Former player of Donetsk Shakhtar Oleksandr Sopko shared his thoughts about the coach of LNZ Vitaliy Ponomaryov.
— We see LNZ’s results with Ponomaryov now, this season, for the first time in history, in one round of the national championship, both Shakhtar and Dynamo have been defeated, and prior to that, there was also a victory over Polissya. We saw last season the results of Rukh under Vitaliy Yuriyovych’s guidance, his team was practically in contention for the European competition zone until the end. In your opinion, is there some coincidence, a fortunate combination of circumstances, or is there already some pattern? And what made this success of Vitaliy Ponomaryov’s teams possible?
— I think such success is no accident, it indicates that a quite qualified, quality coach has emerged in our football. I am very pleased that he has a classic coaching career. Starting from the lower career steps, he has entered big, adult, professional football. And he achieved all this through his work, his love for football, his creative approach to this profession, constant self-education and development.
I first met him about 8 years ago when he had just ended his referee career and had to leave this profession due to health reasons. We all understand that former referees want to stay in the refereeing theme, trying to go into inspectors, delegates, head some refereeing organizations because referees can provide themselves with a decent life even after an active refereeing career. But Ponomaryov took a different path. He did not work in this direction but, on the contrary, started from the very bottom, with children’s football.
And so, our first acquaintance happened 8 years ago. The U-16 team he headed came to Kyiv for the DYFL winter cup final. Then he brought 16-year-old boys, and in the final, they played decently against Kyiv’s Dynamo. Despite the loss, they showed very good, nice football. Back then, we took an interview from him for the DYFL. And what struck me then, even surprised me a little, was his extraordinary modesty and poise, which is not always characteristic of children’s coaches. They are usually more emotional, quick to judge, quick to find fault. And so gradually, step by step, Ponomaryov transitioned from children’s to youth football.
He grew together with the teams, with status. More serious teams entrusted him. And as a result, he went through all these steps and very smoothly, organically joined adult football. Because in adult football, he practically had the same guys with whom he went through his coaching path.
It would seem easy to work with your pupils. You know their strengths and weaknesses, but at first glance only. Because the demands in adult football are much higher, much higher responsibility, the pressure of leadership and fans. So simply using your relationships with the kids who were your pupils is not enough.
In this situation, working as a coach for Rukh’s adults, he made a powerful step forward in terms of his coaching skills. That is, the football shown by Rukh under him was not children’s-youth football, it was not junior, it was adult, serious, met the most modern requirements.
And when Rukh began to have problems in its development, I already then said that a coach like Ponomaryov would not be held up and would definitely have an offer from other, more financially stable, ambitious clubs that set higher goals. And so it happened — he was invited to LNZ.
And I am very pleased because this modesty, poise, reasonableness, calmness — it stayed from the time when I first met him. Even now, working with adults, where a much higher level of emotions and criticism is possible, he remains the way he was — calm, balanced, confident in himself, not throwing words around, not looking for excuses on the side.
In his interviews, he is always specific, correct, does not overestimate achievements, and at the same time does not panic when the team loses. It is evident that over these years since he started working as a coach, he has truly become a coach.
— Can he be compared to any other famous coaches, does anyone’s handwriting show?
— It’s an ungrateful job to compare someone with someone else. Every coach is individual, that’s his strength. To imitate someone, rely on someone’s philosophy, and be the same one-on-one as another coach is wrong and won’t work.
Different abilities, different footballers, different championships. This comparison, in my opinion, would be incorrect. I would say this — he meets the modern requirements for a coach. Maybe there is something from Diego Simeone (head coach of Atletico Madrid — ed.). Although this comparison itself might not appeal to Ponomaryov. But the fact that he focuses on the basics of modern football is immediately apparent. He himself often states this. Good functional readiness of footballers, skill, and discipline on the football field concern everyone — foreigners, experienced players, young players. Everyone must meet the set goals.
