One of the coaches of Kryvyi Rih’s “Kryvbas”, Vitaliy Vernydub shared his thoughts on the strongest defenders in Ukrainian football.
Vitaliy Vernydub. Photo — fckryvbas.com— Among Ukrainian defenders, who started attacks best?
— Rakitskiy was the strongest in this aspect. And his play in defense was one of the best in the history of Ukraine. Rakitskiy and Khacheridi are generally among the strongest defenders in Ukraine. Though there were many strong defenders: both Holovko and Popov.
— In 2014 you were called up to the national team, you played a friendly match against Lithuania (0:0). Could you compete with Khacheridi?
— Zhenya is a very high-level player. He played at the top level in European championships and in the Champions League. My call-up was probably more of a bonus. It was very hard to compete.
I saw Khacheridi in the training process — the highest level. Without weaknesses. Only maybe playing with the ball. But Zhenya compensated for this with toughness and tenacity. Competing was almost impossible.
— Do you like it when the national team plays with three central defenders now?
— There were matches against top opponents like that. They wanted to close space more. Sanya Svatok used to play as the third central defender, he always looked dignified. And the team overall.
— And did Maksym Talovyerov play well as the third central defender?
— He didn’t have that many matches. Hard to evaluate. It’s great that he is playing now in the Championship, showing himself well, not leaving the front pages of the newspapers. One doesn’t just get into such a strong tournament.
— Would you and your father, Yuriy Mykolaiovych, make a good pair of central defenders? You would cover up top, your father would cover below?
— We sometimes joke about this. But I think we are from different eras of football.
A lot has changed now, the significance of central defenders, even their value has noticeably increased. There are different requirements for starting an attack and for the defense itself.
If earlier there were questions about a defender's technique and speed, he could compensate with physical skills. But now everything has to meet standards.
Anton Terekhov
