The former head coach of «Chornomorets», Semen Altman shared his expectations ahead of the match of the fifth round of the Nations League between the national teams of Georgia and Ukraine.
— Semen Yosypovych, the question is straightforward — considering all the pre-match arrangements, namely the absence of Tsygankov in the national team, the uncertainty about whether Dovbyk will play or not, and the psychological pressure on Rebrov and his players. Is it possible for our national team to defeat Georgia?
— I have experience working with the national team (Altman was part of Oleg Blokhin's coaching staff, — note. V. H.) and I will start with this: for the main team of the country, every match is decisive. The objective in every official game is to win. That is, firstly.
Secondly: the Nations League is a tournament where groups are formed not by blind draw, but by the ranking of national teams. There is League A, where the strongest teams in Europe are gathered, there is League B, C, D. So when I hear the question of whether Ukraine is capable of defeating Georgia, it sounds a bit strange. Of course, they are capable.
Regarding the absence of Tsygankov in the squad, yes, it is clear that this is a significant loss. He is a key player for both Girona and our national team. However, injuries are unfortunately an integral part of football. Moreover, the information about Viktor's injury was known in advance; Rebrov was likely prepared that Viktor would not come to the camp. He was preparing and has players to replace the winger of «Girona». As for Dovbyk's situation, let us wait for the doctors' verdict.
— Recently, the process of rejuvenating the national team has begun. For the second time, Andriy Yarmolenko and Serhiy Sydorchuk have not been called up. Taras Stepanenko is only on the reserve list. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Yegor Yarmolyuk from Brentford and 23-year-old Oleksiy Sych from Rukh have the chance to prove themselves. Are the guys going to shy away?
— I would not call this rejuvenation; rather, it is a forced measure. You know, players should not be called up for past merits. There must be development, evolution, rotation.
Work in the national team and club work are very different. I am sure Rebrov and his coaching staff have all the necessary information; they monitor players and call up truly the best at the moment.
Journalists love to speculate: why call up, for example, Yaremchuk when he has no practice? Or Vanat, because his level seems to be not so great. It is not our place to instruct Rebrov on whom to call up. He is the head coach; he is responsible for the results.
— But as we can see, there are no results. One victory in four matches; forgive me, but this is not what the fans expected.
— I tend to approach the evaluation of results analytically, not whimsically. You know, everyone considers themselves a strategist when watching a fight from the sidelines, as Shota Rustaveli wrote. The leadership of UAF must first of all decide whether the results are satisfactory or not and evaluate Rebrov and his staff's work.
— Will you try to predict the final result of the match in Batumi?
— No. I really do not like doing that, which is why my surname does not often appear in the press (laughs). I will cheer for our team. The chances before the game are always 50/50, I believe. As for the prediction — that is for the analysts.
Viktor Glukhensky