Euro 2020: Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko plotting success as coach
Updated On: 29 June, 2021 07:27 AM IST | Kiev (Ukraine) | AFP
The association in April greenlighted the decision to shrink this season`s domestic championship by one week to grant the national team extra time for training ahead of Euro 2020, an unusual move for a European league.
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Andriy Shevchenko. Pic/AFP
Andriy Shevchenko`s Ukraine might be disappointed by the fact that they only reached the knockout phase of the European Championship for the first time thanks to a considerable stroke of good fortune. But ahead of Tuesday`s Euro 2020 last-16 game against Sweden, the 44-year-old coach may draw inspiration from a past encounter against the same opponent, the swansong of his illustrious career as a player. Ukraine lost 3-2 to the Netherlands to start Group C, then clinched a key 2-1 victory over North Macedonia, but were beaten to second place by Austria after a 1-0 defeat in their final game. After an anxious two-day wait to see if they qualified as one of the four best third-placed teams, Ukraine were indebted to Spain, whose crushing win over Slovakia in Group E sent Shevchenko`s team through to the next round.
Five years after taking over following Ukraine`s failure to score a single goal at Euro 2016, Shevchenko has rejuvenated the team, toughening it up on the big stage. But he described the fatigue of his players as the main reason for the defeat to Austria. "The game was physically hard today. We were constantly late," Shevchenko said after the match in which a draw would have been enough for Ukraine to finish as runners-up. "I saw the team simply lacked strength. We tried to strengthen (with substitutions), but it was almost impossible to do." The remarks raised eyebrows at home as Ukraine`s team have enjoyed preferable conditions for their Euro 2020 preparation, which some explain by a special bond between Shevchenko and the Ukrainian football association chief. Local media say Shevchenko is the godfather of the daughter of Ukrainian FA president Andriy Pavelko. The association in April greenlighted the decision to shrink this season`s domestic championship by one week to grant the national team extra time for training ahead of Euro 2020, an unusual move for a European league.
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