One football family

On 6 November, the Lvivarnya museum complex in Lviv hosted a major sporting event that went beyond the usual idea of football. The Ukrainian Association of Football held a joint media event for two very different and equally unbreakable national teams, in football and amputee football.

The evening brought together the moving send-off for the amputee football team before their first WAFF World Cup, in Mexico, and a press conference by Ukraine football coach Andrea Maldera ahead of the decisive November Nations League games. It put into practice the association’s message of the past few months: Ukrainian football is one big, close-knit family.

The unbreakables

The most moving part of the event was the send-off for the amputee national team. Most of the squad are veterans of Ukraine’s armed forces or its security and defence services. For men who sustained severe injuries and lost limbs at the front, football has become a crucial part of rehabilitation, a way back to active life and a new field on which to fight for their country.

The head coach is 44-year-old Nazarii Rusetskyi. The Lviv native has been central to the development of amputee football in Ukraine. He was a futsal goalkeeper, playing for professional and amateur clubs in his home city.

Rusetskyi’s approach begins with a deep respect for the veterans. Twelve of the 19 players in his current squad are veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine. He has helped them adapt, brought them together and turned them into accomplished professionals.

The WAFF World Cup runs from 13 to 22 November in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico. Ukraine are in Group C and face Germany on the 13th, Brazil on the 14th and Japan on the 15th.

Those who came to show their support included UAF vice-president Oleksandr Shevchenko, legendary former player and coach Oleh Luzhnyi, and national football captain Mykola Matviienko. During the event, amputee team captain Yurii Sushch gave Matviienko a special team pennant bearing the emblems of the brigades his players had served in. Matviienko gave him a captain’s armband bearing Ukrainian unit insignia in return.

Andrii Shevchenko spoke to Rusetskyi’s team by video link. The UAF president told them to relax, put their nerves aside and play their best football. Maldera added his own words of support: “It is a great honour to stand beside you. Your team is a living example of the strength, extraordinary courage and resilience of all Ukrainians. Your example will be a huge inspiration to my players. Glory to Ukraine!”

Olena Balbek, CEO of the UAF Foundation, described how quickly adaptive sport was growing through the League of the Strong initiative, which has helped hundreds of wounded service members regain belief in themselves.

An overhaul

1. 1Northern Ireland
2. 2Georgia
3. BAim: stay in League B

After the emotional send-off came Andrea Maldera’s press conference. The Italian was unusually open as he went through the state of play ahead of Northern Ireland and Georgia. What else could he do after such a conspicuous failure in October?

Turning to the team’s performances, the coach urged the public to be realistic and patient. Maldera acknowledged that a complete overhaul was under way: “We have to accept that we’re building an entirely new team.” He said the many changes in previous Nations League games had been forced, with a wave of injuries, suspensions and illness among key players making it necessary to look at the next group in line.

The Italian stood up for the quality of Ukraine’s football despite the October setbacks: “We lost our last two matches, but we didn’t play badly. We were short on the details, but you can see how we play and what the team is capable of. The time for experimenting is over and the staff want to settle on a stable core drawn from a smaller group of players.”

The journalists were most interested in Maldera’s tactical thinking. He dispelled the idea that he favoured a traditional set formation:

“It’s difficult to talk about fixed formations in world football today. If a team is tied to one structure, it becomes predictable. We change shape during games very often. We might start in a 4-4-2, go to three centre-backs and then go back to a back four. Today’s game demands as much flexibility as possible from players and coaches.”

Squad decisions

Maldera said that Oleksandr Zubkov, who was on his original list, would miss out through injury in December. The coach had seriously considered calling up the talented Sunderland player Tymur Tutierov, who was in excellent form. In the end the staff went with experience:

“We follow Tutierov, like everyone else. My main concern was bringing in too many new faces for these crucial games. That’s why we went with Mykola Shaparenko and Vladyslav Vanat, who were on the reserve list. They know how we play and are ready to deliver right now.”

The Italian also spoke about the team’s leaders. On Andrii Yarmolenko’s absence, he said the veteran remained an icon and an important figure, but that “the time has come for other lads to step out of his shadow and grow on their own”. The door remained open to goalkeeper Andrii Lunin, Maldera stressed, provided he played regularly for Real Madrid. He teased fans with the prospect that the newly called-up winger Oleksii Kashchuk might be a very pleasant surprise in the next games.

The state of the group

Andrea Maldera set a clear objective for the final games of the autumn. “Our first priority in the Nations League at the moment is simply to stay in League B,” the head coach said plainly. He described the group as exceptionally tight and said the aim was to take as many points as possible from the last two matches. Beyond the current, painful rebuild, the long-term goal is still to build a strong side that can qualify for and do well at Euro 2028.

The evening in Lviv made something clear. For all the tactical arguments, pressure over results and selection problems, Ukrainian football has a firm foundation in its unity. The national team, led by a foreign coach, takes inspiration from the resilience of the veterans on the amputee team. In turn, the amputee players know that millions of fans and the whole football community are behind them as they travel halfway around the world. It is over to our teams now, on the pitches of Mexico and Europe.

It is worth saying, though, that the October debacle badly shook confidence in Maldera’s ability. In a group we ought to get through, we are fighting for survival rather than promotion. In that case, what Euro are we talking about?