The Ukraine national team is without Rebrov: who could take charge of the team?
The Ukrainian Football Association has sacked Serhiy Rebrov as head coach of the Ukraine national team. The UAF took this decision at the end of April.
The association had hinted at a possible change of head coach several days before Rebrov’s dismissal. At the time, UAF President Andriy Shevchenko announced a “final decision” that would be “in the best interests of the Ukrainian national team”.
The UAF has not yet announced who exactly will become the new head coach of the national team. Meanwhile, Serhiy Rebrov will remain within the Ukrainian Association of Football – in the role of vice-president of the organisation and a member of the Executive Committee.
Five candidates have been identified, whom journalists have been writing about in recent months as potential contenders for the role of head coach of the Ukrainian national team.
Paulo Fonseca is among the possible candidates. He is currently head coach of French side Lyon.
The former Shakhtar coach has repeatedly said that he would like to return to work in Ukraine. He has specifically mentioned the national team as one of the options.
“Yes, I love Kyiv, I love Ukraine. I would like to return to Ukraine to work, to help this country, to develop football, which has enormous potential. I would very much like to return to the national team or to Shakhtar,” Fonseca noted.
At the same time, the Portuguese coach is under contract with Lyon. The French club is currently third in the Ligue 1 table, which qualifies them for the Champions League. The team last played at this level during the ‘coronavirus’ season, when they reached the semi-finals.
Another candidate is Myron Markevych, who is currently out of work.
The name of 75-year-old Markevych as a coach who could be considered as a replacement for Rebrov was first mentioned by Viktor Vatsko, the author of the YouTube channel “Vatsko Live”. According to him, the UAF “has not forgotten” the former coach of “Metalist” and “Dnipro”, and his name “came up” even though he has only coached for one year in the last decade – “Karpaty” in the First League.
Markevych had already had a brief spell in charge of the Ukraine national team in 2010, but he himself left the post. The reason was his disagreement with the UAF’s decision to deduct nine points from Metalist for a match against Karpaty, which was deemed to have been fixed.
It was Markevych who brought Karpaty back into the UPL. However, before the start of the championship, the Lviv club decided to sack him. The coach has been out of work since June 2023.
Ruslan Rotan, who currently manages Polissya, is also mentioned among the candidates.
Rotan has already worked with the Ukraine national team, but only briefly. He led the team in a match against England in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, when the ‘blue and yellows’ were left without a head coach following the expiry of Oleksandr Petrakov’s contract.
At the time, Rotan was juggling several roles: he was head coach of Oleksandriya and the Ukraine youth team, and was also tasked with preparing the Ukraine U23s for their debut at the Olympic Games.
Since the summer of 2025, Rotan has had just one job – he is in charge of Polissya. It is from this club that the Ukrainian national team has recently been calling up quite a few players.
According to Sport.ua, the UAF is considering Rotan’s candidacy. Meanwhile, the coach himself has already commented on these reports, emphasising that he is focused on his work with the club.
“We have a really great project and there is a lot to build. That’s why I’m fully focused here. It’s extremely important now to work for the benefit of our ‘Polissya’. We have something to prove in the Ukrainian league and we need to fight for the top spots,” said Rotan.
Another possible candidate is the Spaniard Unai Melgosa, who currently manages Ukraine’s U21 national team.
According to Sport.ua, Melgosa is also being touted as a potential replacement for Serhiy Rebrov.
At the same time, under his leadership, Ukraine’s U21 team has almost lost its chance of qualifying for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship. The team is currently third in the group, three points behind the play-off zone ahead of matches against the top teams in the table.
In October, Melgosa may lead the team for the last time. After that, the UAF will consider whether to continue working with him.
Given that Rebrov remains vice-president of the UAF, Melgosa’s “promotion” to head coach of the Ukraine national team remains a possibility. It was Rebrov, when he took charge of the national team, who invited Melgosa to the role of youth team coach, in an attempt to create a “vertical” structure across the national teams.
Another candidate mentioned is Andrea Maldera, who is currently out of work.
Whilst Rebrov may influence the decision regarding Melgosa, UAF President Andriy Shevchenko could facilitate Maldura’s appointment. Viktor Vatsko previously reported that the Italian coach is being considered for the role.
Maldini has previously worked with the Ukraine national team. He was Andriy Shevchenko’s assistant when Shevchenko was in charge of the national side, serving as a lead analyst and assistant.
After Shevchenko’s coaching staff left the national team, Maldera joined former Shakhtar coach Roberto De Zerbi. He worked in his staff at Brighton and Marseille.
Despite the fact that De Zerbi has now taken charge of Tottenham, Maldera decided not to join his staff and is currently out of work.
As reported by ThePublic, Ukraine national team head coach Serhiy Rebrov spoke about his future with the national side following the 1-3 defeat to Sweden in the 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off. The coach also commented on the match itself and apologised to the fans.
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