Team
By Taras Bombak
On
June 30, 2006, in front of a capacity crowd in Hamburg, Germany, with Ukrainian
president Victor Yushchenko in attendance, the Ukrainian national soccer team
ended its participation in the 2006 World Cup of Soccer with a 3-0 loss to
Italy in the quarter-finals stage.
A first-time participant, Team Ukraine (the
zbirna) went into the World Cup, likely the world’s most-watched sporting
event, largely unknown internationally, fielding a team consisting mainly of
players from Ukraine’s domestic league, with team captain Andriy Shevchenko the
only international star on its roster.
Sceptics of Ukraine’s chances had their doubts
reinforced at the outset, as Spain defeated Ukraine 4-0 in its first game on a
hot day in Leipzig on June 14. Ukraine fell behind early on goals by Spaniards.
Any chances of a Ukraine comeback in the second half were dispelled by a
questionable penalty shot awarded to Spain by a Swiss referee who gave the free
kick (which was successfully converted by Torres) due to a tug on the shorts of
an opponent outside of the penalty area by Ukraine defender Vladislav Vaschuk,
who was ejected from the game for this “infraction.” Down to 10 men and
apparently exhausted from the heat, the Ukrainians were unable to muster much
of an attack and surrendered another goal to Torres before the final whistle.
Faced with a must-win situation, but seemingly
undaunted by the opening loss to Spain, the odds-makers’ favourite in Group H,
which Ukraine was drawn for the “group stage” of the tournament, Ukraine, after
some lineup juggling by coach Oleh Blokhin, rebounded and forged a convincing
4-0 victory in Hamburg on June 19 over Saudi Arabia on goals by Rusol, Rebrov,
Shevchenko and Kalynychenko.
Victory over the Saudis left Ukraine needing only
a tie over their next opponents, Tunisia, to advance to the knockout stage. The
zbirna went one step better, defeating Tunisia 1-0 on June 23 in Berlin, this
time with Shevchenko as the beneficiary of a penalty shot, which he fired into
the goal.
Advancing to the knockout stage secured Ukraine a
date with Switzerland, in Cologne on June 26. After the regulation 90 minutes
of play and 30 minutes of extra time, the score remained 0-0. Direct penalty
kicks were required to resolve the outcome. Coach Blokhin could not bear to
watch the nerve-wracking penalty kicks and retreated to the locker room,
leaving his players to settle the issue. Things looked grim for Ukraine after
Shevchenko shot first and failed to score. Tension turned to jubilation, however,
as Ukraine’s goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskyi heroically allowed no goals in
three Swiss penalty attempts, while the remaining Ukrainian shooters, Milevsky,
Rebrov and Husiev all scored, with Husiev’s shot sealing the victory and
ensuring progression to the quarter-finals against Italy.
Ukraine entered the match against Italy, a
long-time soccer superpower, as underdogs. The Italians took the lead with a
Zambrotta strike in the sixth minute. But, unlike in the opener against Spain,
this time the Ukrainians determinately fought back, matching the Italians in
relentlessly pursuing and possessing the ball. Challenges for the ball often
resulted in Italian players lying on the ground in apparent pain, perhaps not
commensurate with the amount of contact involved.
In the second half, Ukraine pressed to the attack
and narrowly missed tying the score several times. In the latter stages,
Ukraine was forced into a compromising position defensively, and Italian
striker Toni took advantage of the situation with a pair of goals in the 59
and 69 minutes to put the contest out of reach for Ukraine and
to ensure the zbirna’s exit from the tournament. The final score was 3-0, but
with a slight turn of events at certain key stages, Ukraine’s results could
have been better.
In sum, Ukraine’s World Cup debut was successful.
The often-stated target for the coaches and many of the players to reach the
knockout rounds was exceeded by Ukraine’s progress to the final eight.
Furthermore, Team Ukraine displayed its soccer prowess on a world stage, and
bolstered the numbers and loyalties of its supporters both at home and abroad.
What’s next for the zbirna? The long road towards qualifying for Euro
2008, the European Soccer Championship – a tournament arguably second in
stature only to the World Cup–begins with a game against Georgia on September
6. Interestingly, Ukraine will again face Italy, as it has drawn into a group
which contains both Italy and soccer power France; only the top-two group
finishers will advance to the final round.
The core of the zbirna will likely remain the 2006
World Cup veterans, but probably with several new starters garnered from the
ranks of the talented new generation of Ukrainian footballers – the silver
medal team from the 2006 European Under 21 (Years of Age) Championship, leaving
open the prospect that the cheer Vpered Ukraina! will resound throughout
major soccer competitions for years to come.
Taras Bombak is an Edmonton-based
sports enthusiast.