Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder and coach Olexiy Mikhaylichenko was named as the new boss of the Ukraine national team.
“I consider it an honour and great responsibility to take on this job,” said Mikhaylichenko, who has been promoted from the under-21 team.
“Our main aim is to qualify for the World Cup 2010. To tell the truth, we do have some potential to fulfil this task”, added.
Oleh Blokhin, Ukraine’s previous coach, quit in December after the side failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
Former Soviet Union international Mikhaylichenko, 44, was coach of Dynamo Kyiv from 2002 to 2004, winning two Ukrainian league titles and the national cup twice. He has been in charge of the Ukraine Under-21 team since 2004.
As a player, Mikhaylichenko also played for Sampdoria and Rangers. He won league championship medals in three different countries, the Soviet Union, Italy and Scotland in the 1990s.
