Former goalkeeper of Kyiv’s Dynamo, and now coach Vladimir Tsytkin talked about what he expects from the friendly matches of the Ukrainian national team against Canada (June 7) and New Zealand (June 10).
Vladimir Tsytkin— First of all, I will follow Mykola Shaparenko, Ivan Kaluzhny, Yevhen Cheberko, whom I had to coach at the junior level. Of course, their progress is encouraging. It’s a pity that another former ward of mine, Vladyslav Dubinchak, could not fly to Canada at the last moment due to injury.
— In your opinion, considering various circumstances, did the head coach Serhiy Rebrov call up all the strongest players?
— In my opinion, the squad is practically optimal. Of course, it will be interesting to see how newcomers Mykola Mykhailenko from Dynamo and Oleksandr Martyniuk from Oleksandriya perform.
You know, if it were up to me, I would also have called up Yegor Tverdokhleb from Kryvbas, who can play effectively both as a striker and in the “number ten” position. But that was Rebrov’s choice; I am not aware of what hopes he has for the tournament in Toronto.
— In your opinion, will the result take priority?
— I think not, because this is a selection gathering, not all leading players are present, so Rebrov will want to see, first of all, the debutants and those players who haven’t had enough playing time before.
It is important to have comprehensive information about each ward, to know who can be relied upon in the autumn qualifiers for the world championship. Because then there will be no room for error.
It should be taken into account that Canadians and New Zealanders are not ordinary opponents; they have their own style. Game practice with such rivals is very valuable and will definitely come in handy.
Andriy Pisarenko
