The international friendly soccer tournament in Cyprus, held for the 14th time, traditionally didn’t provoke any interest among local soccer fans who didn’t show up at the stadiums despite the free entry. But this doesn’t mean that the games were played without spectators.
Aside from the hosts, the national teams of Ukraine, Sweden and Romania participated in the tournament. Almost 2,000 Romanian emigrants, who can now freely work in Cyprus as EU citizens, created a lively atmosphere at the Paralimni stadium.
But before the finals in Paralimni, the Ukrainian team played another match. In the cool evening by Mediterranean standards, on February 7, near the town of Larnaca, the coach Yurii Kalytvyntsev organized a training match in the presence of Ukrainian journalists. The game was between two compositions of our team, one of which was supposed to play on Tuesday and the other — on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, February 8, the first and strongest squad completely dominated the Romanian side during the first half hour of the match. For our coach this was important since eight months ago the team guided by his predecessor defeated Romania in Lviv. It is difficult to compare the two matches, but during those first 30 minutes the Ukrainian side played real soccer. It scored two goals and saw many dangerous attacks.
Unfortunately, that was the only time when one could enjoy the spectacle. During the rest of the game, which Ukraine won by penalty kicks, as well as in the final against Swedes, which they won the same way, we saw the national team of Ukraine we were used to for so many years. Their game focused on defense and results. No wonder that, right after receiving the main prize, Kalytvyntsev pointed out that this game looked like a torture for our guys.
But this didn’t prevent a few dozen Ukrainians, who came to both games in Paralimni and Nicosia, and supported their compatriots as much as they could, to enjoy the victory. It is unlikely that in Cyprus there are fewer Ukrainians than Romanians. Either the majority of our compatriots are too busy to spend time on soccer, or the national team of Ukraine without Andrii Shevchenko is not so attractive. But there were as many Ukrainians in the final as there were Swedes, of whom there are also quite a few on the island, only they stand out less. Now Cyprus is going through a low season, with few West European and Russian pensioners, and the country’s soccer teams are having a break. Still one can enjoy the local weather, which resembles our Indian summer with warm days and cool nights. The conditions for training in winter are perfect on the island. At this, there are not only dozens of training facilities with perfect soccer fields in excellent condition, but also actual stadiums in every town of the country, which is smaller in terms of population than our Vinnytsia region.
Regarding the game in Cyprus between the two versions of the national team of Ukraine, one should hardly analyze it at length. The notion of winter soccer remains topical for us so far, therefore we’ll make conclusions already in spring. The team pleased its fans with a victorious result — that’s enough for now.