🎤 Yevhen Levchenko Exclusive Interview and Euro 2024 Predictions

Yevhen Levchecnko gives his Views on Euro 2024

In this interview, Yevhen Levchenko shares his predictions and insights for Euro 2024, highlighting potential winners, star players, and the importance of national pride and Ukrainian fan support.

🏆 Yevhen Levchenko's Euro 2024 Predictions! 🏆

 💭 Thinks France will win, hopes for England

 🥅 Golden Boot Contenders: 🌟 Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham

🐴 Dark Horse Team: 🇦🇹 Austria, especially with David Alaba

📊 Score Predictions:

  - 🇷🇴 Romania vs. Ukraine: 2-1

  - 🇸🇰 Slovakia vs. Ukraine: 2-0

  - 🇧🇪 Belgium vs. Ukraine: 1-1

Yevhen Levchencko Euro 2024 Predictions

Yevhen Levchenko

8 Caps for Ukraine

Q: Who will win Euro 2024?

YL: “If I had to choose then it’s between two teams in England and France, I hope England will win it. But I think France will.”

EURO2024 Betting Odds

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Q: Who will win the Golden Boot at Euro 2024?

YL: “I like Kylian Mbappe for his speed but always the way he plays, it’s more than football, but Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also in the question.

“I think that Mbappe and Kane could both be the top scorers.”

EURO2024 Golden Boot Betting Odds

All odds tables on this page are sourced live from the displayed bookmakers. Once the market is closed, no odds box will appear.

Q: Who will win the Golden Ball at Euro 2024?

YL: ”I really like Jude Bellingham, his calmness and his communication with both the players and the fans, he is very, very strong at the moment.

“I went to see Real Madrid play this season and he was amazing, a pleasure to watch, I would like to see him around the trophy.”

Q: Who are your dark horses at Euro 2024?

YL: “I would say that Austria. I think they will perform in Germany after watching their recent matches, especially if they have their big star David Alaba back.

“But they are performing quite well and have a strong team, I’ll be interested in how they perform.”

Q: How far will Ukraine get at Euro 2024? Who are the star players?

YL: “I would like to see Ukraine performing well, but Ukraine are in quite a difficult position at the moment. You have some players that are performing well, like Viktor Tsyhankov at Girona and we hope that Mykhailo Mudryk can perform.

“In my opinion, Mudryk could be the star. It all depends on his mood and where he is mentally, when you see him playing with the national team he usually performs well.

“We have some more players like Volodymyr Brozhko from Dynamo Kiev. He came in when Taras Stepanenko was not ready and he showed a lot of strength, he showed a lot of ability.

“I like Illia Zabarnyi very much. I like his way of playing, his calmness and his ability to learn. In my opinion he is very important for us. Of course we have Andriy Lunin, as he is performing quite well for Real Madrid.

“We expect to go to Ukraine through the group and then we will see who we are facing, going through the group stage is a must.”

Q: Who will be the next Ukrainian star in the Premier League?

YL: “Heorhiy Sudakov from Shakhtar Donetsk. I think he's one of the key players from Ukraine. I have seen him so many times already and he is still young. His way of treating the ball and communicating with his team-mates like Mudryk, he has so much ability.

“I hope he will leave Shakhtar because they have just won the league and won the cup and I think it’s time for him to move on.

“I spoke with the coach about his development and he said that Sudakov is bigger than the competition in Ukraine. So hopefully Sudakov will move to the Premier League.

“I think clubs with a lot of possession will suit him much better. I think he is a very technical player and he makes the players around him better.

“I think it's very difficult for me to compare him to other players, but I think he's like a mixture between Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. Because he runs a lot, he's very good on the ball, he always tries to play forward.”

Q: How important is the national kit to the players

YL: “I think our national football team kit is very important for all Ukrainians. People don’t want a lot of variation to the kit but additions are good, like the new kit having Slava Ukraini on the back.

“Everytime I speak to the players they mention those who are defending Ukraine, they can help bring attention to what is happening in Ukraine.

