The famous Ukrainian coach Oleg Fedorchuk shared his vision of last month’s events in Ukrainian football.
Oleg Fedorchuk— The best team of May?
— Emotionally, I am for "Kolos". Their task to maintain their status in the UPL was completed earlier, yet they continued to show good football. Besides, "Kolos" had the toughest schedule among all the teams at the bottom of the table. Plus, I was surprised by the individual actions of several players, including Velentiy.
— The most disappointing team of May?
— I have two disappointments — "Karpaty" and "Vorskla". Against "Kolos", "Karpaty" had 60% possession, but in the end, they didn’t finish the game, losing 1:2. It was a crucial match for the Lviv team, and if they had won, they would have reached the European Cups.
"Vorskla" has experienced players and a coach, but the team has drifted away without will. If there are financial problems, they should do like "Ingulec". Take ambitious young players who can fight. It’s not a fact that it will work, but "Ingulec" left the UPL with their heads held high. If there are difficulties, then there’s no need to keep experienced and mature players who will be unmotivated. Youth can play for a while without money, because they need to shine. What’s the point for the likes of Sklyar and Perduta to shine? It’s incredibly difficult to force yourself to play when you have earned money your whole life, and now you’re playing for free. A good example is Seleznyov, Garmash, Milevskyy, who have gone down and faded away.
Will Zheva go lose interest in football? He has already lost it. How can he hide from justice if he spends millions on football? He should present himself as a victim, but a victim can’t splurge money. How will this look in a French court? A person asks for political asylum, saying he has lost everything, yet at the same time continues to fund a club in Ukraine. Remember Yaroslavskyi, Kolomoyskyi, Dyminskyi.
But I think Zheva won’t give "Vorskla" to anyone as a matter of principle. He has to show the fans: "You see, if it weren’t for the authorities, "Vorskla" would be fine." I’ll say more: I’m tormented by vague doubts about "Kudrivka". I’m afraid it may turn out like it did with "Arsenal" or "Poltava," who didn’t want to play in the UPL. In this case, there will be a replay between "Vorskla" and "Lviv".
— The best coach of May?
— In my opinion, this was the month of Kostiushyn, even though I’m not a fan of his creativity, which is mainly based on emotionality. He was always a fighting player, and is a similar coach. It worked out in "Kolos," but emotion works for a short period, and over a longer time span, it will be hard.
— The best player of May?
— Bondarenko stood out this month with 3+2, but "Shakhtar" played with outsiders who needed nothing. However, it should be noted that Bondarenko has improved, without a doubt. Tsara and Chachua, who is the leader of "Karpaty," looked very good, but I will name Tverdokhlib. After his injury, at a club where not everything is going well and everyone knew the coach was leaving, he showed a high result.
— The best Ukrainian legionnaire of May?
— I traditionally give my vote to Zabarniy. He is always stable, maxing out at a four minus. Mykolenko is too emotional and because of that he sometimes plays recklessly, plus injuries plague him. He doesn’t have the same level as Zabarniy. Besides, "Everton" is constantly wobbling.
Since the USSR times, none of our players has managed to establish themselves in England like Zabarniy and Mykolenko: neither Mykhailychenko, nor Kuznetsov, nor Rebrov, nor Shevchenko, nor Voronin. And they’re doing well, maintaining their level.
The game of Zabarniy, Mykolenko, and Mudryk has increased interest in our footballers. I think we will soon see Vanat in one of the English teams. The EPL suits him in terms of intensity. Vlad is strong, well-built, aggressive. The one place he shouldn’t go is Portugal or Spain; in those leagues, you need to be a more technical footballer.
— How do you evaluate the last season in the UPL, what did you like and what not?
— I expected worse. I liked that Ukrainian footballers are taking leading roles in almost all clubs. The only "spoon of tar" is that four representatives of the UPL flew to the First League for the first time in history. This indicates that our championship is leveling out due to the middle teams catching up. This is a result of the fact that we currently have relatively few legionnaires playing, and the foreign players who are here are of low quality.
Andrii Piskun
