Ruslan Rotan: “We will work with the national team in Kharkov”

14.05.2019 17:40

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Head coach of the youth team of Ukraine Ruslan Rotan spoke about the upcoming plans of his team, which in early June will take part in the Valery Lobanovsky Memorial, and the day before will hold a joint training session with the national team.

— Ruslan Petrovich, what is your idea of ​​the coach of the first team of Andriy Shevchenko to hold a joint meeting in Kharkov?

— I reacted positively to it, because it is a great experience and school for the players of our team. Another thing is that we will not be able to call all the strongest performers who play in UPL clubs - the training camp starts on May 25, and the teams from the championship and the youth championship of Ukraine will have to hold two more rounds. We understand the interests of the clubs that have their tournament tasks, so we decided to check as much as possible those players who play abroad.

— Have you decided on all the players who will train with the Legionnaires from the first team?

— 90 percent. Andriy Shevchenko named the positions that interest him - that's what we start from. The last few days we spent in close contact with the clubs, and a list of 12—The 14 players were constantly adjusted. I think we will publish it soon. It should not be forgotten that at present the 25 best performers of the country of 1999 are in the location of the junior national team, which is preparing for the World Cup. But we have a large list of candidates - there will be a good opportunity to check the guys who are on the pencil.

It is important to understand that this will be a joint training of the two teams, not a gathering of the national team. Only those people who are not very well versed in the organizational nuances of training two national teams, can say that the candidates for the youth team are invited to the main team of the country. My task was to find players for the right positions, and I made the decision to call these or those guys on my own.

— Will other players be preparing for the Lobanovsky Memorial?

- Some of those who will work in Kharkiv will definitely stay, but the list of players of the youth national team for the June matches will be announced separately.

— Will the entire youth coaching staff go to Kharkiv?

- There is no need for that. There will be the entire coaching team of the first team led by Andriy Shevchenko, me and my two assistants - Alexander Melashchenko and Alexei Chistyakov. Two more representatives of our staff, Vasyl Kardash and Yevhen Gres, will go to Poland for the group round of the World Junior Championship. Our direct preparations for the Valery Lobanovsky Memorial will start in Irpen on May 31.

— Ukrainian teams have not won this tournament for 10 years ...

— Yes, we know about this and will try to convey this information to the guys. But in Turkey, they were well aware that all victories should be within the framework of our game. It's important to win, but keep in mind that it's best to do it in the national team, where they all want to get.

— Are there any surprises on the roster called?

— At the first stage of preparation there is no way without them, but the more guys we review, the better. We are looking for Ukrainian footballers around the world, and each of them has a chance to prove themselves.