Ruslan Rotan: Three unforgettable moments - Europa League final, 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2016 exit

Another guest of #GOnline project running Instagram became the head coach of Ukraine U-XNUMX Ruslan Rotan, who, answering questions from the fans, spoke about his main motivation in the coaching job and remembered the best moments in his career.

- Ruslan, the first question is traditional for the current situation. How do you spend time in quarantine?

- With my family at home. If I go out somewhere, then only for food and to the pharmacy, if necessary. Now the main focus is on communication with children. This is the main advantage of this quarantine. I am thrilled by this communication, because when I was a player and then became a coach, there was a lack of communication with them during matches and training camps. Now we are making up for lost time in previous years.  

- Why does the youth team play worse than the U-20 youth team looked at the World Cup?

- In fact, these are two different teams. Indeed, most of the guys came to us from the world team. But after great victories there is always a recession, calm. We foresaw it. They need time to come to their senses. This is not criticism, this is a normal process for young players. They will rest, rethink and will understand that you need to get involved and progress. This year will be significant for those who were at the World Cup.

I understand the criticism that is being leveled at us, and I take all the arrows on myself. It so happened that before the first game, with Finland, we met for the first time in such a lineup. Of course, I hoped for a better result, but the stars did not come together in our favor. Only I am to blame for this. I hope our bad times are over, and in the next matches the guys will show their best qualities. The team building process takes more than one month. This takes at least a year.

- Would you like to become a coach of Dynamo or another team?

- I like to set goals. But now my number one goal is "youth". For me, it is important to understand the game so that the boys can go further, to the national team. This is the most important thing. You do not need to run far ahead. What is important is what is at the moment, and I am sorry and worried about it.

- Who is your best friend in football? You had a great team in Dnipro ...

- Yes, we were one family, the best memories are connected with this team. The closest friends are Yevhen Konoplyanka and Yevhen Seleznyov.

- What are your priorities in working with the "youth"?

- Training of youth for the national team. For me, the main indicator will not be tournament points, but who will get to the main team of the country. That the guys had an understanding of the principles of work. When we started, they grabbed everything on the fly. But in the fall what happened happened. And we will work on mistakes. Now there are few teams that can play number one. But gradually there are more of them in Ukraine.

- How, in your opinion, will the prize places in the Ukrainian championship be distributed?

- Let's see, the fight will be interesting. I am impressed by how Zorya plays. The team acts thoughtfully, with the head. It is gratifying that Luhansk players are also in the lead roles. They will soon be in the national team.

- What moment in your career do you remember the most?

- There were several of them. This is the way to the final of the Europa League, which took place in Kyiv. Then leaving the national team for the World Cup in 2006 and winning a ticket to Euro 2016.

"Have you ever caught a star?"

- Maybe it was. But my father quickly got me back to the ground.

- Who is the top coach in modern football for you?

- I am lucky that there is an opportunity to be equal to our national team and to Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko. It's good that we are in touch at the coaching meeting, I can always ask him something, ask for advice and hear from him a professional opinion. Among other mentors I can single out Josep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. When the Spaniard came to Manchester City, I started to support this team. But this season, Liverpool's Klopp is playing great football. By the way, his game is similar to the actions of our national team.

- Why do you think Dnipro collapsed?

- I went on vacation, I arrived, but the team is gone ... Nobody expected that to happen. For me, this is still a tragedy. In the Dnieper, many fans are worried and can not accept this fact. "Dnipro" in my heart and in my memory.

- What emotions did you feel when you scored in Europa League final?

- We lost and tied the score. There were no special emotions, because there was still a whole half ahead, and we wanted to win the final. I remember that at first Zhenya Konoplyanka wanted to beat that penalty, but at the last moment I asked to break.

- Which of the players of the current "youth" could play in a top club?

- In terms of potential, many people. I will not name surnames so that the guys do not put emotions above the team. You see, these performers will soon be in the national team.

- Who would you include in Ruslan Rotan's dream team?

- Goalkeeper - Buffon. In the center of defense - Maldini and Ramos or Pique. Marcelo would play on the left, on the right — Coffee. In the center of the midfield would prefer Pirlo, Gattuso and Baggio. Trio in attack — Messi, Ronaldo and Shevchenko. Me and Shevchuk would be substitutions.

- Has there been a fight in your career that you would like to erase from your memory?

- Yes, this is the return match of the 2014 World Cup playoffs with France on the road, when we lost - 0: 3. After the 2-0 victory in Kyiv, we were already mentally at the World Cup, ordering tickets. I would like to forget this match ...

- What is the recipe for a happy life in Ruslan Rotan?

- Love. Everything else comes from the love.

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