Leap-Year Soccer

Ukrainians will remember the leap year 2012 primarily as one marked by Euro-2012. It took place in Ukraine, despite gloomy predictions by some media in the West, and the accomplishment was confirmed by a number of domestic and visiting fans. The Ukrainian national team’s fiasco did not cause a public uproar. Another disappointment.

After Euro-2012, all soccer fans are expecting better results from the world championship qualifiers in Brazil (2014). Following the drawing of lots, practically all soccer moguls agreed that the Ukrainian team should do better than subgroup; that the British national team would be topping the Old World’s list, with all respect due to the Polish and Montenegrin counterparts; that the Moldovan and San Marinese teams would supply points for the better teams, among them the Ukrainian national one.

Watching the first game in the UK made the Ukrainian fans ecstatic, with the Ukrainian team showing a confident and forceful performance (many must vividly remember the confusion on the faces of the British players).

Regrettably, the match ended in a draw. But later, during the meets with the Moldovan and Montenegrin teams, the Ukrainian team appeared to be ill-organized. The match in Chisinau ended in a draw and the one with the Montenegrin team was a shameful fiasco on home turf, in Kyiv.

All this happened against the backdrop of the main-coach-replacement saga. Ever since Blokhin was invited to coach his native Dynamo Kyiv, the team players have been training under the watchful eyes of acting chief coaches. Talks aimed at hiring a foreign coach have failed, leaving the only possible candidate, Sven-Goran Eriksson (Sweden), and the only possible alternative [if he says no]: Mykhailo Fomenko.

Whoever becomes Dynamo Kyiv’s coach-in-chief, the big question remains: “Who can improve the situation that has developed?” No answer so far.

Unlike the Ukrainian national team, regional club teams showed very good performances in Europe, with six teams vying for awards (viewed by local soccer moguls with a varying degree of pessimism/optimism). Result: Donetsk Metalurh couldn’t make it to the group stage of the Europa League. Kyiv Arsenal (obviously a good team coached by Leonid Kuchuk) lost the game, mostly because they were careless, allowing an enemy player (previously disqualified) to enter their territory where he had no right to be. You have to pay for technical mistakes, so Kyiv Arsenal kisses good-bye to Europe. Whether this team will be able to vie for European soccer cups is anyone’s guess.

Shakhtar’s presence in the Champions League was predictable, as was the team’s performance in the matches with the incumbent British champion, Chelsea, and its Italian counterpart Juventus. Shakhtar passed muster and secured its presence during the matches for European soccer cups in the spring of 2013.

The situation with other [Ukrainain soccer club] teams appears to be more complicated. There were doubts about Dynamo Kyiv’s potential in the Champions League and its performance proved them true. The trouble with Kyiv Dynamo Club is a series of feverish coach-in-chief replacements. Add here experimenting with playing conditions. In the end, Dynamo Kyiv coped with such serious rivals as Feyenoord (Rotterdam) and Borussia Dortmund, although the Ukrainian team could have shown a better performance. The team placed third after the PSG and Porto matches, something well to be expected; it proved stronger only in the meets with other tournament losers, like Zagreb’s Dinamo. The Ukrainian team’s participation in a minor tournament this coming spring is little solace. This team is sick and this sickness is getting from bad to worse.

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro was a sudden and very pleasant surprise. Coached by Juande Ramos (Spain), they had long planned to make their name, but the way they did it left all soccer moguls speechless. The team made its own blitzkrieg, winning five games out of six, displaying splendid technique and discipline. Considering their second place in the National Soccer Championships and Ukrainian Cup Quarterfinals, this passing year could well be referred to as the Year of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

This Dnipropetrovsk team’s achievements look even more impressive, considering their rivals, among them the formidable PSV Eindhoven, one of the UEFA battle-hardened veterans. Also, Napoli’s return to the Italian soccer Olympus deserves every praise (they did it back at the turn of the 1990s, during the Diego Maradona epoch).

Metalist Kharkiv confidently placed first in that team’s division, even though probably not as spectacularly as Dnipro.

As a result, four Ukrainian soccer clubs will vie for the European Cup in the spring of 2013. The most serious opponent will be Borussia Dortmund (vs. Shakhtar), considering that this is a young, quick, and aggressive team. The German coach, Jurgen Klopp, has made his game pattern perfectly clear. Both teams will play offensive combination soccer that will keep the fans screaming.

Metalist Kharkiv will have to battle Newcastle and Dynamo Kyiv will have to deal with Bordeaux. Both are strong and ambitious rivals, but the Bordeaux team is in the process of getting real well trained while Newcastle has been on a downward grade. Dnipro looks better than the Swiss team, Basel, in terms of both team and individual performance. The Brits are an exception from the rule, considering their amazing Christmas and New Year schedule.

The first part of the soccer championships this year left a number of questions unanswered. One point is clear: Shakhtar won’t be a champ after lagging 11 points behind Dnipro in the first round.

Zaporizhia Metalurh was a whipping guy compared to its Donetsk counterpart. After scoring three points, the team had one foot in the first league while keeping the other one on the last rung of the ladder.

Soccer fans will be thrilled to watch the second-level matches between Dnipro, Dynamo, and Metalist. Kyiv Dynamo has lost five out of 16 games, including the matches with Poltava Vorskla and Donetsk Metalurh. The Kharkiv team has problems that can be resolved by the players. When this soccer team is in the right mood, it can beat any other team. At times this mood seems to disappear and Metalist Kharkiv starts losing apparently winning games.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Placing second, with the goalie missing no hits on home turf, with the team demonstrating an aggressive style.

There is also Odesa Chornomorets, with its special technique, placed fifth – not for long, I guess. Add here Arsenal that beat Metalist and Shakhtar, and ended the match with Dnipro in a draw.

Soccer fans in Ukraine will have lots of live broadcasts to keep them thrilled.

Euro-2012 was effective in Ukraine, by and large, with our teams showing an adequate performance during the continental tournaments, with the inner championships remaining on a high level.

Hopefully, the next year will make our soccer players and fans happier.