Oleksandr Sopko: «So far, Shovkovskyi is on a good course»

Famous football expert Oleksandr Sopko shared his vision of Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s work as the head coach of Kyiv’s Dynamo.

Oleksandr Sopko. Photo — V. Perehniak

— In the Ukrainian championship, I have noted the growth and work of Oleksandr Shovkovskyi and Ruslan Rotan. I will highlight Shovkovskyi because in the UPL his team plays practically without mistakes and leads by a sufficient margin. Especially given that he has little coaching experience, and he is, conditionally, working from scratch. His work as an assistant gave him something, but it did not make Shovkovskyi a coach. A trainer is shaped by his own victories, defeats, and titles. Only then can we talk about how well the coach has realized himself.

So far, Shovkovskyi is on a good course in this regard. We set aside the European Cups — that is a separate conversation. Shovkovskyi has managed, with such a squad and a few acquisitions, to make the team’s game effective and more active. And at the beginning of the championship, it is also spectacular.

The measure of coaching mastery is the game in European cups, so it is hard for me to say how ready our coaches are for work abroad. Except for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, they are not in demand. I do not consider these trips a great success. Unfortunately, there are no such coaches from our country who have worked successfully abroad, and this is still an indicator — both recognition and mastery, — emphasized Sopko.

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