EURO 2012: 16 under a loupe: Ukraine

Ukraine

Factsheet:

Euro 2012 Group D: 11-06-12: Ukraine - Sweden, 15-06-12: Ukraine - France, 19-06-12: England - Ukraine

FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking: 49

Previous European Championship Appearances: -

Qualifying record: -

Interesting facts:With 603 700 sqkm Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe.

Ukraine has never won a single home match in the city of Donetsk, where France and England are going to meet the hosts.

Andriy Shevchenko holds the all-time record for the most scored goals for Ukraine. He has scored 46 times so far. Anatoliy Timoshchuk holds the all-time record for the most matches played for Ukraine. He has been a part of a match 114 times.

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After having trouble with finding a manager for the home Euro, the Ukrainian Football Federation decided to reappoint the World Cup 2006 manager Oleh Blokhin for the post. During three years of Blokhin’s absence the team saw three managers and, rumors say, almost signed Marcello Lippi. An absolute authority in the former Soviet Union football life, Blokhin is however not the fan-favorite. The dream of the Ukrainian province to take the Dynamo Kyiv shadow away from the national team does not seem realistic under the experienced coach. 8 out of 19 internationals called for the last friendly against Israel represented the Kyiv side, not talking about the Dynamo-related history of the managerial and administrative staff. 

Being free of qualification matches, Ukraine did not show anything remarkable in their friendlies other than the enchanting 3-3 against Germany on 11.11.11. They will have to show something outstanding to get through their tough group. Let’s see if the team is ready to tackle the most responsible challenge in their football history.

The furious history of European Championships 1960-2004

Statistics against Sweden: 3+1=1-1 2-2*

The match we remember: The teams have only met in friendly matches.

Statistics against France: 6+0=3-3 3-9

The match we remember: In the cycle of 29 matches since 1998 World Cup quarterfinals to Euro 2000 final (both against Italy) the French national team failed to score twice: both matches with Ukraine. So strong was the former Soviet Republic side by then, led by the young talent Andriy Shevchenko.  

Statistics against England: 4+1=0-3 2-7

The match we remember: A lot of talk out of nothing as England “intentionally” loses to Ukraine to throw Croatia out of World Cup 2010 qualification as vengeance for the Euro 2008 qualification, where the already qualified Balkan side let England out winning over them in their last match.  

Two profiles:

Andriy Shevchenko: He made historians divide the modern Ukrainian football into 3 phases: before, during and after Shevchenko. He is the man who scored the famous first-half hat-trick at Nou Camp, where Barcelona does not get such blows every day. He is a proud owner of a Ballon d’Or and he is one of the three top scorers in European club competitions history. The list can be continued. The negative part of the list is that all of those achievements are a part of Sheva’s club career. The international career counts only one major tournament, where the former Soviet side lost to Italy in World Cup 2006 quarterfinals. The home crowd will be there to support him at Euro, considered to be Shevchenko’s swan song. A dream career end for a legend, turning 35 this September. He definitely has got a word to say there.

Andriy Yarmolenko: The Ukrainian football elite have been looking for Shevchenko’s successor for a while. It has been trendy to give this role to the 22-year old “130 kilometers away boy”** for the last 3-4 years. Some of Yarmolenko’s achievements show that he is on the right track. He has been awarded Ukraine’s second-best player for 2011, has already scored 7 times in his 18 international appearances, has got the chance to amaze the world with his class at Euro in such a young age and holds the record of the quickest ever goal for Ukraine national team. A strong application for a Euro 2012 breakthrough.

My prediction:

For people for whom the Ukrainian team does not mean anything other than Andriy Shevchenko this competition is going to be a big surprise. Team includes gifted local talents Milevsky, a famous Panenka-style penalty taker, the former FC Barcelona player Chygrynsky, Aliyev, one of the most amazing set piece masters in Europe, and Seleznyov, who regularly scores for the super-competitive Shakhtar Donetsk side. If Oleh Blokhin finds the right balance and the mood, this team could be capable to send the European heavyweights from England or France home earlier than expected.

   

One of the weakest sides for Ukraine is the age of the team main force. Profiles, which seemed to be stars of the past, are still there to make difference for this East-European side. Shovkovskiy is 37, Shevchenko is 35, Tymoshchuk and Kalynychenko are 33 and Voronin is 32. These are European scale players, but the pace might let them down in the decisive moments. The FIFA rank of 49 cannot be too misleading in this case. My prediction is that Ukraine could become another unfortunate successor of Austria and Switzerland, who failed to qualify from their groups at their home Euro 4 years ago.

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* 6+2=3-1 7-7: played 6, won 2, tied 3, lost 1, scored 7, conceded 7 

** The Dynamo Kyiv coach Anatoliy Demyanenko told the press in 2008 that his scouts found a guy 130 kilometers away from Kyiv, who is going to be his new Shevchenko. The local press still uses this nickname for Yarmolenko. 

Ukrainian Football from Communism to Globalization