Significant personnel changes have taken place in the Ukrainian football national team system. Former captain of Kyiv's Dynamo and the Ukraine national team, Oleg Luzhny, has been officially appointed as the head coach of the country's youth national team (U-19). The 57-year-old specialist, known for his rich playing career and administrative activities, is returning to active coaching work.
The legend's return to the coaching bench
For Oleg Luzhny, this appointment marks a significant event, signaling his return to direct work with a team after a long break. The last time he held the post of head coach was in the 2012/13 season, managing Simferopol's Tavriya. Since then, his career has developed in other directions: he was part of Alexander Khatskevych's staff at Dynamo (2017–2019), twice served as the acting head coach of the Kyiv team, and also worked as an assistant to such renowned specialists as Yuri Semin, Valery Gazzayev, Anatoly Demianenko, and Jozsef Sabo.
Since January 2024, Luzhny has also held the position of Head of the Professional Football Committee of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF). Now, however, he will focus on preparing the youth reserve of the national team.
Chain of appointments in youth national teams
Luzhny's appointment is part of a general strategy to update coaching staffs. He will replace Dmytro Mykhailenko, who, in turn, has taken over as head coach of the Ukraine U-21 youth national team. This occurred after Unai Melgosa left the post of U-21 coach.
Dmytro Mykhailenko, stepping down from the U-19 coaching post, has a successful track record working with youth squads. Under his leadership, the U-19 team reached the semi-finals of the 2026 European Championship. Mykhailenko's resume also includes work with the U-18 and U-20 national teams.
A new stage for the reserves
Now, all hopes rest on Oleg Luzhny's experience helping to take the youth national team to a new level. Experts and fans will follow with interest how the legend of Ukrainian football, possessing a deep understanding of the game and administrative experience, will build his work with young talents.
