambitious plans.
Ivan Yermachkov— Let’s talk about your start in football. You were born in Kyiv, started playing for DYUSSH-10, so the next question is: Is it true that all Kyivans dream of playing for Dynamo?
— I don’t know how others feel, but I really dreamed of playing for Dynamo since childhood. (Smiling). However, circumstances have led me to Germany, so I want to make a name for myself in Europe, play in European leagues, and then return to Ukraine.
At one time, I was being scouted by Dynamo, but they didn’t reach a consensus on whether I fit them, after which I moved to Dinaz, and later to Kolos.
— You spoke very warmly about your time in Kovalivka. What do you remember the most?
— I immediately recall two top coaches — Yevheniy Serhiyovych Kalynychenko and Andriy Mykhailovych Kostenko. These specialists helped me a lot. After moving from Dinaz, I progressed significantly in Kolos in just half a year. Kalynychenko and Kostenko are probably among the best coaches I have worked with.
— How did the option to continue your career in Germany come about? Were there options in other countries?
— I didn’t specifically go to Wuppertal; I had an option in France with Saint-Étienne. The coach from Kolos helped me, gave me the number of an agent. But it turned out that we had to stay in Germany for a week. At that time, the agent told me that I had two options here where I could play — Fortuna (Düsseldorf) and Wuppertal. First, I trained for two days at Fortuna, then went to Wuppertal, where I successfully passed the trial. But the option with Saint-Étienne remained, and I was aiming for that.
I saw the period in Wuppertal as trial training. But it happened that during the last training session before departure, I got injured badly. I had a muscle tear — a very unpleasant injury, and it was a recurrence. In Wuppertal, they said they would pay for my recovery and that they wanted me to stay with them. Overall, I liked my time in Wuppertal; I had many friends in nearby Düsseldorf, so I decided to stay. I thought it would be easier to start my European career there.
— You were pursued by Schalke and Freiburg, but you chose Werder. How do you assess your decision?
— Despite not having much playing time, I believe I made the right decision to move to Werder. The reserves of Bremen are at a decent level. I still feel I'm progressing here. I hope that after the youth national team, I will return to the club and prove to the coach this season that I deserve to play in the first team.
— How hard is it for you to deal with the lack of playing time at Werder?
— Mentally, it’s really tough, but I've seen a lot on my path. It's not my first time sitting on the bench, and competition in German clubs is still very serious. Here, you always have to prove that you’re the best. For example, in my position at Werder, there are currently six guys, three of whom have contracts with the first team.
It’s unpleasant, of course, when the coaching staff doesn’t choose you, but I plan to return from the youth team even stronger. Then everything should fall into place. But to do that, you need to work hard and wait for your chance.
— Have you fully adapted in Germany? What level is your German at now?
— I already speak German fluently. It seems to me that I even communicate better in it than in English. I have completely adapted to Germany, and I no longer have this barrier. I communicate freely with the guys on the team, everyone understands me, and I understand everything.
— It’s no secret that there are many Ukrainians in academies in Germany. Who would you highlight from Werder's academy or other clubs? Who should we watch closely?
— I would mention Oleksandr Tkachenkо, who plays for Werder U-17, and has made his debut in matches for the U-17 national team of Ukraine. The guy is really very, very good. A central midfielder, very good ball control. I would also highlight midfielder Maksym Len from Fortuna (Düsseldorf), who plays for the U-19 national team. Danilo Krevsun is already well-known. (Smiling).
Forward Artem Stepanov from Bayer — he is a top player. As for goalkeeper Sanya Petrenko, he is currently having issues with playing time, but he has already been playing for U-19 for the third year and training with the first team. I think he will overcome his difficulties and possibly find a new club.
I would also mention Ilya Sereda from Darmstadt, and there’s a boy from Stuttgart — midfielder Mykola Petrovskyi, captain of the U-17 team; I’ve heard a lot about him. Generally, there are many Ukrainians in German football now.
“There was no mourning after the defeat to England, although it did throw us off a bit”
— The Ukrainian U-21 team has qualified for Euro 2025, but towards the end of the qualifying round, they started losing. The recent matches with England and Serbia were quite difficult, especially psychologically. What is the atmosphere like in the team after the first losses in the Euro 2025 qualifiers?
