PETRAKOV: “The guys have a lot of workload. Many people could barely move their legs.”

Head coach of the Ukrainian national team Alexander Petrakov He commented on the result of the control match with the Italian “Empoli” (3:1).

– Did you like the game? Why did you want to play against Empoli?

– Empoli helped us, he answered because they could not play against Udinese. As if I didn’t choose an opponent. Many thanks to the Italians for the reception, the club, the president, the coach, the players.

– How do you prepare the team, given the current situation in Ukraine?

“It was tough when we got together. Thank you guys for listening to me and doing everything I tell them. They’re very tough. Today, at the edge of the court, I played with them practically, trying to get them physically fit. I pushed them forward, most of them barely crossing their legs.” He moved. But I thank them for coming to the end, they’re great. We need control matches. The problem is, we never played sparring.

– Any details about Denis Popov’s injury?

– He has a problem with his Achilles tendon, we’ll see, it takes about two days. The doctor said the tendon was intact, but an MRI was needed and Denis needed a few days of rest. I’ll let him go to his wife. On arrival Popov will do an MRI and then we’ll make a decision.

– What composition will we see in the Ukrainian national team’s match against Rijeka tomorrow?

– No secret. We fly to Croatia in the morning, arrive at the venue, have lunch. Tomorrow, 11 new players will appear on the field.

– Oleksandr Pikhalyonok scores in the second match in a row and shows a good level of play. Roman Yaremchuk recently came to the field of the national team and scored a goal today. Comment on their game.

– Yaremçuk, who played the last match on May 13, flew to the national team immediately and did not ask for permission. Roman and I are working, 15-20 minutes are left after training to work on the application. He’s good, he had a good time today. God willing, he will score as many goals as necessary in Glasgow. As for Pikhalenok, there is no need to praise him too much. This is a friendly match with Empoli. The man is young, let him play, I’m happy for him.

– Did you watch Eurovision?

– I watched, the whole team watched. We are very happy for our win.

– In June, the national team of Ukraine expects a large number of matches. Any idea how many players are needed to keep up with this insane speed and rotation?

– I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. You see that the men are taking very heavy loads. Injuries received by Popov, Bulets, Gutsulyak. I spoke to the UAF president, told him I wanted to play five practice matches. He also asked to take 27 players to Glasgow and subsequent games.