Famous Ukrainian coach and expert Alexander Sevidov summarized the results of the first half of the Ukrainian championship of the current season, where teams played 17 rounds before going into winter break.
Alexander Sevidov— How do you assess the autumn part of the Ukrainian championship that has passed?
— We can divide our Ukrainian football into two parts: performance in the domestic championship and on the international stage.
Let’s take the Donetsk “Shakhtar” as an example, still the current champion. While they play more or less on the domestic scene, except for their recent defeat in Zhytomyr, this cannot be called a disastrous performance. There is still a result. Plus, the game, or rather one half against “Kryvbas,” where they are leading with a score of 1:0. But in the Champions League matches — it’s a complete failure. They took a point from “Bologna,” not the strongest opponent, and they beat “Young Boys,” which has now turned into a weak mid-table team. After these two matches, the other four — were catastrophic. The saddest thing is that there is no game.
As for the championship, there are no big surprises. Those who should fight for the top places are indeed fighting: “Dynamo,” “Shakhtar,” “Kryvbas,” “Oleksandriya,” and “Polissya.” In the lower part of the standings, everything seems to be logical as well.
— But if “Shakhtar” scored four points in the Champions League, having scored five goals in six matches, then “Dynamo” has zero points and one goal in the Europa League.
— Yes, here everything is the opposite. “Dynamo” is leading by a wide margin in the championship, but not having scored any points in the Europa League so far — is an unpleasant picture. Maybe we will see the first points for Ukrainian football with the Rīgas RFŠ match. It should be noted that the Europa League is a competition of a lower status compared to the Champions League.
Also add the early exits of other Ukrainian clubs “Kryvbas” and “Polissya” at the initial stages — this speaks to the “strength” of our football. Here’s a measure — a negative result. We have reached the point that Cyprus outpaces us in the UEFA table. And at the same time to say that our football is developing — is absurd. The European Cup matches showed everything, specifically how we are developing.
— An interesting comparison can be made. “Polissya” beat “Shakhtar” twice this championship. But the same “Polissya” loses to “Dynamo,” who easily take three points as if in a training session. What is this?
— This is the unstable play of the Zhytomyr team. Although, according to rumors, they have a budget almost like that of “Dynamo.” With such ambitions, funding, and player selection, they should be at least in second place, not fifth. For example, “Oleksandriya” has passed this autumn segment of the championship steadily. But “Polissya” has played with failures. It reached the point where they could not win for eight rounds in a row.
— Can we already congratulate “Dynamo” on the approaching championship if we look at how poorly “Shakhtar” is playing? The gap of seven or ten points is quite impressive.
— I think it’s too early to talk about that. We do not know what will happen in spring and in what condition “Dynamo” will stand. Yes, the gap is solid, but the Kyiv team does not look like a team that has a margin of safety in the game. Take the last match against “Veres,” where the dynamists struggled on the field, and the Rivne team had three serious chances to spoil the festive mood of the hosts. In this game, “Dynamo” could have lost precious points.
— The national team’s head coach Sergey Rebrov said in a recent interview about the level of the championship: “It’s not entirely appropriate to look at the intensity of the game. But the championship is at a good level. It’s interesting to watch.” Do you agree with his opinion?
— I will repeat once again: our football is not developing. If a year ago we said that legionnaires would not come to us, now it is the opposite — they are coming. At least some are coming. Almost all legionnaires in our teams are in leading roles. Both in “Kryvbas” and in LNZ.
There is also this trait when they invite a foreign specialist, they so hype it up, give such advertising that you wouldn’t know where to take him. But in reality, they have achieved nothing, have not worked anywhere. And, unfortunately, there are such coaches in Ukrainian teams. And then, not waiting for the end of the championship, they are hastily dismissed. And many commentators on live broadcasts tell us how our championship has grown, what a struggle on the field, it’s interesting to watch, and so on.
Then we see our teams in the European cups, and it feels like they are not even on the field, they dissolve against strong opponents, and it all turns into a pathetic spectacle.
But if we return to our championship, I have not seen anything supernatural. Many teams at the top of the standings are playing very unstably. Take the same “Polissya,” which beat “Shakhtar” twice but loses points where they should not.
“Oleksandriya” looks good, and it’s gratifying that Rotan has reconsidered his views on Ukrainian football. If in the last championship it was one football, now he has managed to use the strengths of his players. No more possession and fuss with the ball near their own goal, where they made many mistakes and conceded. Now the team is consistently good, trying to play vertical football, delivering the ball to the opponent’s penalty area faster. Therefore, they rightfully occupy the second place.
— Which team surprised you the most in the UPL?
— The biggest disappointment, not just in results, but in gameplay — is “Shakhtar.” I don’t know if President Pushich will keep him after such an unsuccessful autumn segment, but everyone obviously sees it — a coaching change is needed. Even such praised “stars” like Sudakov have dissolved into a gray, expressionless mass. What 150 million, where is Sudakov? I can only highlight two in the team — Riznyk and Konoplya. And the rest have not developed. Where are the recruited Brazilians that could be highlighted by their gameplay? After all, “Shakhtar” has always been distinguished by its transfer policy, inviting quality legionnaires. This is no longer the case.
— “Rukh” is quite a strong team. They took points from the leaders of the championship: “Dynamo,” “Shakhtar,” “Oleksandriya,” “Kryvbas.” What does this say?
— “Rukh” is appealing because it has local graduates playing in its lineup. If last championship we could talk about the development of footballers, then this one has slowed down a bit. Fast, enthusiastic players with a great desire and dedication, but there is no such bright football as we saw in the 2023/24 season. They took points from the leaders but lost to teams that are lower in the standings. For example, who could have predicted that the Lviv team would lose at home in the last round to “Obolon” 1:3? Among the players, no one can be highlighted as having made a strong impression. The team can note that Syach began to be called up to the national team.
— Who can you highlight among the players in this segment of the championship?
— At first, Mikhavko shone, but then he significantly declined. The reasons are either injuries, somewhere a suspension, a series of unfortunate ricochets, when he scored own goals in almost every game.
Kaluzhny played one game for the national team — let’s carry him on our hands already. We need to wait; after all, he is not a young guy.
There was hope for Brazhko, but lately, he has not been seen on the field. The strength of the footballers is revealed in European cups, but our affairs there are poor. For example — Vanat. Well, he scored 10 goals, a couple to “Inhulets,” “Veres,” but is this a measure in a weak championship where the defense allows you to do whatever you want? But in the Europa League matches, Vanat is not seen at all, and it seems that “Dynamo” is playing without a striker. He is a player dependent on partners, who cannot create a moment by himself.
When you watch the Ukrainian championship during the day and the Italian or Spanish championship in the evening, the difference is huge. There, 18-19-year-old players are in leading roles in their clubs. And where are our footballers?
— In one of the interviews, you lamented that such a quality player as Hutsulyak would not be taken to the national team. Some time has passed, and the national team coach Rebrov seems to have heard you.
— Taking such a player when the national team has many injured and there is an opportunity to refresh the game — Rebrov acted absolutely correctly here. I think he did not make a mistake, being pleased with such an acquisition. And Hutsulyak proves with his play, especially in the club, that his call-up was not in vain. For a midfielder to score 9 goals in 16 games is an excellent indicator.
— Who else can you recommend to Rebrov to pay attention to?
— I would recommend Didyk from “Rukh.” A central midfielder who can also play as a defender. He has football intuition — where to move, where to engage in a tackle. He knows how to play one-on-one, with subsequent ball recovery, which is valued in football now. In general, a promising player for the national team.
Sergey Shebek
