Oleg Blokhin, head coach of the Ukraine national team:

- I want to congratulate the Kazakhstan national team on a very successful game. The victory was very hard for us. For one simple reason - on Saturday we played a tough game in Denmark, and no matter how we tried to restore the guys for today's match, the fatigue still showed. I want to congratulate our team too - on a hard-fought victory. If we hadn't won today, our press would probably have written that a catastrophe had occurred. I don't understand, though, why in such cases a loss is considered a catastrophe.

But even if we hadn't won, I would still have congratulated our team on the fact that character was shown again, which was not observed before. That is the most important thing. The team fought for victory until the last second, despite how hard it was to do. I understood that scoring when exhausted is almost always a hopeless matter. But the guys did it. I am grateful to the team, and the point here is not the points. Our team is young, still in the stage of formation. As, by the way, is the Kazakhstan national team, for which today was hard also for the reason that the opening match is always difficult, regardless of where you play - at home or in Copenhagen. If the teams in our group think that they will come here for easy points, then I think they are mistaken. I want to wish success to the Kazakhstan national team. And the coach of this team says correctly - they are not outsiders, they must fight. If they fight and achieve success in this way, then they themselves will believe that they are not outsiders. But this is hard work, which national team coaches sometimes don't manage to do in 5 days.

- Why didn't Andriy Shevchenko take part in the match? Did his absence strongly affect the attacking power of the Ukraine national team?

- As for how his absence affected things, ask the head coach of the Kazakhstan national team :-)). You know, if, for example, you take Baltiev out of the Kazakhstan team, then you simply take the connecting link out of the team. Besides, we don't have that many stars in Ukrainian football for Shevchenko's absence not to affect our team's play. Although many say that Ukrainian football is rich in talents, but somehow these talents don't grow very quickly.

As for the reasons for Shevchenko's absence, it is connected with an injury - at one of the training sessions in Kyiv he slipped on level ground and pulled a muscle. There was no collision or struggle for the ball - just a piece of the pitch "went" from under his foot.

- Is it true that Shevchenko flew to Almaty on his own plane?

- Are you interested in his personal life? Well, let's start peeking through the keyhole... I am responsible for football matters and I am not at all interested in what plane, what car, what helicopter this or that footballer arrives on. I have my own life, and you probably have yours. If you want to peek through the keyhole - that was under the USSR, excuse me. Peek if that's convenient for you.

- Can one say that the Ukraine national team has already been created, can at least show character?

- I already said that I am grateful to the team first of all for character. You're not listening to what I'm saying.

- But the national team had a series of unsuccessful matches...

- A series of friendly matches? Yes, I already said - for the results of these matches I should have been fired long ago. Why wasn't I fired? If I win friendly matches and lose official ones, then what are coaches for, what are friendly games for then? Friendly games exist in order to test the team in them. I lost 0:3 or 0:5, I still sat down after the game, watched the recording and saw - where I'm good and where I'm bad; who suits me and who doesn't suit me. I'll repeat once again, regardless of the result of today's match, I would equally have thanked the team for the character shown.

- Thanks to what is Ukrainian football progressing so quickly?

- Thanks to foreigners. I'm not joking. Firstly, thanks to good foreign players, the clubs that acquire such players develop. Secondly, children's and youth football is also developing here. In particular, football schools that train footballers have been built in Kyiv and Donetsk. Besides, the "Goal" program is developing in our country. 40 football pitches with artificial turf have already been installed in the country, where you can play football all year round. Another 400 such pitches will be built across Ukraine. So thanks to all of this our football is developing. But in order to see the results of this work, time must pass.

- Give a brief comment on the substitutions made and a characterization of the players who came on as substitutes.

- It's hard to discuss the game when everything is on nerves. One needs to calmly watch the recording of the game and then make an objective assessment. As you saw, we freshened up the team a bit. I am satisfied with the substitutions. Today, for example, the same Rotan and Rusol played on the field - young boys. What do you want from them, if under the USSR it was hard to play at 22, and now we want them to play at 24. These are completely different times. The head coach of the Kazakhstan national team is working for the future by fielding young players, and I am also working for the future.

