No mid-November baklava for Voronin nor Nazarenko…

Milevskiy and Yarmolenko - working hard, developing an appetite

Well, Andriy Voronin looks set to sit out the playoffs vs. Greece. And it appears injuries will also be keeping Dynamo goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy and Dnipro halfback Serhiy Nazarenko (our 2nd highest scorer in qualifiers) from joining the Yellow-Blues in Athens. The team is, however, welcoming back Barca defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Dnipro defender Andriy Rusol. Oleksiy Mykhailychenko also gives Karpaty halfback Igor Khydobiak for his first call-up.
Rumors have it that there might have been a bit of a row between Voronin and national coach Mykhailychenko. Press reports have the coach claiming “match fitness” as the issue, and Voronin hasn’t commented. Voronin’s obviously frustrated – and might have been putting a bit too much pressure on Oleksiy for pitch time. What should the coach do? When you prefer a more defensive attacking front combination, and Shevchenko and Milevskiy are producing, can you give a starting role away? His decisions so far have Ukraine in the World Cup playoffs.
Voronin has been quiet in Liverpool recently, despite Rafa Benitez giving him a chance – and Benitez desperately needs his fire right now, with Steven Gerrard sidelined indefinitely (and Torres not at full fitness). When firing, Voronin can be a game changer – loaned last year to Hertha Berlin, he scored 11 goals in 30 appearances, and helped put the team in contention to win the Bundesliga.
Voronin, score some goals in the premiership now (the Reds could benefit from a handful vs. Birmingham today), and help Liverpool out of its funk – and we’ll see you in South Africa next year.
This weekend’s domestic matches were all postponed as the team gathers and starts work at the Dynamo training camp in Koncha-Zaspa, building their appetite for some Greek sweets…