— It's really very unfortunate that we lost for the first time in the entire cycle because before that, there were eight matches — eight victories. The defeats to England and Serbia threw us off a bit and spoiled our statistics. But after the game, we sat down with the guys, talked, and analyzed our mistakes. There was no mourning; ahead is the European Championship.
— How did you find out about your call-up to the youth national team? Did you expect to debut in the game against England?
— During the game for the U-19 team at Euro 2024, Unai told me that he liked me as a decent-level player and that he would be interested in working with me. The first interest was back then. I received the call-up to the youth team two weeks before the announcement of the squad.
I was told that Batagov received a red card, so they would call me, Roman Didyk, Taras Mykhavka, and Volodya Salyuk for the gathering. They said that each of us would gradually receive playing time. But then Didyk was diagnosed with a concussion, and Salyuk pulled a groin muscle, so I was counting on playing against England.
However, Unai decided to do otherwise and put Mykola Melnychenko in central defense. Max played well, so the coach made the right decision.
— How well do you understand Melgoza's playing principles? Is there a need to significantly readjust after playing for your club?
— We didn’t have much time for me to communicate better with Unai. However, I can say that Melgoza's demands are clear to me. The game of our youth team and Werder's game are very similar; they even play using the same formation. Unai demands that the team plays with ball control in fast dynamic football focused on creating quality scoring chances, without excessive long passes.
Melgoza's football is understandable to me; he quickly recounted the main principles to me, and I really like his European system. It is noticeable that he is a coach of a very decent level.
“The best center-back in the world right now? Zabarnyi!”
— I’m curious to know about the European club of your dreams, where you would like to play in the future?
— The Bundesliga is a league where I would like to start a serious European career, but if I had to choose among others, then... From Spain, it's Real, and from England, it's Manchester City. However, I also really like the German league; it’s of a very good level.
— Who was your football idol in childhood?
— Cristiano Ronaldo! But he didn’t play my position. (Smiling). Also, at around 10-12 years old, I really liked Marcelo and Sergio Ramos — they are top players.
— Who do you consider the best central defender in the world right now?
— Ilya Zabarnyi! Among Ukrainian defenders, he is the best for me; I really like his style of play. Speaking of others, it’s Antonio Rüdiger and Virgil van Dijk. I also admire Jonathan Tah from Leverkusen's Bayer.
“The plan for 2025 is to debut in the Bundesliga. There are also good chances to win the U-21 Euro and the U-20 World Cup with the national team”
— Let's return to the topic of the Ukrainian national teams. In the U-19 team, you played with Andriy Shevchenko. I'm curious to know what he is like in everyday life; did you keep in touch in English?
— With Andriy, we communicated as a team, because all of us guys speak English well. We even tried to teach him some Ukrainian, trying to improve his knowledge a bit. (Smiling). Andriy adapted to the team very quickly. We would eat together, walk around the cities. I can’t call him an outsider; he’s a great guy.
— You also crossed paths with Krapyvtsov in the youth team, who is currently on trial at Arsenal after Chelsea. How do you remember him, and does he have chances to establish himself in such a prestigious club?
— I think he has a great chance. Krap is a goalkeeper of a very solid level; after all, he was the best goalkeeper of Euro 2024 (U-19). I am convinced that Vlad will succeed; I will be happy for him.
— There’s not much time left until the end of 2024, so I would like to know about your plans for 2025. What do you plan to achieve next year?
— To debut in the Bundesliga. I admit that this was my plan even for the end of 2024. I’m an ambitious guy, so I always want more and demand the maximum from myself.
Of course, I want to achieve success with the Ukrainian national teams: to win the European Championship (U-21) and the World Championship (U-20). The World Cup is a dream for me. I think it’s within our reach; we have a very good and balanced team.
Everyone saw that we were a bit unlucky in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 (U-19). Our attacking leaders — Ponomarenko and Matkevych — received yellow cards, which prevented them from playing in the semi-final with France (0:1). I think if they had been on the field, it could have made a difference. The semi-final is also a good result, but everyone wanted victory.
Now, younger guys born in 2006 are also coming to the youth team. Maybe Dmytro Stanislavovych Mykhailenko will even take someone from 2007. So we’re not planning to slow down; we will strive to become champions. However, first, we need to make it to the playoffs.
Vladyslav Liutostansky
