Patrick van Leeuwen: We can progress and that is our goal for the second part of the season - to take a step forward

The head coach of Kryvyi Rih Kryvbas Patrick van Leeuwen gave a long interview to club journalists on the results of the first half of 2025\2026 and talked about plans for the future.

- Mr. Patrick, if you look at the first part of the season without emotions: what was the main reason for pride for you personally, and why can't you still sleep peacefully?

- I like the entire first half of the season in general. We started in difficult conditions, because we had to integrate many new players. I think that after the first match against Kolos, we better understood what awaits us in the UPL, and this gave us a positive feeling. We saw many opportunities to achieve the result we wanted.

- Can you say that the team already speaks your language 100% on the field, or are we still in the process of learning this "football alphabet"?

- I think that everything is still in progress. During the first half of the year we were constantly adding new players in the pre-season, and it's pretty much the same now. There were transfers in the winter, some players left, and we needed to close two positions. So the process is ongoing. We're on the right track. The team showed a lot of quality football, there were good defensive actions in some episodes. I think we didn't get enough points in the first part of the season. So we're moving forward, but not 100% in the right direction yet. We can definitely progress, and that's our goal for the second part of the season - to take a step forward and see how far we can go, aiming for 99.9%.

- What result in May will make you say: “Yes, we did it”?

- I told the team that I am very happy with the number of points we scored in the first half of the season. The same is the goal for the second half - to improve our performance, to convert our chances, to create more chances and to concede fewer goals. At the end of the championship we will be able to say: “Yes, we did it” if we score the same number of points or more.

- We see how the summer newcomers are gradually adapting. How satisfied are you with the progress of Araujo, Bekavac, Bar Lin, Paraco? Can we say that they are now much closer to the ideal player that you want to see in your system?

- These performers are at an age when they can still progress significantly. The footballers you named came to Ukrainian football from different leagues at the beginning of the season, where the style of play was different. In Israel, football is a little calmer and not always at the highest pace, in Venezuela - a similar situation. They have made a big step forward, adapting to the Ukrainian championship, to more physical and fast football. At the same time, they can still add. We are moving towards making them stable players who can be counted on every week.

- Flores left the team, and Maya is now training with the U-19 in Kryvyi Rih. Is this a question of purely competition or inconsistency with your requirements for playing principles?

- As for Maya - it's simple: there were problems with the documents, he could not go to the training camp and enter Spain. If it were not for this, he would be with us. As for Flores, we decided that it would be better for him to get more game practice. In the first part of the season, he played little, so for his development it was more logical to find another option where he could regularly go on the field.

- In one of the interviews you mentioned that it will be difficult to replace Tverdokhlib and Mykytyshyn. Who is currently taking on the role of this “engine” in your system? Will this be a change of function for one of the experienced players or will we see new names?

- These two players gave us serious numbers - goals and assists. This is very important for scoring points in the second part of the season. They will be absent, but other players will get a chance and must step forward to provide us with new statistics from these positions: scoring, passing and being part of the attacking team.

- This winter, a lot of young players left with the team, and some, like the same Dipon, are still studying at school. How difficult is it to integrate such young players into adult football?

- At the beginning of the season, the president and general director of the club spoke about the desire to see more Academy graduates from Kryvyi Rih in the first team in the future. The training camp became an opportunity to involve young players.

We saw some in Academy matches, others were recommended by the general director. We gave them a chance to train alongside football players who have experience in the UPL. I think it was the right decision - to involve boys aged 14-16, give them the opportunity to train with the first team, and sometimes even take part in matches. This is a signal for the entire Academy: getting into the first team is real.

- We know that at these training camps the youth have a busy schedule: coaches and even captain Maksym Zaderaka give them individual lectures. Is this your initiative - to involve leaders in training the youth? What is the main idea of ​​such meetings?

- I drew attention to Maksym because I come to the gym early in the morning, and he appears almost immediately after me. He has created a regime for himself that allows him to consistently play at a high level - physically and professionally. I thought that this should be shown to young players so that they understand what a professional does from morning to night. So I turned to Maksym, and he immediately agreed to share his experience for the sake of the team and the club. It was an initiative of the coaching staff, and Maksym implemented it brilliantly for the youth.

- Which of these young players is the best in game episodes? And how do more experienced players help the young ones?

- The young players got a chance to play in individual matches and showed themselves well. We don't demand too much from them - the main thing is to give them experience, the opportunity to play without fear, enjoy football and communicate freely with adult players. They demonstrated their qualities and how the Academy works - both in the short and long term for Kryvbas.

- In addition to daily training and tactical discussions, the players also have English lessons. This is also your initiative. Tell us more about it.

- Given the number of languages ​​in the team, I decided that it would be easier to communicate in one. Therefore, we encourage all players to learn English together with translators. We hope that this will improve communication on the field and between coaches and players - both Ukrainian and South American or European.

- Joseph Jones is a defender from Panama. How quickly does he adapt to your tactical requirements?

- Joseph is very open and easy to communicate with. We have seen him both as a midfielder and as a central defender. So we decided to test him in different positions to understand where he will be most useful in the future. We will give him time to adapt and determine the optimal role in the team.

- Assane Sek is a very bright player. Do you see him as a classic winger or do you plan to use his variability in the center of the attack?

- Asan can be useful in different positions - not only on the wings, but also in the center. In training, I see that he can also act as an attacking midfielder. He is a multifunctional performer for our style, which, I hope, will bring additional positive statistics to the team.

- Can we expect more reinforcements? If so, in what positions?

- We are constantly keeping our eyes and ears open. We believe that we can still strengthen the team with talented players, primarily in the attacking line - attacking midfielders or versatile strikers. There are opportunities for reinforcements to improve the quality of the training process and have more options in official matches.

- Kryvbas has already held several sparring matches at the Spanish training camp with opponents of different styles. How important was the result in these matches for you, and did you manage to maintain a balance in the game, despite the constant rotation?

- The first training camp was aimed at everyone playing a different number of minutes - 45, 60 - and returning to playing form. We were satisfied with the level of our opponents: the first and second teams of Denmark, as well as the club that took second place in the Europa League group. This allowed us to see both our team and individual qualities. Each match had its own style and its own problems, which helped us understand where we needed to improve. We are very happy with these sparring matches so far.

- We know that you analyze your opponents very carefully. Has Metalist 1925 of January 2026 become a different team for you in terms of the structure of the game, or do they retain the same principles that we saw in the fall?

- We played a good match against them in the first round. Now we are focused on our own development, integrating new players and returning to optimal physical shape. We are not analyzing them in detail yet - they also have a pre-season period.

Media of FC "Kryvbas" Kryvyi Rih