Roman Grygorchuk Outlined the Requirements for a Modern Ukrainian Soccer Player

Roman Grigorchuk, coach of Odessa’s “Chornomorets,” shared his vision for the team’s development and explained the reasons behind the current lack of quality in the offense. He explained why he believes only in dominant soccer, what traits make a coach great, and why the Ukrainian national team lacks a winning mentality.

Intent interviewed Roman Grygorchuk.

The coach emphasized that he believes only in a dominant style of play, where the team controls the ball in the opponent’s half and dictates the terms to the opponent. According to him, this is first and foremost a philosophy that must be instilled in players from a young age. He added that this style of soccer requires players to have high physical fitness, speed, explosiveness, and soccer intelligence, since decisions on the field must be made in a fraction of a second.

“A soccer player is a machine. Just a machine, a robot. An incredibly smart robot. And as soon as you win yesterday but don’t win today, you immediately become very weak,” Grigorchuk noted. 

The coach also elaborated on his earlier comment that“Chornomorets” has problems on offense. He noted that, despite having been the top scorer in the First League himself, he wouldn’t have selected himself for the club’s roster. According to him, he would have brought in a forward with slightly different characteristics. The coach also emphasized the need to select players, utilize their best qualities, and choose the right playing style. 

“You know, the ideal—truly ideal—scenario is when a team is put together. That’s the ideal path… The second path is when players are selected and, by utilizing their best qualities, a playing style is chosen. Yes, that’s more or less the approach we’re taking. And at the same time, it’s very important for every player to develop the strengths they already have and gradually improve the areas they need to bring up to a higher level,” Roman Hryhorchuk said.

He also noted that it’s incredibly difficult to evaluate a coach’s work from the outside. The coach sees the player every day, sets tasks for him, and observes how he carries them out. At the same time, people in the stands wonder why one player is on the field and not another. However, there are also fans who understand that the team already has an established style of play; they anticipate what needs to happen to secure a victory and shape that very style.

Roman Hryhorchuk also expressed the view that it is titles, above all else, that make a coach great. In his opinion, it’s impossible to win even a single Champions League title by chance. 

Юлія Калабайда