Big soccer in Kyiv

The draw ceremony for the finals of the Euro-2012 was held in Kyiv. The ceremony was attended by nearly all well-known soccer persons of the continent. It was opened by the President of Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovych stressed the importance of the Euro-2012 and expressed his hopes that the tournament would be held according to the highest standards. His expectations of the event’s successful hosting by Poland and Ukraine were shared by the UEFA’s president. Michel Platini, having come to lead the European soccer community after a distinguished career as a player, makes no secret of his desire to expand the horizons of European soccer, and this aim will be greatly furthered with Eastern Europe hosting the Euro-2012.

The draw ceremony was conducted as a bright, majestic show, so as to meet contemporary requirements for such an event. This spectacle caused us to think not only about who would play with whom next June, but also about another thing that we had not properly appreciated yet, that is, the sheer fact of big soccer’s coming to this country. Judge for yourself: soccer World Cup has been held since 1930, European Cup has been here since 1960, and none of them came even close to our borders before. One can, of course, mention the 1980 Olympic Games that were held in the USSR. It was the Moscow Olympics that caused the main stadium of Ukraine to be called Olimpiisky, as that arena hosted the group stage of the Olympic soccer tournament 30 years ago. But it was only an episode then, while now we observe a trend.

It is a common knowledge that the joint initiative to host the European championship finals in Poland and Ukraine has been born and matured in Ukraine. It was Ukraine or, to be more specific, our soccer community’s leadership and supportive top state officials, which was the “engine” that went on a difficult track to get for both our nations the right to host the European finals.

However, this victory was only the first step, as we still had to provide suitable environment for the greatest European soccer event. Much hard work to create the necessary infrastructure that would be worthy of the continental soccer community’s trust, lay ahead.

Today, we may say without any doubt that Ukraine has coped with all its tasks successfully. The sports arenas are ready, while construction and reconstruction of the airports and hotels is nearing completion, so the draw ceremony was another confirmation of the fact that the Euro-2012 future hosts held true to their word.

The procedure of determining who will play with whom and when at the

Euro-2012 was no less dramatic than the qualifying tournament the finals’ participants had gone through. Particular attention was paid to the drawing of the group which the national team of Ukraine will play in. Even before the procedure began, it was clear that our team would be unable to find itself weak opponents at this late stage of the competition. The lot confirmed these expectations by pitting the Ukrainian national team against Sweden, France and England. The names of these teams speak for themselves. Each of them had reached the heights in world soccer at one time or another that Ukraine has yet to conquer. The English and French had been world champions, while the Swedes played in a final match once.

But soccer is played not by statisticians, but by athletes. Every team can either confirm its high status or achieve it for the first time on the soccer field only. Ukraine has never participated in European finals, but it does not mean that we do not have memories of victories won. Ukrai-nian soccer players were once a part of the USSR national team, which won the European Cup once and played in a final match three times more. Valery Lobanovsky, Oleh Blokhin, and Andrii Shevchenko are known throughout the soccer world. The latter two are preparing for the Euro-2012, with Blokhin being the coach and Shevchenko a player.

After learning about Ukraine’s opponents in the group, Blokhin said that his team’s task was unchanged: it should win the group stage and continue the fight for the championship of Europe. The fact that our opponents in the group will be seeking the same result will just make the fight even more interesting and unpredictable.

The organizers of the Euro-2012 are successfully doing their job. It would be great if our players would be up to the standards of the tournament which will be held for the first time in our territory, so that the word “Ukraine” would enter soccer chronicles next year not only as the name of a country that co-hosted the Euro-2012, but as the name of a winner at this tournament.

COMMENTARY

Oleh Zasadny, head of the Euro-2012 department, Lviv City Council:

“Of course, Ukraine is ready to organize such high-level events. The draw ceremony was attended by numerous guests of various ranks including the soccer association’s president Michel Platini and soccer players that are known all over the world. I am personally very pleased, because we have organized the ceremony very smoothly, unlike the si-milar event in Warsaw, with transportation and guests’ arrival having been well-organized, too.

“I may not speak for all of Ukraine, as I am responsible for Lviv only. Speaking of this city, I would say that the stadium, the hotel, and transportation are all completed. Although, of course, we have a few months still left to set up everything correctly.”