Oleg Fedorchuk: «Both Krupskyi and Sych fit the playing model of Dynamo»

The well-known Ukrainian coach, and currently an authoritative expert Oleg Fedorchuk shared his thoughts on defenders Ilya Krupskyi (“Vorskla”) and Oleksiy Sych, who this winter the media called potential candidates to strengthen Kyiv’s “Dynamo”.

— Let’s start our conversation by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Krupskyi and Sych. What can Ilya and Oleksiy boast about and what do they still need to work on?

— The strongest aspect of Krupskyi is his age. He is only 20, almost a youth, and he is already a nearly formed, quality defender. Another advantage of Ilya is that he plays equally well with both feet. A universal player. He also has quality dribbling. In some ways, Krupskyi is similar to Karavaev, even a bit more promising.

As for weaknesses, Krupskyi has flaws in tackle, in duels in general, and he is not very tall (180 cm). Moreover, as I prepared for our conversation, I analyzed Ilya's matches for “Vorskla” in the current season, and he has one major, major problem: he failed all matches against grand teams, against the leaders of the UPL. The highest ratings for his play were against “Inhulets”, “Chornomorets” and the rest of the outsiders. He failed the game against “Dynamo” (1:3) in the fourth round of the UPL.

As for Sych, his pluses include considerable experience; despite his age (23 years), he has already managed to play abroad (for the Belgian “Kortrijk”, — ed.). That’s the first point. Secondly, for me, he is strong mentally and physically. And if you compare him with Krupskyi, Sych does not fail in matches against strong teams. Functionally, it is also evident that everything is fine with the guy. Additionally, he can play not only on the right but also in the center. This means he is an excellent fit for a scheme with three central defenders, and Shovkovskyi is specifically restructuring “Dynamo” to such a playing model.

And the only downside of Sych is that he is “one-footed”. He plays poorly with his left foot. But this is not a big problem. For example, Messi needs his left foot only for a balanced stride, and he almost does not use it in play. (Smiling).

— Are Krupskyi and Sych ready to perform for a grand club? Will they not burn out, will they cope psychologically? I wouldn’t want to draw parallels, but we’ve already had a “new Shevchenko” Vlad Supryaga, for whom the white-and-blue paid 6.5 million euros at the time. And what has he turned into now?

— To answer the question briefly, no. Both players are not yet performers of the caliber of such clubs as “Dynamo”. Hypothetically speaking, if “Dynamo” were to sign either Krupskyi or Sych today, I am somehow confident that they would sit deeply on the bench.

The promotion methods of Krupskyi and Sych, the inflation of prices around them, are similar to those when Supryaga was promoted. Almost identical. When Supryaga transferred to “Dynamo” (August 2018, — ed.), I was working in the Second League (I headed “Enerhiya” from Nova Kakhovka, — ed.) and we played against “Dnipro-1”. I remember that at the press conference I was asked about Supryaga. At that time, I said it would be better to pay attention to the striker from the second team, and it was Dovbyk. Then everyone probably thought that I know nothing about football.

I was very skeptical about Supryaga. He has weak game thinking. A glaring mistake by “Dynamo”. I don’t understand how it was possible to buy Supryaga for such money without really following the player. “Milan” “watched” Shevchenko for two seasons and only then bought him from “Dynamo”.

— Besides “Dynamo”, both “Shakhtar” and “Metalist 1925” are also hunting for Krupskyi. Both clubs seem ready to even pay the release clause of “Vorskla” of 3 million euros.

It would seem that the choice for the player is obvious — to accept the offer from the “miners”, because performances in the First League seem to me like a step back. However, at “Shakhtar”, Ilya might get stuck “on the bench”. Moreover, Marino Pushich mainly bets on legionnaires.

— Everything depends on Krupskyi’s internal self-assessment. If he is confident in himself, in his abilities, then he does not need to go to “Metalist 1925”. But for Ilya, the most important thing is to move to a club where he will have the prospect of growth, meaning full-fledged playing practice.

Krupskyi should take an example from Tsygankov or Dovbyk. Vitya and Artem moved to a little-known Spanish club, but from the start, they played there regularly. Right now “Girona” is competing in the Champions League, while three seasons ago, not every fan in Ukraine even knew that such a club existed.

As for the Donetsk team, I repeat, Krupskyi is not yet ready for a team of “Shakhtar” level. Can he replace Konoplya in the starting lineup? No.

— If you had to choose between Krupskyi and Sych, and “Dynamo” is unlikely to buy both, who would you prefer, whom would you advise to Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, so to speak?

