The Ukraine national soccer team’s friendly game against Germany on Nov. 11 marks a key moment in preparations for Euro 2012.
Not only is it the first match at the new Olympic Stadium, which will host the tournament’s final and one of Ukraine’s three group matches.
It is also a chance for the blue-and-yellows to test their skills against the third-ranked team in the world and give fans a hint of what they can hope for in Ukraine’s first ever major home tournament.
Ukraine, ranked 58th in the world, qualifies automatically for the finals as co-host with Poland. But there are major concerns about how it will perform given its recent struggles to score, never mind win games.
With four losses in seven games, coach Oleh Blokhin knows his team needs to turn its form around soon.
To make things more difficult, 10 players that Blokhin called up for the Germany match are injured.
“The team should have stability by now,” he said on Nov. 8. “I can’t do anything more in these circumstances. This isn’t an excuse for a poor result, this is just a factual statement of what’s happening in Ukrainian soccer.”
Encouraging performances such as the last-minute loss to Uruguay in September, have been followed by embarrassing defeats like the 4-0 reverse against the Czech Republic.
Limited to uninspiring friendly matches since failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Ukraine has scored three goals while allowing 10 in five games against teams that have already qualified for Euro 2012, winning only one game.
In two losses – to France and Sweden – they allowed late goals after the 87th minute, both of which were decisive.
With just over 200 days left before official kickoff, Blokhin is still experimenting with his starting lineup. Bayern Munich midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk is the only player to have started in all seven matches since Blokhin returned to manage the team in April.
And with each additional friendly, new players are added to the starting lineup – 33 different players have started in the last seven matches, including four goalkeepers.
On Sept. 2 Illichivets Mariupol’s Bohdan Butko debuted for the team’s 2-3 loss to Uruguay.
The coach of Ukraine national soccer team Oleh Blokhin (UNAIN)
Vorskla Poltava’s 21-year-old Yevhen Selin debuted for the national team in their 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on Oct. 8.
And Blokhin called up more young talent in Roman Bezus to debut in the Nov. 11 and Nov. 15 friendly matches against Germany and Austria, respectively.
“I’m sure Blokhin has the core team in his head but he’s calling up players who don’t play regularly…
It’s still too early to assess the team’s performance but team cohesion needs to be formed,” said Valentyn Shcherbachov, a prominent sports journalist and television commentator.
Blokhin, a legendary Soviet forward and European Player of the Year in 1975, took Ukraine to the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup – the farthest a post-Soviet team has advanced in the World Cup.
He resigned after the team failed to qualify for the Euro 2008.
Since losing a World Cup qualification playoff to Greece in 2010, Ukraine has played regular friendly games, but had no qualifying games where the pressure to perform is higher.
Retired player and coach Anatoliy Zayayev, who led Crimea’s Tavria to its first Ukrainian championship, said it is hard motivating players for friendly matches.
“In Euro 2012 there’ll be no weak or strong teams, so the players will have to start performing.
They should be thankful to be part of the national squad. The qualities of having a fighting spirit and discipline need to be instilled,” Zayayev said.
Experts predict Ukraine should advance past the group stage of Euro 2012 bolstered more by patriotic drive than technical ability. As a co-host, the team is seeded in the top group and should receive a favorable draw, avoiding top teams such as Spain and the Netherlands at the group stage.
“We know Ukraine doesn’t play at the top European level…it will rely on patriotic enthusiasm and Blokhin is the best person to lead this group in that respect,” Shcherbachov said.
Blokhin has also admitted that time isn’t on Ukraine’s side. Euro 2012 participating teams have to submit their final rosters by May 28.
“We’re entering the period when our sparring (matches) are approaching official stature,” Blokhin said in late September.
“It’s a pity there’s less and less than time…,” he added.
And pressure to perform is already there.
“I think he (Blokhin) understands the kind of responsibility he’s shouldering and that he has a Euro 2012 preparation strategy for the team,” said Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, president of Kharkiv Metallist who has invested some $300 million to ready his host city for next year’s championship.
“Is it the right strategy? Call me on July 2, 2012 (the day after the championship) and we’ll discuss this.”
Kyiv Post staff writers Mark Rachkevych and Kostya Dovgan can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.
