The author of the historical goal of the national team of Ukraine Ivan Getsko: "I shot 25 meters above the wall, and the ball flew into the nine"

29.04.2020 13:02

April 29, 1992. Uzhhorod. Ivan Hetsko scores the first goal in the history of the national team of Ukraine. Photo by Ukrinform

The goal chronicle of the national team of Ukraine began spectacularly: Ivan Hetsko kicked the cobwebs off the Hungarian goal with a free kick.

The first, and therefore - the historic ball Ukraine national team on April 29, 1992 in Uzhgorod Ivan Hetsko, a player of Odesa's Chornomorets, wrote in his assets.

- To be honest, now I do not remember what the head coach of the national team Viktor Prokopenko told me, releasing a replacement in the middle of the second half, - recalls Ivan Mikhailovich. - The thing is that I was angry with the coach, because I thought I should start the match in the starting lineup. Moreover, although I was born in Dnipropetrovsk, my formation as a football player took place in Uzhhorod, and there were many fans in the stands who came to support me. And here, unfortunately, due to lack of proper training, we lost to a very serious opponent in many components, so there was not even a desire to replace him, so as not to be ashamed.

Therefore, when I was told to warm up, I corrected the ammunition for a long time, so as not to glow in front of the audience. Of course, I was wrong then, because first of all the helmsman is responsible for the result, although it seems to me that if I had appeared on the field earlier, we would have lost with a more honorable score. After all, I remember, in a few minutes I found myself in a deadly position, but, unfortunately, I was wrong.

- However, in the 90th minute you still managed to correct the sight and score the historic first ball ...

- Now I don't even remember who earned the penalty then. In Chornomorets, Yuriy Nikiforov, who had a powerful blow, and I were responsible for the standards. And since Nikiforov was stuck in the center of the field, I had to carry out the sentence. And the goal really turned out to be a miracle: I scored from 25 meters above the wall, and the ball flew into the ninth.

- I think that ball took an honorable place in your family museum…

- You know, at that time I didn't even think to ask the referee Vadim Zhuk to give the ball to me. Maybe because immediately after the final whistle I ran to thank the fans for their support, and even presented a T-shirt to one of them.

- You appeared in the national team of Ukraine three more times, but did not score any more. Apparently, the Hungarians watched that goal more than once on video?

- They didn't guess, because I didn't have a record of that match. True, someone called me and offered to buy a videotape, but because he demanded just an astronomical amount, I refused. It was later that a video of that confrontation was found in the archive, and now, if desired, it can be viewed on the Internet.

- You said that goal was a miracle. Have you ever had to force the opponent's goalkeepers to capitulate in a similar style?

- Yes, and repeatedly. In the Ukrainian championship, he somehow removed the web from the corner of the goal in the match with Vorskla, and in the European Cups he scored a similar goal for Rosenborg. This was my favorite position to hit: in the center, 22-25 meters from the gate. However, believe me, miracles do not happen in football - in order for the sight to be accurate, it was necessary to devote a lot of time in training to shots from outside the penalty area.

As for the goal against the Hungarians, although it is called historic, I do not particularly remember it. Most likely because we lost…