The midfielder of "Karpaty" Oleh Ocheretko recalled last year’s Olympics and told whether the Ukrainian national team could have performed better there.
Oleh Ocheretko— Last summer you participated in a historic event — you played for the Ukrainian Olympic football team at the OI-2024. What impressed you the most at that tournament? Not just from a football perspective, but possibly from a non-football perspective?
— Speaking of non-football things, the fans impressed me. There were quite a lot of them, both from our country and from other countries.
— Especially from Morocco.
— Yes, that’s true. But to say that something impressed me to a wow effect, that wasn’t the case.
— You played against Argentina, which had Nicolás Otamendi and Julián Álvarez in its squad. How difficult was it to oppose them?
— I want to say that it was difficult even against Morocco. Every match there is like the last game of your life. You feel the atmosphere of the game, in which everyone gives their all at 100%. It is hard for everyone because the ball is taken away from underneath your feet so you don’t score. Such dedication played a leading role in that tournament.
— Looking back, could our team have played better at the Olympics?
— Of course, if we could turn back time knowing our mistakes, we could have done everything differently. And we could have played better, but that cannot be done. In general, it was a very good experience.
