Ukraine talent needs finishing touch up top
Reuters - Wednesday 20 June 2012, 11:53
Ukrainians will remember Euro
2012 more for the thousands of fans filling hotels and bars than
their national team's performances but despite an early exit
there is cause for optimism - if they can find a goal-scorer.
A chapter closed after Tuesday's defeat at the Donbass
Arena, with Ukraine's former European Player of the Year Andriy
Shevchenko announcing his retirement from international football
after a knee injury ruined his chance of upsetting England.
Shevchenko has been the face of post-Soviet Ukrainian
football, a source of national pride and for once the over-used
phrase 'ambassador' is fitting for a man who has always tried to
present his country to the rest of the world in a positive way
without ever veering close to boorish nationalism.
His 48 goals in 111 appearances will be hard to replace as
will his presence in the dressing room, where his understated
approach has worked well alongside the almost gruff bluntness of
coach Oleg Blokhin.
The 35-year-old former AC Milan and Chelsea striker has
quietly passed on his experience and advice to younger players
who ran the risk of being overawed by the unprecedented national
attention on them at this tournament.
Now it falls to a younger generation and both Shevchenko and
Blokhin believe Ukraine have the quality available to make sure
they are back at future tournaments.
"I am glad for our young players who played well," said
Shevchenko. "This team has a bright future".
MEMORABLE NIGHT
Ukraine recovered to beat Sweden 2-1 on a memorable night in
Kiev, thanks to Shevchenko's double, and pushed France hard
before fading after half-time and losing 2-0.
They then dominated against England for 45 minutes in their
final Group D game and probably deserved a draw, especially
after Hungarian officials failed to give a goal when the ball
appeared to be over the goal-line before it was cleared.
In their last two games in Donetsk, where Ukraine have yet
to win in seven games, Blokhin's team were just missing a killer
touch near goal - a final pass or a lethal finish.
A core of players from the squad are in their early
twenties, including left-back Evhen Selin, central defenders
Evhen Khacheridi and Yaroslav Rakitskiy, midfielders Denys
Garmash and Evhen Konoplyanka.
"There are a group of young players there who will stay in
this team," said Blokhin, who now must focus on the World Cup
qualifiers which start in September.
Left midfielder Konoplyanka, 22, has been the player who
has impressed most - his vision, touch and imagination will
surely have attracted the attention of richer clubs than his
current team Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
With Shevchenko gone and Andriy Voronin, who turns 33 next
month, also quitting the national team, the key task for Blokhin
is to find an international quality goal-scorer.
WEAK LEAGUE
The 22-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko was used in a wide role in
this tournament and showed a good knack of getting free of his
marker and into dangerous positions but he must develop a more
clinical approach in the box to be a solution at centre-forward.
Unfortunately for Blokhin, the Ukrainian league does not
offer much in the way of young goal-scoring talent forcing their
way in to the national team.
Prior to the finals the Ukraine coach highlighted the
weakness noting that the top goal-scorer in the league, Ukraine
squad member Evhen Seleznyov, had managed only 14 goals.
"Excuse me, but this level is very low for our championship.
If a forward can't create a situation where he's able to poke
the ball home, then he's not a forward for me.
With many foreign imports playing in attack, Blokhin said it
was hard for players to get enough top-flight experience.
"It's difficult even to find a forward playing permanently
for his club."
England will be rivals again in World Cup qualifying, along
with neighbours and Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland and Montenegro.
Ukraine should be in a position to challenge in that group
but finding a striker from somewhere would certainly help.