Hero of the 12th round of the First League Remenak: the media slightly twisted the comments of players and representatives of FC Minaj for the sake of beautiful headlines

Who would have thought that the reporting round would leave the First League without invincible teams? SK Poltava lost in Demidov, but the leader of the Western group, Agribusiness, who had never lost any points in this championship before, was defeated in Transcarpathia. Moreover, FC Minai approached this round in an anti-record winless streak – but played by far the best match after the UPL.

Therefore, the jury of Sport Arena and the PFL had no doubts – and the hero of the twelfth round in the First League, Artur Remenyak, shared with our site his impressions of Minaya’s long-awaited victory, recalled his youth, his debut in the UPL, and also noted his ambitious plans.

– How unexpected and pleasant is it for you to be recognized as the best player of the tour in the First League?

– Of course, I am very pleased. I can’t say it’s unexpected, because I follow the PFL and have seen several matches of the tour. You should not focus on personal achievements, because, first of all, the results of the team are important. Our task is to get into the championship group. Now we need to focus on winning every match. It doesn’t matter who brings victories to the team.

– There was information in the media that Minai had significant financial problems. How true is this, and how is the situation in the team now?

– The media slightly twisted the comments of the players and club representatives for the sake of beautiful headlines. As of today, there are no financial problems; management is fulfilling all the requirements under the contract. Yes, Minaya does not have the best conditions among PFL clubs, but he can be a good springboard in the career of young football players.

Read also: Remenak, Novikov, Bagachansky, Litovchenko and the entire team of the 12th round of the first stage of the First League

– Minaj couldn’t win seven matches in a row. How did you manage to withstand these failures psychologically? What did the coach tell you?

– It is psychologically difficult to continue working at 100% after a series of failures, given the high tasks and expectations before the championship. Our team has a professional coaching staff and players, so everyone worked to solve problems and improve the game. For their part, coaches continue to focus on developing the individual qualities of football players, as well as team actions. Only through hard work can you break the bad streak, so the team “grits its teeth” and trains hard to return to the winning streak. Having a good team and talented players, I believe that we will achieve the tasks set for the team.

– How did the team’s result correspond to the quality of the game?

– I think that we frankly failed the game against Metalist and the first half of the match with Bukovina. In other cases, we either lacked execution of our chances and sharpness in front, or we conceded goals due to a chain of “unfortunate” events on the field. But success must be earned, so we probably made too many wrong decisions on the field and this led to a negative result. In the First League there is no VAR system and often complex and important decisions are not easy to correctly interpret by the main referee in a second. If we count on our fingers, then because of these mistakes we lost a significant number of points.

– With what expectations did you approach the game with the leader of the group, who had not yet lost points?

– As Zeljko Ljubenovic said at the installation before the game: “Today is the easiest game, because what kind of pressure can we talk about if a team with a streak of seven unsuccessful matches meets with the sole leader of the group, who has won all the matches.” There are no teams in our group that we cannot beat, and we are aiming to win every match. I want to thank our fans who support us so much.

– In the match against Agribusiness, Minaj really played his best match of the season. Your team played aggressively and combined well. How did you manage to win?

– We implemented the coach’s instructions for the game. Each player performed their assigned functions very well. The mood was good, fighting, because they really wanted to show who’s boss. It was possible to implement tactical and technical elements that, for various reasons, could not be accomplished in other fights.

– In the middle of the first half you opened the scoring. Remember this episode? Can you say that you were lucky?

– At the very moment of the goal there was a bit of luck, although without a rebound the ball flew into the corner of the goal. However, the goal itself is a logical consequence of our game advantage from the first minutes and several good attacks to this.

– At the end of the first half, Ryazantsev increased your team’s advantage. Was the goal to the locker room the key in this confrontation?

– Yes, this goal was a turning point. With a difference of one goal, it is very risky to change the style of play, because any set piece or rebound evens out the scales. The second goal allowed us to go into the second half with an understanding of our advantage and allowed us to tie the game.

– What did the coaching staff focus on in the locker room? How did Minaya’s game change after the break?

– In the second half, we sat lower, allowed the opponent to rise into our half with the ball, and thereby began to play more reliably in defense and created space for ourselves for quick counterattacks.

– In the 71st minute after Vishnevsky’s pass, you cleared up all questions about the winner. Are such fast attacks one of your team’s trump cards?

