Head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine (players not older than 2009) Oleksandr Sytnyk summed up the training camp that took place in Finland.
Oleksandr Sytnyk (photo: uaf.ua)— Mr. Oleksandr, what would you say about the recent training camp?
— For the coaching staff, it was good and, importantly, informative. We wanted to get to know the players who compete abroad better. We did not achieve the desired results, but we understood that this was not our optimal lineup; we had almost 80% new players. For the boys, this was their first experience. We wanted to see if the players understand what the coaches want to see from them. And I can say that with each game, the team looked better and better. Naturally, in the last match against Hungary, the boys executed a lot correctly.
— What do you think of the opponents at the UEFA Development Tournament?
— All the teams were of good quality, more or less of the same level. I wouldn’t say that Greece or Finland defeated us in terms of play, as we mostly had individual errors from the players, for which the opponents capitalized.
Especially the Hungarians and Finns had enough camps and matches, so they were more experienced. We saw what we still need to work on.
— How can you explain the first two losses in this tournament?
— In many moments, it was evident that the players arrived in different functional states, and most of the boys did not know each other at all. Moreover, before the tournament, we had only one full training session. Therefore, it was difficult to showcase all our best qualities. But again, as the tournament progressed, the team improved. It was clear that it was not a complete picture for the coaching staff, but progress was evident.
— Were the boys very upset to finish in third place?
— Whenever you do something, you want to achieve the best result. The players who came for the first time were eager to prove themselves. Despite this, we told the players that at this stage, it is important for the coaches to see their understanding of the game and effort. Therefore, we emphasized that they should not be too upset after a negative result but should continue to work, as there are much more important and challenging starts ahead.
— Will many players from this squad get a call-up for the next training camp?
— It’s too early to say, as someone may improve, and someone – on the contrary. At this age, it’s not always possible to demonstrate stability over a long period. The same boys from Ukrainian clubs were for the first time at such a tournament, where the speed of decision-making increases, so it was essential to see how they can adapt to such a level.
We practically lost in anthropometry to all teams, so we had to take some other qualities. We saw that many of our players have a lot to work on. No one is writing off these players. We continue to monitor the candidates for the national team, but those who will look stronger at the right moment will be called up.
