One of the new coaches of Zhytomyr’s Polissia, Sergiy Kravchenko, shared his thoughts on the potential of Kyiv Dynamo midfielder Mykola Mykhailyenko, who played on loan for Oleksandriia last season.
Mykola Mykhailyenko. Photo—O. Popov“Mykhailyenko’s progress does not surprise me at all. I first encountered him at Chornomorets when I was still playing, and many players were loaned to Dynamo under Yuriy Moroz. I remember that the main bet was on Biloshestskyi and Vanat. Vladyslav revealed himself, and injuries hinder Bogdan, but he is also a good player.
And Mykhailyenko was in the style of “we gave him a chance, and we’ll see what happens.” In the end, he played best at Chornomorets. I like his attitude towards football and training. He was not a star, but Mykhailyenko’s progress, considering his starting point, is for me the biggest success.
When we came to Oleksandriia and Petrovich (Ruslan Rotan, then the head coach of Oleksandriia—editor’s note) asked about him, I replied that Mykhailyenko would definitely help us. In the first months he faced difficulties. Perhaps he was too upset, but through his continued work he proved everything to everyone and reached a high level. He scored against Shakhtar, became more confident and began to play exactly as we wanted. And in the next season he was probably our best player.
He deserves this chance at Dynamo. Also, few believed that Mykhailyenko would play there. And look at what is happening—he is a starter in the spring and received a call-up to the national team.
Again, I repeat: hard work, perseverance, character, professionalism. To what this all leads. The interview will come out, the youth will read it—and here are how many examples we have mentioned in the conversation. I have seen them with my own eyes. But I have also seen the opposite examples, when there was talent, but it lacked the listed things. Only hard work, only training, and only an attitude towards football make you a good player,” Kravchenko quotes “Tribuna”.