Some substitutions satisfied me, some didn't. Some players played as they should, some - weaker than I expected from them. I think it's the team's business to calmly sit down and analyze the game. And we need to move forward gradually, step by step, step by step. But we want everything at once - to reach the final part of the world championship, to jump 2.40 or 6 meters, which we can't manage yet. Everything is created gradually.

Well, the "debriefing" after the game with Denmark was harsher than after the games with France and England. Because some euphoria began. Everyone says it's very good that we took 1 point from Denmark. Even the newspapers praised us. True, not all of them - half. But before the game with Denmark there were headlines: "Wounded Blokhin," "Wounded team," etc. And no one hoped that in the match with Denmark we would take at least a point. Honestly speaking, I'm sure that many today didn't expect that we would beat Kazakhstan. Thank you to those who believe! In any case, we will move forward.

- Do you remember Serhiy Anatoliyovych from his performances in the USSR championship?

- I remember. I would like to thank you for the warm welcome. Your hospitality reminded me of the times when we played here in the USSR with "Kairat." Thank you, good luck, health, happiness and success!

Serhiy TYMOFIEYEV (head coach of the Kazakhstan national team): - I would like to congratulate the Ukraine national team on a deserved victory - the Ukrainians played stronger than us. And in general, it must be admitted that at the moment the Ukrainian team is stronger than our national team. Well, we did everything that was in our power. The main thing we could offer the opponent was self-sacrifice. And I am grateful to the guys that they did today everything they could. And of course, today's match is great experience for us, because we are only taking our first steps. If we continue to show such self-sacrifice as today, then, I think, we will grow. Oleg Volodymyrovych said correctly - it won't be easy for anyone here, we will fight for every part of the field in every meeting. We will not play just like that, without a fight. I promise you that. Well, and to the Ukraine national team - success in future matches.

- Does the Kazakhstan national team still have the task of reaching the final part of the 2006 World Cup?

- Guys, it's simply ridiculous - to talk about the Kazakhstan national team reaching the final part of the world championship. It's delusion. What is there to talk about, if the same Ukraine national team with its players hasn't been able to get to either the European Championship or the World Championship for 12 years. We still need to go a very long way to achieve similar results. We have nothing - no facilities, no pitches. If we reach the final part of the world championship, it will be simply ridiculous. Can you really imagine such a thing?

Oleg BLOKHIN: - I, for example, - no.

- That's why I can't either.

Oleg BLOKHIN: - No, well, tasks can be set. That is also part of a coach's work - to set the bar.

- Why did you decide to field Chychulin in the starting lineup today?

- These are young guys, this is our future. If we don't give them a chance now, then in two or three years we'll have no one to play. The same Chychulin will come out and won't be able to play. But this way he will gain experience and in the end will be able to become a master. This is our future and going forward we will give chances to our young guys. As long as I am head coach of the national team, 2-3 young players will definitely play in every game.

- Why didn't you manage to hold a draw?

- Simply put - the team didn't have enough strength. The guys really wanted to hold the score, but the opponent didn't allow it.

Ruslan Rotan, midfielder of the Ukraine national team: When Oleg Volodymyrovych was sending me onto the field, he gave instructions to hold the ball, try to perform playmaking functions, "calm" my partners with accurate passes. As for the goal, I struck deliberately and the ball flew exactly where I wanted, so there is no question of any accident. These two tough games in Denmark and in Kazakhstan added character to us, hardened the team that is already beginning to form.

Oleksiy Belik, forward of the Ukraine national team: I understood that, coming onto the field wearing number seven, I bear a certain responsibility. I was not fully satisfied with my game. Of course, my goal was important and added inspiration, but if we hadn't scored the winning goal in the last minutes, the first one would have been needed by no one. I also took part in the second goal - not long ago my friend Ruslan Rotan asked me to buy him new boots - and it was precisely in them that he scored the decisive goal and brought victory to the Ukraine national team.

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