Famous Ukrainian coach Volodymyr Sharan named his version of the best in Ukrainian football based on the results of October.
— The best team of the UPL in October?
— My choice is “Shakhtar”. The Donetsk team looks much better now than at the beginning of the season. They probably physically prepared for the European Cup. In the championship, “Shakhtar” is currently playing very decently, they just need to confirm their level in the Champions League.
— The team disappointment of the UPL in October?
— I was very disappointed by “Vorskla”. I watched their match against “Oleksandriya” and this is nothing like the “Vorskla” that existed before. But I hope that with the arrival of Maksymov, the team will change their play for the better.
— The best coach of the UPL in October?
— If “Karpaty” had beaten “Rukh” for the second time, I would name “Lupashka”, but now my choice is Rotan. “Oleksandriya” shares the first place with “Dynamo” and shows quite an attractive game.
— The best player of the UPL in October?
— Sudakov is the leader of “Shakhtar” and if I called the Donetsk team the best in October, then I recognize Heorhii as the best player.
— The best Ukrainian legionnaire of October?
— Dubik is currently performing inconsistently for “Roma”, so I will name Zabarnyi. Has Illia outgrown the level of “Bournemouth”? Not yet. To play in a top team, you need a bit more stability. I think he needs to spend at least another season in “Bournemouth”, that’s a decent team, and then we will see. Zabarnyi is a young guy and a good center-back. It’s not easy to break through in England and right now Illia is performing at an average level there.
— Prediction for the matches “Shakhtar” - “Young Boys” (Champions League) and “Dynamo” - “Ferencváros” (Europa League)?
— I called “Shakhtar” the best team of the month in UPL, so now they should prove it on the European stage. “Young Boys” is certainly stronger than most UPL teams, but I hope “Shakhtar” wins. If they draw and don’t score nine out of ten chances, it can still be considered a positive result. And I don’t want to think about a defeat at all.
The same applies to “Dynamo”. “Ferencváros” is a team of approximately the same level as the Kyivans. I want to see a victory already. Right now, “Dynamo” has only defeats and zero goals scored in the Europa League, and fans simply will not understand the players and club management if we do not win against “Ferencváros”, though it will not be easy.
— Your expectations from Ukraine's final matches in the Nations League against Georgia and Albania?
— I think the Georgians will want to rehabilitate themselves before their fans after the defeat in the first match and will play only for victory. Albania is also a tough opponent and we will need to rehabilitate ourselves in the match against them as well. A positive result for us would be if we take four points in these matches.
Andrii Piskun