Red-Hot Voronin, Kravets Headed To England

The Bundesliga is Andriy Voronin’s playground. The league where he first made his name turned out to be just the place for the Ukraine striker to rediscover his form. The pony-tailed one has scored 8 goals in 6 games to carry Hertha Berlin to an improbable lead in the German top flight, four points clear of presumed favorites Bayern Munich. Over the weekend Voronin tallied the lone goal to lift his side over his former club Bayer Leverkusen. The result came on the heels of his brilliant hat trick performance at Energie Cottbus the week before. Voronin’s superb third goal in that match was one that any top striker in the world would gladly claim as his own. Watch it after the jump.

Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko can only hope that the Voronin who shows up for Ukraine’s World Cup qualifier in Wembley is the one who dominates in Germany and not the one who has struggled to make an impact for his national side. Indeed it remains to be seen whether Voronin can be effective outside of his comfort zone in the Bundesliga, but he has surely earned himself another opportunity with his club play. Another player whose emergence with his team resulted in being included in Mykhaylichenko’s squad is Dynamo Kyiv’s Artem Kravets. Injuries and suspensions forced the 19 year old striker into the lineup and he responded with two massive goals against Valencia to keep his side in the UEFA Cup. Strong play in Europe lesser club competition was also the reason Metalist Kharkiv captain Oleksandr Goryainov received his invitation. The first time call-up is a just reward for the veteran goalkeeper, who did not concede a goal in Europe until Metalist encountered domestic rival Dynamo.

One loss Mykhaylichenko will have to deal with is that of left back Andriy Nesmachniy. The 30 year old Dynamo player announced his international retirement this week. It was a surprising bit of news for many but the defender said his international manager has been aware of the decision for some time. Nesmachniy made 67 appearances in the yellow and blue, and was a constant presence in the Ukraine first team for almost a decade. His leadership and uncompromising style of play will be missed. Vyacheslav Shevchuk will likely inherit Nesmachniy’s post on the left side of the defense. The full squad traveling to England:

Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov, Rustam Khudzhamov (both – Shakhtar Donetsk), Stanyslav Bohush (Dynamo), Goryainov (Metalist).

Defenders: Vitaliy Mandzyuk, Taras Mykhalyk (both – Dynamo), Andriy Rusol (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk), Dmytro Chyhrynsky, Oleksandr Kucher, Shevchuk (all – Shakhtar), Hryhoriy Yarmash (Vorskla Poltava).

Midfielders: Oleksandr Aliyev, Serhiy Kravchenko (both – Dynamo), Serhiy Valyayev, Valentyn Slyusar (both – Metalist), Oleksiy Hai (Shakhtar), Yevhen Levchenko (Groningen, Netherlands), Serhiy Nazarenko, Maksym Kalynychenko, Ruslan Rotan (all – Dnipro), Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Zenit, Russia).

Forwards: Volodymyr Homenyuk (Dnipro), Voronin (Hertha), Marko Devic (Metalist), Artem Milevskiy, Kravets (both – Dynamo), Yevhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar), Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan, Italy).