Ukraine, ravaged by successive wars, welcomed soccer great Lebouw to the team just before the warm-up match against Germany. The former outstanding coach replaced Berdykov as the first official head coach of the Ukrainian team since January. Lebouw said it would be "the honor of a lifetime" to coach the Ukrainian national team and vowed to devote all his efforts to the country's soccer.
Despite the fact that Ukraine cannot even have a fixed home ground due to the fire in the country, the 49-year-old Lebouw is determined to take up the mission of revitalizing Ukrainian soccer. Last week, he signed a three-year contract with the Ukrainian Football Association, saying passionately: "This is my honor, and every Ukrainian should be proud to represent the national team. I have prepared my whole life for this opportunity and I will give my best to show the players the best soccer skills."
Lebouw's legendary status in Ukrainian soccer has not been diminished by the fact that he played as a striker in his playing days, creating a "dream team" with Shovzhenko, although his later career was characterized by mediocre performances at clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Westham. As a coach, Lebov has won many awards, including two Ukrainian league titles with Dynamo Kyiv, three Hungarian league titles with Ferencvaros, and last year's UAE league title with Iaan.