“Many players also donate to Ukrainian fighters. So in my opinion, how we perform is very important to raise more awareness. Sergey Rebrov, the coach, has said many times that it's very important that we perform quite well, but most of the important thing is that we are qualified. 

“We show the world that we are not only playing football for fun but we are showing our strength.”

Q: Will Ukrainian fans be supporting the team at Euro 2024?

YL: “I know that there are not many Ukrainians who can leave the country, but there is a big community of Ukrainian people already in Germany.

“They will definitely come to the games. I think I've already got about 50 calls from different people who want to buy tickets for the games. So we will have our support.”

Q: Will Oleksandr Usyk’s victory inspire Ukraine at Euro 2024?Andriy Makukha (Amakuha), CC BY-SA 4.0

YL: “The whole country will watch how he performs against Tyson Fury, it’s important not only that he will win but how he acts before and after the fight, not being scared and not doing crazy things.

“He is like a really reliable guy who is fighting to win but also showing his dignity. Ukraine admires him much more than Vasiliy Lomachenko, there is a big difference between those two.“

Q: Who are the biggest characters you played with for Ukraine?

YL: “Andriy Shevchenko was the biggest character I played with. He played at the top level and many of us would even watch him on television when he performed for Chelsea or Milan.

“I still have contact with him and he was the biggest character, the guy who could stand up and lead by example. I would also say Dmytro Chyhrynskyi who played for Shakhtar and Barcelona.“

Q: What is your score prediction vs Romania?

YL: “I know Romania have a young team but we don’t know much about them because they failed to qualify in 2020.

“If the Ukraine squad are all ready, I think it will be a 2-1 victory. I think we have more experience but who knows what might happen.”

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Q: What is your score prediction vs Slovakia?

YL: “I like to watch Slovakia play, they have some good players like Dávid Hancko at Feyenoord. I think they could be strong performers.

“But in my opinion, Ukraine are stronger. I think it will be 2-0.”

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Q: What is your score prediction vs Belgium?

YL: “With Belgium, I think they are no longer in their golden generation although they still have quality players like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

“I think Belgium have a chance to prove people wrong, but after the first two games I hope that Ukraine will have confidence. I’ll go for a 1-1 draw.”

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Yevhen Levchecnko Profile

Yevhen Viktorovych Levchenko (born 2 January 1978, Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a retired Ukrainian-Dutch footballer and television personality. 

Throughout his career, he played for clubs in Ukraine, Russia, and the Netherlands, and appeared on the reality TV show The Bachelor-Kholostyak on Russian TV channel TNT. Post-retirement, Levchenko has focused on academics and taken on leadership roles within the sport.

Football Career

Levchenko started his football career in 1993 at Metalurh Kostiantynivka. In 1994, he moved to Shakhtar Donetsk, a top Ukrainian club. His career then took him to various clubs, including CSKA Moskva, Vitesse Arnhem, and Helmond Sport. In 1998, he joined Cambuur Leeuwarden, and in 2005, he transferred to FC Groningen. After leaving FC Groningen in 2009, he joined FC Saturn Moscow Oblast in Russia. He also had a stint with Australia's A-League club, Adelaide United, from 2011-2012, which ended with a mutual contract termination. Levchenko retired from professional football in 2014.

Retirement 

Following his football career, Levchenko pursued a degree in marketing and transitioned to administrative roles in football. In July 2019, he became the president of the Dutch trade union for professional footballers.

International Career

Levchenko also contributed to football at the international level. He joined the Ukrainian national team in 2001 and participated in the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification. He made his debut against Norway and earned eight international caps for Ukraine. Throughout his career, Levchenko has been a notable figure in both Ukrainian and Dutch football. Post-retirement, he has continued to influence the sport through academic endeavors and leadership roles.

May 2024 Interview

Speaking exclusively to OLBG, Yevhen Levchenko has given insight into Arne Slot’s coaching ability having trained with the Dutch manager.

The former Ukraine international has also explained why Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi is ready to be the solution to Manchester United’s defensive woes under Erik ten Hag.

