Former Dynamo striker and now well-known expert Viktor Leonenko analyzed the Nations League match between the Georgian national team and the national team of Ukraine (1:1).
Viktor Leonenko
— Viktor Yevhenovych, what are your impressions of the match?
— As I have said before: it’s time to close the football programs, because we can only analyze for three minutes. The TV could only be turned on in the 92nd minute when Nazarenko and Hutsulyak couldn’t shove the ball into the net. That’s it! There were no more moments for us. After the seventh minute, when we scored, we just sat in front of our own goal. The tactic of holding onto the score has never yielded results. The Georgians had 18 shots on goal, while we had seven. What is there to talk about?
We parked the bus by our goal from the seventh minute. And this is not against France, England, or Spain, but against Georgia. We can play against the Georgians, they are not stronger than us. We didn’t have a single game that we confidently won. Oh, there was one—against the Moldovan national team in a friendly (4:0).
To create a moment for us, we need to jump higher than our heads, and that’s saying something considering some idiots think we have a star team. The Georgians probably heard this too, because they said that all our footballers are known in Europe. But I didn’t see any footballers from us. Sabo didn’t guess as always that we would lose, but he was close to it. As a result, neither we nor the Georgians are satisfied with the result.
— Who is to blame for this situation that we cannot create moments?
— Everyone: both the footballers and the coaches! Perhaps Rebrov sees that they cannot play attacking football, but then there’s no need to keep telling the fans that we have a star team. Where are the stars if we have a problem with the attack? There are few stars among the defenders, and we have no Beckenbauers or Bezsonovs.
— Why do you think after the goal we started to play defensively instead of trying to build on our success?
— Probably the players themselves decided to play this way. They are already used to always playing defensively. But when you play defensively, there should be no moments for the other team.
— If the players decided for themselves, does that mean Rebrov is losing control of the team?
— Not at all. This is already psychological for the players; they are just used to playing defensively on the counterattack. That’s all. That’s why we have no moments. I already told Rebrov that he needs to think about how to create moments and sometimes take risks. He played in attack, but now he only thinks about defense. I don’t understand this.
Something doesn’t add up for us. They say it’s a star team, but we can’t create moments and play attacking football. What stars do you have?! This question should be posed in “What? Where? When?”. Let the experts think.
— Many fans in the comments are calling for Rebrov to resign. What’s your opinion on this?
— It’s not for me to decide. Let it be Andriy Shevchenko’s headache. The fans initially thought Rebrov would be a messiah for the national team, but unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. I think it’s unlikely they will remove him, because they’ll have to pay compensation. But that’s not for me to answer.
— Who would you name as the best player of the match against Georgia in the Ukrainian national team?
— I can point out two guys from “Polissya”—Hutsulyak and Nazarenko— both from a good and a bad perspective. It’s good they created a moment in the 90+2 minute, and the minus is—how could they not score? This is also a question for “What? Where? When?”. This match could be called: “What? Where? When?”. Let the experts think about how we create moments.
What should we do with such play in the elite division? We are the most inconvenient team, and in the worst sense of the phrase. We try to destroy, but we create nothing ourselves. There is no spectacle!
— What do you think about Mudrik? He scored in the first match against the Georgians, yesterday his cross turned into an own goal by Kvirkvelia.
— That’s not enough. He needs to not just play two matches at this level, but more. When there’s no result, everyone looks very bad. That Mishka ran 70 meters, crossed, and a Georgian player scored— that’s good, but it’s not enough. They write so much about Mudrik that he should single-handedly bring victories.
— Who would you name as the worst player of the match?
— All our leaders! Where is Sudakov? Where is our famous Shaparenko? Where is Dovbyk? Our leaders disappear in every match; they just don’t exist! Did anyone see our “Pichichi” in this match? The fans count on them, but we don’t see them on the field. Our leaders are only on paper; they make the bloggers and journalists write about them. That’s why we are failing. The so-called leaders do not help Rebrov at all.
— Why do you think Dovbyk is performing so poorly in the national team?
— This is simply his level. He can score for “Girona” and “Roma,” but not in another team—so he’s not a star. Ronaldo and Messi, for some reason, score everywhere, so they are stars.
— My opinion is that Zabarnyi is playing at a good level both in the national team and at the club. What’s your opinion about him?
— Undoubtedly, he’s good, but when there are no results, everything equalizes. Zabarnyi may look good, but when the national team doesn’t win, then everyone is equal.
— Were you surprised by anything in this match?
— It was unclear why Mykolenko didn’t make runs down the flank. Either the coach forbade him, or he was scared. He always used to run forward, but we didn’t notice that in yesterday’s match, although he was perfectly healthy. Perhaps Rebrov told him to close the zone and stay in defense on the left.
— Your expectations for the match against Albania?
— We need only a victory. But even if we win, it will only be by accident. We only legitimately defeated Moldova in a friendly match. Other than that, we benefit from red cards, bad penalties, and random flukes, etc.
— Will you risk giving a prediction for the match against Albania?
— I want us to win, at least 1:0. Maybe it will accidentally go in off a set piece, or Mishka will run 70 meters and hit someone in the leg. But even if we win, what should we do in the elite division? We are struggling against teams that are not stronger than us.
— Finally, say a few words to the players of the Ukrainian national team from the perspective of your experience?
— I’ll keep it simple. Guys, be braver and maybe everything will work out.
Andriy Piskun