– This goal is the result of a well-chosen tactic for the second half. The setup for counterplay and the quick use of free zones in front worked. And yes, we scored a lot of goals in a similar style last season in the UPL, so quick attacks can be called one of Minai’s strengths.

– What happened in the locker room after the victory? What did the coach tell you? It is probably impossible to overestimate the importance of these three points?

– This victory was long-awaited, and the team was finally able to breathe a little sigh of relief. But this is only three points, and to get into the Championship group you need to get three points in each next game. We don’t have any euphoria. You need to train hard and prepare for each next game.

– In two victorious matches you scored doubles. Are you satisfied with your performance, or would you like to score more often?

– To be honest, it’s better to score one goal every game than two goals every four games. If one goal is enough to win, and it’s not me who scores, then I’ll be happy with the team result, because that’s what’s in first place now.

– Your team is six points behind fourth place. Is it still possible to compete for the top 4?

– Of course, everything is real. It is enough just to successfully play all the remaining games.

– You played for the youth teams of FC Lviv for eleven years. What can you remember from that period? To what extent were conditions for youth development created in Lviv and what problems did they encounter?

– Youth Sports School Lviv, led by President Roman Mykhailyv, created and continues to create all the conditions for the development of young football players. I remember my stay in the structure of this club very fondly, because at all levels I was trusted, supported and given the opportunity to maximize my potential.

Special thanks to my first coach Oleg Stepanovich Yaremchuk [отец Романа Яремчука – форварда сборной]who always believed in me and supported me as best he could. A big advantage of the youth school is its openness to proposals from adult teams. At first it was a club vertical with a team in the UPL, last year cooperation with Minai, and now many of the school’s students are finding their place in UPL and PFL teams.

– Can you mention the most talented football players you played with at the youth level? Maybe one of them became known throughout Ukraine?

– My teammates in the Youth Sports School Lviv were Artur Ryabov, Vitaly Dakhnovsky, Roman Bily, Dmitry Penteleychuk, Vitaly Zhupansky, Oleg Gorin, as well as a number of players who found their place in the Major Leagues of foreign championships. In addition, he was twice called up to the youth and youth national teams of Ukraine (U-16 and U-21). A number of players have reached the level of the Ukrainian national team and are performing at a high level.

– At the professional level in FC Lviv, over three seasons you played 41 matches and scored four goals. It seemed that the transition from youth football to adult football was quite easy for you?

– The transition from youth football to adult football is never easy. At first, he might not have been included in the main team’s roster for several games in a row. Subsequently, he was content with coming on as a substitute at the end of the game, and even played for a certain period not in his usual position. But everywhere I met the support of the management and coaching staff. They saw potential in me, so I gradually gained experience and was ready for new serious challenges.

– In three seasons at FC Lviv, to what extent have you been able to reach your potential? Do you remember the brightest moments?

– There were quite a lot of good and memorable moments. The first goal at the senior level is very valuable for me. This happened in the 2021/22 season against Mariupol at the Lviv Arena. The club gave me the opportunity to express myself to the fullest, and I believe that I took advantage of this chance. Of course, fate could have turned out differently, but I thank her for continuing to play football at a good level. I enjoy my work and bring joy to the fans. I am still a young footballer and my potential has definitely not been exhausted yet.

– What tasks do you set for yourself for the near future?

“I’m trying to get into the championship group with the team, and then fight for a return to the UPL. As for personal goals – to train, play, progress, become stronger every day, score goals and contribute to the team. I believe that if you give your best to football, football will reward you back. Why not believe that there will be an opportunity to play in one of the top 5 European championships in the future?

BLITs

-Where were you born?

• Bolshoi Lyuben village, Lviv region

– What football school are you from?

• Youth Sports School Lviv

– Who is your first coach?

• Oleg Stepanovich Yaremchuk

– Which team in Europe do you follow?

• Behind all the top championships. Among the teams I will highlight Manchester City and Real Madrid.

– Which players do you like?

• I like players who aim at the goal from any position. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Hollandi prime Messi.

– What is your dream goal in football?

• It would be nice to win the Champions League at the club level, or fight for a big trophy with the national team. I would realistically like to try my hand at one of the top 5 European championships, especially the Premier League.

Yaroslav Krokha