Levchenko has also explained what it was like to play alongside Luis Suarez before his blockbuster move to Liverpool, in which the Uruguayan launched an umbrella at their manager.

Q: Is Arne Slot the right man to lead Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp?

YL: “I think Arne Slot has a lot of potential. He is a very talented coach. I studied with him 15 years ago and I was surprised by him then. He sees things that other coaches don’t see.

“He is not a well known coach in England but I like the way he is working, he is demanding but he also explains things very clearly. He is not only tactical but a great manager of individuals.

“The combination of those two things means that players are very happy with him. He is a very capable guy for the Liverpool job. 

“He will be searching for the best players to join, like every coach, but he can also make Liverpool’s underperforming players reach their highest level.

“I saw him do that with AZ and I think we will see that at Liverpool. He took players that had fallen out of favour and turned them around. He is a very decent coach.”

Q: What was Luis Suarez like both on and off the pitch?

YL: “I don’t have much contact with Luis Suarez anymore but we are in a group chat from our time at FC Groningen.

“It was quite difficult to talk to him because he was only speaking Spanish at that point. On the pitch for the first three months he was quite baby-faced. 

“He was not switched on yet and although we saw his potential, he was really upset with the weather and couldn't understand what the coach wanted from him. He couldn’t believe that he had to defend, but we could already see he was a star.

“After three months he started to perform amazingly when he understood the tactics, most of his goals came from running the length of the pitch and either getting fouled or diving in the box. Most of his goals were penalties.

“Itt was so fun and off the pitch he was quite relaxed. He just drinks his Mate and didn't do anything too crazy. But I like his way of living. He was quite calm and relaxed. 

“In one game we played he was subbed off before half-time on a rainy day and he took an umbrella and threw it at the coach because he was so upset.

“Then the funniest thing ever happened, when Luis was saying goodbye to the club and everyone was hugging him, the coach gave him the umbrella as a present.

“All the guys that played with him know he was a beast on the football field and relaxed off of it.”

Q: What has gone wrong for Oleksandr Zinchenko at Arsenal?

YL: “it's quite difficult for Alexander at this point, at this moment. But he's been in the situation before, he's been in the situation in PSV when he was not playing and he was training like a beast. 

“He was training like every day, 100%. He understands his position, maybe has some limits in defence, but he's a very important player on the field when he comes in but also outside of the field. 

“When I spoke with him, he gave me a shirt to put up for auction, but he understood what he needed to do. He is not selfish and always puts the team first, he has no ego and is a professional. A really good guy.”

But when I spoke with him last time, he said literally, okay, I understand my position. I understand what I have to do.

Q: Will Mykhailo Mudryk come good at Chelsea?

YL: “Mykhailo Mudryk still needs time and he needs the right people around him. There is a lot of talent, there is a lot of speed, there is a lot of will to perform. 

“But I think he needs to be in better hands. Maybe not even physically, but mentally as well. So in my opinion, he's a very, very talented player and he wants to do it, but maybe the step to Chelsea was quite big for him.

“But that moment has already happened and I think he needs to learn to perform under such pressure.”

Q: Could Illia Zabarnyi be ready for a move to Manchester United?

YL: “Illia Zabarnyi is quite young but he's already played 43 games for the national team and he never gives up, he never does stupid things and he's so reliable which is important.

“He has made the step to Bournemouth and I don’t think that will be the last step in his career. He is growing quite well and taking that first step was so important.

“Could he move to Manchester United? I think he is ready for it, most people haven’t yet realised how strong he is and he could perform even better in a stronger team and in my opinion he is ready.”

Q: What was it like to play in Australia?

YL: “I always wanted to discover new countries and see new things at 35, see something different. Football in Australia, the fans are not as crazy as in Germany and England but they have the ability to grow.

“They need to do everything to get young people playing and they will help unlock their potential. I think they have made some good steps but it is hard because they have a totally different lifestyle.

“Things are changing and I like the way they think about football because they never give up, they try to do their best and now they need to improve in technical and tactical areas.”.