Roman Petrenko - about the chances of a newcomer "miners" to take the post number one.

The current off-season for Shakhtar is a period of substantial personnel renewal. It also touched the goalkeeper's position, where instead of Nikita Shevchenko, the competition with Andrei Pyatov will now be the other Shevchenko - Alexei. We will estimate the chances of the ex-goalkeeper of the Carpathians to win a place in the starting line-up of the current champion.

Alexey Shevchenko brightly flashed a long time ago. In the drowning Zaporozhye Metallurgist goalkeeper made his debut very well, and soon liked the selection services of more than one Ukrainian club. A young, beautifully gifted physically, with a wonderful reaction and excellent acting at the exits, Alex quickly continued to improve his own skills, and it soon became evident that our championship was enriched by another promising guard of the gate. And though Metallurg, who became native to him, skipped a lot (with Shevchenko at the gate - almost twice for the match), the fault in this is clearly not the goalkeeper's. It's just that the defense of the Cossacks was then playing ... Five years ago, the career of a pupil of Dnipro football seemed to have gained a new qualitative turn. Who would be able to abandon the proposal of Dynamo, the more so, the composition of Kiev almost regularly replenished ex-metallurgists. The only colleagues of Shevchenko Stanislav Bogush and Maxim Koval are worth. Alas, the Dynamo Odyssey turned out to be dull and short. Speeches for the youth composition did not contribute to the progress, and it was almost impossible to get into the first team. Without alternative, Alexander Shovkovsky did not go anywhere. So, the young goalkeeper was forced to skate on the rental links. Goverla and Olimpic, the Georgian Torpedo and Dila, to a greater extent, only tempered the patience and strong-willed qualities of Shevchenko, but in terms of game practice the goalkeeper acquired slightly.

The turning point was the winter of 2016. The transition to Zarya revealed the potential of Alexei. A series of excellent duels in the Lugansk team drew attention to the goalkeeper from the coaches of the national team, and Andriy Shevchenko called for the collection of his namesake. It would seem, here it is, recognition. However, the goalkeeper did not get a chance to make his debut in the main team of the country, and last summer the lineup of Zarya was joined by megaperspective Andrei Lunin, and immediately ousted from the frame of the older comrade. By the winter break it became clear: Shevchenko needed to leave. The option matured pretty quickly. Carpathians suffered a wreck and clearly needed to strengthen the goalkeeper position. Alexei in Lviv immediately fell to the court, and gave an excellent spring segment, as a result of which the Galicians retained their place in the Premier League, and their goalkeeper was again under spotlight general attention.

Despite the good press, the invitation to Shakhtar was somewhat unexpected. Yes, for certain will replace the situation Nikita Shevchenko, almost does not play, although young Oleg Kudrik gives a lot of hope, but there is also Andrey Pyatov! The best goalkeeper of the country and the undoubted first number of the national team of his position so easily does not give way even to such a talented rival as Alexei. However, the chances of a newcomer to press the same legend of the club are available. Despite a well-spent season, in the game Piatov often there were failures. A number of gross mistakes and even "importation" (as, for example, in the cup match with Mariupol) could be costly to the "miners", and if not for the vaunted Latin American attack - who knows what would have ended for Shakhtar the past championship ... In favor of Shevchenko speaks and age. Pyatov is already 34 years old, and although for the goalkeeper this is a period of full bloom, the years sometimes still take their. Errors in the game Andrew is clearly not becoming less, and in this case, Paul Fonseca is not superfluous to have a reliable changer. The changer, able to change painlessly, and, perhaps, in the long term completely replace the main goalkeeper. For sure, plus the presence in the center of defense of another ex-Zaporozhye Sergey Krivtsov will be a plus for Shevchenko, and with the proprietor Taras Stepanenko Aleksey is familiar.

Surely at first the newcomer will be a backup of Pyatov. Given the conservatism of Fonseca in choosing the starting lineup, even on a priori less difficult fights, to achieve the confidence of the Portuguese will not be so easy. And yet, it seems, Shevchenko will get her chance. Pyatov, although it looks unsinkable, but the experience of losing a place in the gate already had. Remember Alexander Rybka, who for a certain period seized the number one post in Shakhtar. An example is very timely, the more Shevchenko, like Alexander, became the next Dynamo who turned out to be in Miner. So now Pyatov got a worthy competitor, and the competition has never been in the way.

Author: Roman Petrenko.