He brought into the game what is now noted as a trend in football — a return to man-marking. The attitude towards dueling comes first. We can see this in big teams, big championships. There are no clubs in modern football that want to achieve great success and at the same time play half-heartedly in defense, play only with the zone, allow a player to receive the ball, look up.
Football currently does not allow such luxury. All must play man-to-man. Rearrange, help each other, cover. But not to lose in the duels. In this, Ponomaryov is similar to Simeone.
Further development, which should also be credited to him. He already has tactically trained guys who know how to arrange a collective selection and turn on high team pressing on the opponent’s half.
This is already considered top tactical schemes. And the possibilities of the team. This is an indicator of modern play. And the fact that Ponomaryov plays modernly, pleases me and gives me hope. He varies tactical positioning quite well.
Even from the last game with Dynamo, we saw that he played with 5 defenders. But this was in defense. The team quickly rearranged into 4 defenders and into 2 defenders when it was necessary to press high. LNZ adheres to the main principle — compactness and watching each other’s backs, covering each other if suddenly losing a duel. The players quickly rebuild.
— Yes, even after the match, some Dynamo players noted that the team turned out to be unprepared for the intensity that LNZ proposed. That they had to run 60 meters back and forth.
— Yes, yes. They not only built a bus but actually created a very effective defense. Which was like a spring. The more it was compressed, the faster it shot. And it shot very powerfully. The scored goal and the created opportunities of LNZ speak of good tactical training — we can defend in our third but do not miss a chance to counterattack with two, three, or even five players. The courage, as they say, for them. How the goal was scored and how Pastukh found himself in the right spot speaks of good, very quality coaching work.
Moreover, I wouldn’t say they bought stars or pulled players from other teams. Let’s suppose Muravsky played, graduated from Shakhtar school. But he didn’t grab stars. And no one thought he would add so much.
Same with Drambaev. Or others. You can list them all. But how the players have grown this season, how they have revealed themselves — this is primarily the coach’s merit.
— However, along with Ponomaryov, five players from Rukh transferred to LNZ immediately — Yevhen Pastukh, Roman Didyk, Artur Ryabov, Dmytro Ledviy, Oleh Horin. Did it play a role for the team at this stage?
— I think it did. He knew their potential, and they fully trusted the coach. Probably, he inspired them with something — ideas, his attitude, the built-up training process. That players followed him, including from a young age. This speaks of his authority and respect among players. I think these players will reveal themselves with him and strengthen LNZ.
— The team is now playing in energy-intensive football with constant pressing. Is there no fear that LNZ might exhaust itself at a crucial moment?
The fact that there will be lost matches, crises, this is inherent to a team in the process of growth. A team that is just starting its path in big football. In our Ukrainian. It has not yet approached any peak. It still needs to mature, gain experience to go through the distance more evenly. Ponomaryov himself speaks about this.
It is necessary to stabilize the game. They won against the top three leaders of our championship. But they lost to the same Karpaty, Oleksandriya. And with a landslide score. These swings are inherent to teams that are being built. But the game itself... You have to evaluate the team based on games with leaders. A weaker opponent can always be lost to, he plays on counterattacks, builds a bus, catches on mistakes. And you have to play the first number. This becomes much more difficult. It becomes vulnerable.
As for playing against strong opponents, Ponomaryov has learned to build the game. And it works and gives results.
Psychology is very important. Players must understand that nothing tragic will happen if they lose. What would be tragic is if they stop developing, become disillusioned in their play, their ideas, philosophy after losing to an outsider.
In terms of psychology, there must be confidence. Faith in oneself, in the coach, in the ideas. They will develop faster and more actively.
And energy-intensive football, one way or another, will lead to mini-crises. You cannot win all the time at such a pace.
Another problem is that the players who are in the team are not showered with press attention, high contracts, their rich past. They have not achieved this yet, they have not settled as footballers yet. Therefore, regarding psychology, they need to be carefully prepared for leadership. And simultaneously fuel ambitions.