According to media reports, Yuriy Moroz has become the chief methodologist of the Dynamo Kyiv Academy.
Yuriy MorozYuriy Leontiyovych is a good youth coach. One of the best in Ukraine. He works a lot and successfully in youth football, both at the club and national team levels.
In the 2016/17 season with Dynamo, he made a splash in the UEFA Youth League, winning 5 out of six matches (one draw). Among the opponents were Benfica, Napoli, and Beşiktaş. In the knockout stage, Dynamo had no chance against Ajax — 0:3.
Almost all the players from that generation are active. Volodymyr Makhanov plays for Kryvbas, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Denys Popov, Vlad Dubinchak, Mykola Shaparenko — for Dynamo. Vitaliy Mykolenko is in Everton. Bohdan Lednev and Bohdan Mykhailichenko are in Polissia. Yevhen Smirny and Serhiy Buletsa are in Oleksandriya. Denys Yanakov defends the colors of Epitsentr. Nazariy Rusyn has a contract with Sunderland, but on loan plays for Arka Gdynia. Gio Tsitaishvili is in Metz.
At the national team level, he worked with players born in 2005−2008. In 2007, he qualified them for the Euro. He assisted Oleg Kuznetsov with the 2005 group. Started at the U-17 level with 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Despite three victories in the DYFL last season, the Dynamo Academy has problems. There are not many prospective players from 2007 births onward. Now there is a staffing shortage even at the U-19 level. Many children ended up abroad. Parents are more oriented towards going abroad than staying in Ukraine. European clubs have the opportunity to sign Ukrainian footballers for free. Many young players from Dynamo, starting with the 2007 birth cohort, have ended up in Europe — Anton Martynyuk (PSV), Andriy Lysitsky (Fiorentina), Artem Muradyan (Borussia M), Oleksandr Petrenko (Slavia), Dmytro Bohdanov (Union), Dmytro Varyvoda (Genoa), Oleksandr Dragan (Venice), Mykola Petrovskyi (Stuttgart) and many others.
Collecting the «cream» of talents is no longer feasible because the priority for many is abroad. Plus, the competition for Ukrainian players has increased. Karpaty, Rukh, LNZ, Shakhtar, Polissia have been revived. It’s necessary to learn to develop the existing players year by year, not solve issues with recruitment.
Of course, Yuriy Moroz will help the Dynamo Academy with his experience, skills, and abilities. But in my opinion, the main problem is that Yuriy Leontiyovych comes from the Dynamo system. It’s unlikely that his vision will differ from the methods currently used in Nyvky. The Dynamo school must improve its work with its current players, as relying on recruitment will be difficult. A new perspective on the problems of the Dynamo Academy is very important.
Serhiy TYSHCHENKO
