Andrey KHARCHINSKY: “We were able to fully prepare for the European Championship”

It will take part in Division B of the European U-16 Championship, which will be held in Sofia (Bulgaria) from 11-20 August. The national team of Ukraine, led by Andriy Kharchinsky.

Before the start of the continental championship, the team’s mentor told the FBU about the readiness of the guys, the formation of the squad and the opponents.

– We were preparing in Calpe, Spain. At first we planned to change the training place a few times, but we came to the conclusion that it would be better for us to train in one place. The team was equipped with everything necessary there, they played quite a lot of sparring with their peers, older players.

– Are you satisfied with the quality of the competitions?

– Here I can answer you – this summer the European U-20 and U-18 champions were the Spanish national teams, which means they did something right. I am very happy with the competition. We played with adult teams – our first game was “we got carried away like cats” but then we started showing our teeth. Overall, we were able to alternate between the different team levels, creating a match schedule for the European Championship that included three consecutive days and a rest day for a week, followed by two more games.

I do not want to talk about the nuances, difficulties, so that it does not look like a search for excuses before starting – we will assume that we managed to fully prepare. The team is ready and we go to war.

– Then the question of the formation of the composition. There is a war in the country and your team’s players have been traveling to different places in Europe since February. How hard was it to bring them together because the team had the backbone in place?

– Huge work was done with each player of our team individually. There was someone in Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland… And we managed not only to gather them in one place, but also to have a meeting, to train, to have a discussion.

There are a few other people who could be on the team, but everyone has different moments. But in this situation we are in, when there is a war in the country, we are content with what we have.

It is clear that there can be different moments in the European Championship. You come to the tournament – and you don’t know the team. Players see their opponent and draw a picture in their heads… After all, they are children and this is their first European Championship. Again, that’s no excuse, because for them it’s a step forward in their career. You are going to the European Championship, you represent your country and you have to show all your good qualities in the national team jersey.

– How psychologically ready is the team for such a tournament?

– Honestly, the atmosphere in the team is incredible and the team is amazing. We spent almost three months together but the meeting went like a day. And they flew even with a slight remorse.

– In terms of opponents – Germany is the favorite not only of the group, but also of the entire tournament, Finland also scored high. What can you say?

– You know, in preparation for the European Championship, Germany trained with teams from Division A, we examined them. Even the coach of the German national team threw me a video, so he has no secrets. And when there are no secrets, he says they don’t care if you know how they play. But we’re playing them in the last round.

We also know Finland very well. The first match is very important. We tell the guys every day, we analyze the team, we look. Good team, there are three leaders. But we’re not just going to the European Championship. We have a huge advantage over our opponents – none of them know how we look on the field. Videos, clips of our games simply do not exist. And this plus must be used to the fullest in the first game.

It should be noted that the Ukraine U-16 team will play its first match in the European Championship today, on 11 August, against Finland. The match starts at 16:00.