| Ukraine coach
Leonid Buriak plans to call on his overseas stars for the friendly against
Iran on August 21. "I aim to take the best squad and injuries will be
the only obstacle to that," he said. Before then, Buriak intends to take in a host of matches with his coaching staff, both at home and abroad, to get a clearer picture of who is, and who isn't, playing well. "In the first round of the Ukraine league we are going to Odesa to look at the Kryvbas forward Volodymyr Musolitin, later we'll be going to Shakhtar Donetsk matches and then plan to visit Moscow for the Russian league game between Spartak and Dinamo," he said. Buriak will also be checking on Tottenham star Serhiy Rebrov, who struggled for game time last season and could be on his way out of the club. The Ukraine coach is taking nothing for granted against Iran, and he said: "They are one of the strongest Asian teams which reached the World Cup play-offs. We are collecting information about them and know a lot already." Buriak has also been keeping tabs on Euro 2004 rivals Spain, and was impressed with them despite their defeat by South Korea in the World Cup. "They are a highly skilled team," he said. "There were several factors, including the referee, why they didn't go further in the World Cup, but I enjoyed watching them. "Still, there is no team we should be afraid of. We must prepare properly and not worry too much about them." |
