The Ukrainian national team’s “fall exam period” consisted of three Euro-2008 qualifying matches. Following the pattern of our education system, where the customary five-point evaluation system has been replaced by a twelve-point one, we are taking the liberty of evaluating the result of Ukrainian soccer players according to a “nine-point system.”
The team would have scored exactly nine points this fall if it had won all three European Championship qualifying matches. This would have been the maximum, but our players only got six points, which is not so bad. We are not the only ones who failed to achieve the maximum. Italy and France, our chief rivals in the qualification group, also lost points. So the decisive games are still ahead. There will be a “spring exam period” next year and another — the most important one — will end in November 2007.
The Ukraine-Scotland match took place on Oct. 11 at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium. A few words are in order about the organization of this event. It looks as though Ukraine’s wish to host the 2012 European Soccer Championship has already led to the first positive results. It has become clear that it is entirely possible to let an over-50,000-strong audience through the existing entrance. All the gates have to be opened to avoid excessive crowds.
The organizers were witty enough to offer several thousand Scottish guests seats in the sector closest to the stadium’s toilets, which came in handy for the British fans swigging Ukrainian beer. As for creating a festive mood at the stadium before the game and at half-time, we seem to have caught up with our foreign counterparts: the mood was marked by pomp and joy because soccer is a wonderful event.
The only one who was not in a festive mood was Ukraine’s coach Oleh Blokhin. In order to defeat the Scots, our team, which is not exactly known for its ability to beat strong rivals when necessary, was supposed to show a proper playing level after a detailed pre-match briefing by the coach.
The rival did not turn out to be as formidable as expected. Composed of professional British club players, the Scottish team did not have any outstanding players, let alone “superstars,” like the Italian team had. The only weapon that the guests could use against our side was good organization and determination.
To a certain point, Ukraine’s lineup was predictable. With a rather limited choice of players at his disposal, Blokhin built a play pattern with a traditionally strong defense line and fast-running midfielders who, together with two forwards, were supposed to break through the visitors’ solid line of fullbacks. The defense line consisted of the center backs Kucher, Shakhtar’s substitute player, and Rusol, and wingbacks Nesmachny and Svidersky. Shelaiev and Tymoshchuk played in center field, and the side midfielders Kalinychenko and Husiev were supposed to pass the ball to the strikers Voronin and Shevchenko.
It was clear that our side tried hard to prevent the guests from attacking the flanks. The Scots did not exert themselves too much and formed two lines near their penalty area. For almost two hours this double line repelled the Ukrainians’ attacks. Then it suddenly became clear that it is much more difficult to run around without the ball than with it. In the second half of the game, the Scots looked tired and incapable of curbing Ukraine’s attacks. The game increasingly ended up near the Scottish net, and after a few unsuccessful attempts our center back Kucher scored a free kick.
Then, all Ukraine had to do was to hold back the Scots’ improvised assaults and try to raise the score through counterattacks. Tensions were high, and the counterattacks only resulted in a Scottish fullback being sent off a few minutes before the game ended. The nervousness would have continued until the last seconds of the game, when the Scottish team created a few dangerous situations near the Ukrainian net, had it not been for the penalty shot that Shevchenko “gained” and scored at the end of the match.
At 10 p.m., Oct. 11, the 2006 Ukrainian national team ceased to exist. We will see our team again in the spring, and by all accounts this will be an entirely different squad. I hope the 2007 national team is stronger than the current one and that it will pass the Euro-2008 qualifying exam with the best possible point count.
