Goalkeeper Gornyakov – about the club, national teams of Ukraine and the playoffs of the Youth Euro qualification
The goalkeeper of Shakhtar and the Ukrainian national team Anatoly Trubin spoke about the Pitmen’s matches in an exclusive interview with Sport Arena, and also appreciated the matches of the national and youth teams of the country.
— Which of Shakhtar’s charity matches in the spring do you remember the most?
— To be honest, every match was important. In the sense that there was an opportunity to earn money for the country. But I can probably single out the duel with Olympiakos. It was the first match after a huge pause. In my opinion, it was the most emotional, the most difficult match. We seem to have practiced for one or two days and then played. Therefore, I think, in terms of emotions, it was one of the most emotional fights.
— Which match had the most fans, Ukrainians?
– In general, at every match there were people from Ukraine who supported us. There were quite a lot of people in Greece, in Istanbul for the fight against Fenerbahce. In principle, there was support at all matches and there were people from Ukraine. Every sparring had our people, and it’s very nice.
— By the way, on July 26, Shakhtar will play a charity match with Ajax. What can you say about this fight?
– I think it will be a very high-quality match for all of us. Because the opponent is of a very good level. Ajax play in the Champions League every year. Amsterdam players very often reach far in European competitions. Ajax also became the champion of the Netherlands. Therefore, the match with such an opponent is the best for the players in terms of preparing for the new season. And also this is another opportunity to help your country. This fight has a good sign. There will be two teams that play in the Champions League.
– The match will also take place at the Johan Cruyff Arena!
– We will have the first training camp in the Netherlands. Therefore, it will be convenient for us in terms of getting closer to the stadium.
— Three years have passed since your debut for Shakhtar. During these three years, what fights do you consider the most significant for yourself?
– The most significant for me is, of course, the debut for Shakhtar in the match against Mariupol. It’s what you’ve been striving for since you were six years old. Ever since the Academy, you dream about it, realizing that only a few get into the first team. Therefore, it is very pleasant to achieve this, and you are proud that you succeeded.
Also, of course, I would highlight the debut in the Champions League. On top of that, it was the first victory in the tournament with Shakhtar. This is a tournament that brings together the best teams. And it was also a match against Real Madrid, which we won 3-2 in Spain on the field of the Royal Club. There were also good matches against Inter, against Monaco and there were good fights in the Ukrainian championship. But the debut match for Shakhtar and the victory against Real Madrid are the most significant for me at the moment.
– How would you rate the matches of the Ukrainian national team in the playoffs of the 2022 World Cup qualification and in the League of Nations?
– With the Scots in terms of moments and in terms of the game, the result is natural. It’s hard to say something about the match with the Welsh, because on that day the Ukrainian youth team also had a match against the Macedonian team. Therefore, it was not possible to fully watch the match against Wales. But, based on the review that I watched, I can say that the referee should have awarded a penalty against the Welsh. I think that we undeservedly did not reach the World Cup. But this is football and you need to get stronger even after such defeats.
In the League of Nations, Ukraine won and drew with Ireland, and also won against Armenia. It’s good that there are two victories in the asset. And I note that the draw with Ireland was difficult. Of course, if there were three victories in the League of Nations, that would be ideal. But still, with 7 points, Ukraine is in first place. Three matches are still ahead. Everything depends on us. We must show our football and get results.
— Andriy Pyatov ended his career in the Ukrainian national team. What do you think about this?
– This is a man with a capital letter and a legend of Ukrainian football. His achievements on the football field, his matches, his attitude to football speak for themselves.
— Match of the national team of Ukraine (U-21) with France (3:3) turned out to be very interesting. There were five goals in the first half. How would you rate the game?
– I think that all the young players of the Ukrainian national team lack such matches. All the players of the French national team play in the championship of France, Spain, Italy and other top leagues. They have a lot of matches of this level throughout the season. And we don’t have fights of this level so often – in Shakhtar vs Dynamo matches and in European competitions. If there were more such matches, then the players would be more prepared and this psychological confidence would be at a higher level.
But still, we played a very good match against France. There were mistakes in the first half. Maybe nervousness was present, but nevertheless we showed character. Losing 0:1, we won back. Yielding 1:3, we showed character, leveling the position again. We proved that we can play on equal terms even with such a strong opponent. We need to approach matches psychologically more tuned and then everything will work out. I really liked the atmosphere in the team. We have a single holistic team. I also liked the fact that after a draw match with a strong French team, everyone was upset. We understood that if we had not made mistakes somewhere, we could have won this meeting. But this is a good experience and a good boost for every player before the Euro 23 qualifying play-off matches with Slovakia.
– Do you already have an opinion on the Slovakian national team?
– They started sending us videos related to the Slovakian national team. But we have not yet studied this team in detail, since there is still time to prepare and get to know the opponent. But I can say that the Slovak team plays very well on the second floor. Power team. They lost twice to the Spaniards with a score of 2:3, but still imposed a serious fight on a strong opponent. Therefore, there will be very interesting matches
– The head coach of the Ukrainian youth team Ruslan Rotan said that you would try to squeeze the maximum out and reach the European Championship.
“I think we have a good team. The hard work of each player, the coaching staff, the whole team helps to achieve results. Therefore, we must continue in the same spirit, prepare and show our football in matches with any opponent. We will try to get a ticket to the Euro.
Source: Sportarena
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
