Surkis sees prospects for success for Ukraine under Blokhin

– President of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) Hryhoriy Surkis has said that there are prospects for the further development of the national football team under its coach Oleh Blokhin and for a high level of training work for the team in the year before the Euro 2012 European Football Championship kicks off.

"Ukraine's recent friendly matches against Uzbekistan (2-0) and France (1-4), with all their contradictions and even unhappiness, showed that the national team has a lot of resources for development," he said in an interview with the Sport Express in Ukraine newspaper, which was posted on the FFU's Web site on Wednesday.

Surkis noted that the head coach had formed Ukraine's coaching staff and "they alone are responsible for selection work in the team."

"Fortunately, Oleh Volodymyrovych [Blokhin] already has experience in preparing for the finals of tournaments. I have no doubt that the information and knowledge he obtained before and during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where, I will recall, Ukraine became one of the world's best eight teams, will also do good service to the current staff of the national team," he said.

He said that with a year to go to Euro 2012, the team had reached "a proper pace of work, which will determine the result in 2012."

Surkis also said that Ukraine would play seven matches in the next six months, in particular against Sweden in Kharkiv on August 10, against Spain or Uruguay probably in Donetsk on September 2, against the Czech Republic in Prague on September 6, against Bulgaria in Sofia on October 7, against Estonia in Tallinn on October 11, probably against Germany in Kyiv on November 11, and probably against Austria in Lviv on November 15.

Kyiv, June 9 (Interfax-Ukraine)