— This is a very complex question. I’ll say like this: both players are still not ready to play for teams of “Dynamo” level. However, if we look at their opponents or colleagues from other UPL clubs, then Sych and Krupskyi are undoubtedly the most promising right backs in Ukraine today.

And still, whoever “Dynamo” acquires from these two players, it will look like buying a good, quality winter item in the summer period. That is, it is not timely to strengthen the right back position right now, as I see it, for Shovkovskyi. There are more pressing issues.

Perhaps, there is an economic calculation in place.... “Rukh” is ceasing to exist and is having a sale of those players who won’t go to “Karpaty”, and as I heard, not everyone wants to go there. So taking a promising player (Sych) at a reasonable price would be a wise decision.

But still... Just think for yourself, Krupskyi is playing normally, regularly in the starting lineup at a high level, for a season, a year at best. Sych — a year and a half. This is very little to make global conclusions about players, analyzing for potential. There is not enough information. I can draw a historical parallel...

— Please.

— I remember how once “Shakhtar” bought Shevchuk (in 2000 from Zaporozhye “Metallurg”, — ed.) and he sat for a long time on the bench and ultimately went to Donetsk “Metallurg”. And there was Vyacheslav just back then, young and promising, but “unseasoned”.

And there are quite a few such examples. Petryak, Sobol, Selin. For Yevhen, “Dynamo” laid out two million to “Vorskla”, but he did not live up to expectations. Right now he is playing in the Second League (YUKSA). There have been many defenders in Ukraine — both right and left, who unfortunately did not fully reveal themselves. Over the last ten years, if we don’t take into account the current wartime period, almost always the lateral defenders of “Dynamo” and “Shakhtar” were legionnaires.

— So what problem do you see with this position?

— The shortage of “wing-backs” in Ukraine is because a quality left or right defender today must not only work defensively but also be integrated into the team’s overall tactics. It’s not just about performing on the flank. A good lateral back must be a player with high intelligence.

And here the problem is deep, actually. A few years ago, how did Ukraine select boys for the position of defender or defensive midfielder? If a boy is tall and plays well with his head — he becomes a defensive midfielder. If he has good speed and is enduring — he will play as a winger. Now there are too few such criteria. And those converted from midfield at a late age are not taught to actually be defenders — hence it turns out that they still work for attack, but do not meet modern requirements for a flanking defender. They do not know how to competently close zones, act cleanly in tackles, and combine work with the ball with work without the ball.

In summary: Krupskyi is more suited for the combinational game of “Shakhtar”, Sych is more fitting for the style of Dynamo. He is more reliable. Therefore, if choosing, I would advise Shovkovskyi to give preference to the representative.

— Currently, the right-back position in “Dynamo” is mainly occupied by Oleksandr Tymchyk or Oleksandr Karavaev. Will the potential newcomers (newcomer) withstand the competition with the already experienced white-blue team?

— Tymchyk and Karavaev are definitely stronger than Krupskyi and Sych at this point. By all metrics.

— Finally, let’s go through the skills of Krupskyi and Sych, rating them from one to ten points. And let’s start with potential.

— I will give Krupskyi an eight. Rarely does a defender of 20 years demonstrate such a level of play as Oleksiy. He is stable.

Sych — a seven.

— How about speed qualities?

— Krupskyi — an eight. He can still improve in this component. Sych also gets an eight. He is quite a fast defender.

— Play with the right and left foot.

— Let's start with Krupskyi. Right foot play — nine. Not ten, because he hasn’t scored goals. Only for that reason. Left foot — a seven.

Sych: right — a nine. Left — a four. He almost never plays with it.

— Level of play on set pieces, i.e., with the head.

— Krupskyi — five points. Sych — six.

— Technique and dribbling.

— Technique for Krupskyi is an eight. He is careful, with little error in his actions. As for dribbling, also an eight. And that is a very high rating for a defensive player. He chooses positions wisely. A tactically flexible performer.

Sych — a seven. His dribbling is not very strong, but he can deliver a quality long pass. He can shoot decently.

— Versatility.

— For Krupskyi — a nine, as he plays equally well with both right and left feet.

Sych — a classic defender. I will give him a seven in this component. How can he be utilized in different positions if his working foot is only the right?

— Physical strength and power.

— I will give Illya a seven in this component, and to Oleksiy — a nine, as he has better measurements.

— Sporting aggression.

— I rate this skill of Krupskyi the lowest — six. Why? Few decisive passes, does not take the initiative in the decisive phases of Vorskla’s attack.

Sych — a careful defender who hardly ever gets cards. This is good, but sometimes a defender needs to be tough. In a good way. Aggression is quite low. Rating — seven points.

Viktor Glukhensky