The former forward of "Dynamo" and the Ukrainian national team Viktor Leonenko commented on the defeat of the Ukrainian youth team against Denmark in the opening match of Euro-2025.
Viktor Leonenko— The first half was equal, Ukraine even looked better. But for some reason, in the second half, our team stopped, while the Danes continued to play at their level. The game was a draw, but we somehow managed to lose. Denmark unexpectedly even won.
I understood that the players are not physically prepared, or maybe someone thought that we had already defeated everyone. After all, we always consider ourselves favorites. It’s like England used to be: always considered a favorite, but unexpectedly got eliminated.
I am surprised why our youth is not physically prepared. It’s good that Biba and Bessonov do not hear this. But when I was 21, I could play four games in a row!
— Why did Melhos release many Dynamo substitutes in the starting lineup — Rubchynskyi, Voloshyn, Bragara, Vivcharenko, but left the APL player Yarmolyuk on the bench? Is it really due to the injury he received quite a while ago?
— The conclusion is that Melhos simply knows the Dynamo players, while Yarmolyuk is somewhere far away, and he does not know his current abilities.
— The senior national team sent Vanat, Brazhko, and Yarmolyuk to the youth team, but they could not make a result. Why?
— These are such stars that appointed themselves. Our best scorer in the championship, Vanat, is needed by no one, only they write that everyone is interested in him. It feels like all APL clubs are waiting for Vanat. He is already our second best scorer who is not needed by anyone. The first was Kulach. Does anyone remember him?
So we shouldn’t be surprised that Vanat and Brazhko play poorly even at the youth level. They only write that they are cool, but in reality, they are not. I’m curious how much Vanat will cost after the game with Denmark?
— What do you expect from the matches with Finland and the Netherlands? Do you believe that our team will get out of the group?
— Finland? We will play again with hockey players, or rather — with bankers. They should be defeated, otherwise it will be really sad. We have chances to get out of the group, but after the match with Denmark, we made our lives harder.
— The press is now filled with talks that Melhos could potentially replace Rebrov as the head coach of the Ukrainian national team. What do you think of such a possibility?
— We have once again called Spaniards to save football, while our coaches — European champions, Kalytvyntsev and Moroz, are not needed by anyone. The Spaniards have no results! Therefore, I am not surprised that we will be giving away points at Euro. What are the Spaniards doing in the national team when we have coaches who won the European Championship?
I already read the "throws" that Shevchenko might lead the Polish national team. In this case, I will congratulate Lewandowski to finish sooner.
— Which youth team do you think is stronger — this one or the vice-champions of Europe-2006?
— Of course, the one from 2006. Milevskiy and Aliyev became football players, while the current team has proven nothing yet. The guys scored in the Champions League, while Vanat so far only scores in our championship. I am even sure that Kalytvyntsev and Moroz had a stronger team than today.
Current footballers just play in the starting lineup of their clubs, but at the same time show no results. And the weak championship is not to blame, as many say. If you are a strong player, then you don’t care about the level of the championship; you will always show a high level. We are eternally accustomed to making allowances for the youth, that they are unstable and need time. This is wrong.
Andriy Piskun
