Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Post’s weekly Euro 2012 page looks forward to the soccer tournament that Ukraine will co-host with Poland from June 8 to July 1. We will cover information for fans, visitors and people who live in Ukraine, including travel tips, interviews, coverage of the teams competing and information on preparations for the championship.
For Ukraine’s assistant coach Andriy Bal, Euro 2012 starts on May 28, two weeks before the football tournament kicks off.
That’s when final squad rosters have to be submitted and when the final pieces are put into place for Ukraine’s challenge for glory on home turf.
While head coach Oleh Blokhin has said the backbone of the team is cemented, his assistant told the Kyiv Post that the coaching staff is still experimenting with different prospects for the remaining spots as it prepares for what could be its last friendly match before the tournament against Israel on Feb. 29.
“It’s one thing to look at players on paper, and another on how they perform on the pitch,” Bal, a legendary former Soviet and Dynamo Kyiv player, said in an interview. “Naturally we don’t want to see injuries, and we have to monitor their performance to make sure they’re declining in play and ensure they understand the significance of playing at the European soccer championship.”
Bal, 54, voiced hope that the older players who led Ukraine to the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals in Germany and on whom the team will rely for on-the-pitch leadership will be in prime condition by June.
Dynamo Kyiv’s perennial striker Andriy Shevchenko and enduring goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovsky, Bayern Munich’s reliable midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and the Russian league’s footballer of the year Andriy Voronin are expected to lead the team through experience and poised leadership.
“Guys like Shevchenko are invaluable for their wealth of international experience, someone who can calm a player down or motivate someone with just a few words when they are audibly too far from the coach’s bench to hear,” Bal said.
Shevchenko and Tymoshchuk have more than 100 international games each. The four veterans will have an average age of almost 35 when the Euro 2012 starts.
Age doesn’t trouble Bal, including that of Shevchenko’s 35 years, which is rare for a striker. Already past his prime and noticeably slower on the pitch, Shevchenko announced he’ll hang up his national jersey after the Euro 2012.
“We don’t look at a player’s age, we look at how they perform. He could still display his best game on the pitch so we hope he’ll be in top shape for the Euro 2012,” Bal said, referring to Shevchenko, who has been hampered by injuries this season.
The rest of the burden will be on the younger players, who lack big-game experience in Europe’s top leagues. Their jitteriness showed through in the Nov. 8 friendly against Germany, where Ukraine gave up a two-goal lead to draw 3-3. During the game, Tymoshchuk was seen commanding and positioning players on the pitch.
The Ukrainian side will likely look to young Shakhtar Donetsk defenders Yaroslav Rakitsky and Dmytro Chygrynskiy for solidity in defense. In midfield there’s Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro’s Yevhen Konoplyanka and Dynamo Kyiv’s Andriy Yarmolenko, two speedy, 22-year-old wingers.
“Once the opening whistle blows, all the jitters dissipate. … What’s important is to think clearly and stay focused once the game starts,” said Bal of the younger players and their lack of experience.
To stave off some of the pressure and stay out of the media spotlight, the Ukraine team will spend most of spring training ahead of the Euro 2012 in Turkey and Austria. Ukraine is scheduled to play friendly matches with Estonia and Austria after the Israel match.
Bal said only the players who show unwavering commitment to the team will be selected: “We want people who want to play for the honor of their country, who’ll give it their all for the desired result.”
The team’s coaches, including Blokhin, have repeatedly echoed this criterion, suggesting that they haven’t been happy with many young players they’re calling up to assess.
Ukraine has the seemingly insurmountable task of advancing past European powerhouses France and England at the group stage, as well as Sweden. Bal said Ukraine can advance, otherwise “there would be no sense in taking the field – in cup games, anything is possible.”
Bal wouldn’t discuss the weaknesses of each group opponent but said Ukraine will be looking to capitalize on every mistake made on the field alluding to the chess adage that the player who makes the last mistake loses.
“We respect every team in the finals. … Our group isn’t easy to say the least, but no team is an outsider,” Bal insisted.
He admitted that time is running out to get ready. He said he would’ve preferred more competitive games to prepare for the Euro in lieu of friendly matches – the
Blue and Yellows’ last competitive match was the Nov. 18, 2009 World Cup qualifier loss to Greece.
Bal expects public trash talking between teams to start in March, but said he’ll be unfazed.
“Anything can happen between now and the Euro, new players might be called up, injuries might saddle others,” he said. “Our job is to meticulously prepare for each team we’ll face.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
