World Soccer - UK (2019-10)

Ukraine’s coach talks about the challenges he is facing

in the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign

“Modern footballers

need a lot more

intelligence”

ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO

gave my career in football a direction.

How did his philosophy change football

in the USSR and Ukraine?

It is impossible to briefly explain his philosophy.

He was one of the first coaches to create a

training methodology based on science. That

is what made him very special. He was a great

psychologist as well. He worked the minds of the

players perfectly to give them confidence and

belief. He created winners and winning teams.

Which other coaches have left an impression

on you?

In the last 20 years, Jose Mourinho has been

one of the most successful coaches. Everyone

has a different style, but Jose has shown stability

in his philosophy and stability in his methodology.

In modern football I like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen

Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, and even Diego

Simeone. In the past, Johan Cruyff was incredible,

Marcelo Lippi. I develop my own vision and my

own style. Of course, I have a lot of experience

as a player and all of those names gave me

something that I can use as a coach, but my

idea is to really develop my own vision.

What does a modern coach need most in

order to be successful?

It is not so different from the past. Success is

all based on results, but today simply winning to

achieve success is not enough. Modern football

requires an attractive, balanced game in which

you use a lot of different features. It is not just

about counter-attacking; modern teams need to

understand how to press, how to transition

quickly, how to balance the game, how to

gain possession. Winning alone is not enough

anymore. Today, fans demand that you play

attractive football.

Lobanovskyi once said that “to be a

manager you must forget the player you

were”. How did you transition to coaching?

You know, it is most difficult at the start for a

coach who used to be a player. When you start

coaching immediately after ending your playing

career it is quite difficult to relinquish the idea

of playing. I took enough time to transition to

coaching after my playing career so it was not

that hard. After my coaching diplomas I began as

an assistant coach. The transition was quite easy.

I can’t imagine being a player anymore. This is

my full-time job and I think like a coach.

What did you learn from the 2018 World

Cup qualifiers when you were in a group

with Croatia and Iceland?

I learned a lot about my players. First of all that

we were heading in the right direction. All the

numbers and our performances showed that.

There were just a few ingredients missing –

finishing was one of them. We created enough

but didn’t convert our chances. There should

also have been a little more balance between

the defence and the midfield. Ukraine had a

lot of young players who had just begun their

careers with the national team. It was their

first qualifying experience. We had a chance

to qualify directly or reach the play-offs in the

You were Mykhaylo Formenko’s

assistant at Euro 2016. How

did you approach that first

coaching assignment?

It was my first experience. I joined his technical

staff just before the tournament. It was a good

experience, being on the staff and learning from

those that are in competition with you.

Formenko was a conservative coach. How

did you set about building the team after

Euro 2016?

The team plays with my views and ideas. We

tried to develop the players to play the way

we do today. We try to control the possession,

build the game and play attractive football. In

the last three years Ukrainian players have been

improving. We have changed the mentality of the

national team, you know, to really develop and

display all their technical qualities on the pitch.

Ukraine has a great midfield and a very good

defence who work but can also build up the play

from the back. That is the basis of Ukraine’s

game. I have improved the tactical system. We

were already aware of the quality of the players.

You develop the game in such a way that you

can use the best qualities of your players.

Which coach has influenced you the most?

Valeriy Lobanovskyi. He is one of the coaches

that changed the history of contemporary

football. In my career he was a special person,

not just as a coach. Lobanovskyi transformed

my talent into a real football player. He gave

me a lot of confidence and instructions. He