The new head coach of Kryvbas, Patrick van Leeuwen — about Kryvyi Rih, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the infrastructure of his current club and the goals for the future.
Patrick van LeeuwenAbout Kryvyi Rih
— Of course, I know that this is the longest city in Ukraine. I was here in 2010 when I opened the Academy, working at another club, so I know the city well from those times when I started developing youth football.
Now I know that this city has strong and brave people. The club has devoted fans, true patriots, many of whom are currently defending Ukraine, so we have the opportunity to play, develop football, and simply live. We, as coaches and players, greatly appreciate this because we can do our job and bring joy to people even in these difficult times. Also, this is the city where the President of Ukraine is from. It seems that Volodymyr Zelensky is a big fan of the team.
About Kryvbas’s infrastructure
— As a coach, you always hope for good training fields, opportunities to develop players both on and off the field. And this is exactly what I saw when I was shown the infrastructure.
We need good training bases, opportunities for players to improve, rest, and prepare for important matches, and of course, achieve great success with the team. This is especially important for youth football since many kids play football and want to do it regularly.
About goals
— I want the team to play beautiful, attacking football. I believe that the Kryvbas squad has talented players whom we, together with the coaching staff, want to develop and achieve long-term success with the team.
