The Ukrainian press in the United States covered the first match of the Ukraine national football team on American soil extensively and in great detail. After all, nothing like this had ever happened in the history of either country. Here is how the press wrote about this unique event: “The Ukraine national football team will perform in the USA for the first time. The football team of free and independent Ukraine will, for the first time in football history, play in the USA against the representative team of America. This sole appearance of Ukraine’s footballers in the USA will take place on Saturday, June 27, at 5 p.m. at Rutgers University Stadium in New Brunswick, N.J.” Exactly so: it was the national team of a free and independent Ukraine that had regained its freedom and freed itself from Soviet occupation.
Already in the early 1990s, in Ukraine — then still occupied by the USSR — calls for restoring political independence and establishing sporting independence were becoming more frequent. On the agenda was the creation of a national football championship and, of course, the formation and first matches of the Ukraine national team. On June 27, 1992, the Ukraine national team played its second friendly match. This time — against the United States national team. Although the match had friendly status, the resonance was enormous and loud.
It was specifically for this match that “Ukraine National Football Team Day in New Jersey” was proclaimed in the United States! Here is how it was described: “The Preparatory Committee for the meeting of the national football teams of Ukraine and America, in which, among others, Yevhen Chyzovych serves as director of preparations, Myron Stebelskyi and Omelian Tvardovskyi — all members of the leadership of the Ukrainian Sports Central of America and Canada — received news that June 27 of this year, the day of the match, would be proclaimed by Governor James Florio as ‘Ukraine National Football Team Day.’” Can you imagine such a thing?! It is truly unique, as not all football teams that played in the United States received such honors and recognition. Moreover, the appearance of the Ukraine national team attracted the interest of American politicians: “The arrival of the Ukraine national team has drawn the attention of a number of state and city officials, who are preparing to properly welcome the athletes of independent Ukraine. The leadership of the Ukrainian Sports Central received a greeting letter from Senator Bill Bradley, who expressed his congratulations to the players and their leadership.” The Ukrainian team’s appearance indeed attracted massive attention from the Ukrainian community in the United States, politicians, government officials, representatives of state authorities, and fans.
The significance and importance of this match, even though it was considered a friendly, is evidenced by the fact that a Preparatory Committee was created for the meeting of the Ukraine and U.S. national teams. The committee included well-known American football players and officials of Ukrainian descent: Yevhen Chyzovych — director of preparations, Myron Stebelskyi and Omelian Tvardovskyi — all members of the leadership of the Ukrainian Sports Central of America and Canada.
The thorough preparation for the match is evidenced by the fact that on May 22, a regular meeting of the USCAC Business Committee with representatives of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Promotion Commission took place at the home of the USVT “Chornomorska Sich.” The key points of the meeting were:
- a number of issues were resolved “in connection with the historic meeting of the football national teams of the USA and Ukraine”;
- members of the Promotion Commission were satisfied with the cooperation with USCAC and the Business Committee headed by Yevhen Chyzovych;
- preparations were proceeding according to plan;
- there was great interest in the match both among the Ukrainian community and Americans;
- ticket sales were “breaking records.”
The press described the details of this meeting as follows: “On Thursday, May 22, at the House of USVT ‘Chornomorska Sich,’ a regular meeting of the USCAC Business Committee with representatives of the Promotion Commission of the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSFA) took place, during which a number of issues related to the historic meeting of the national teams of the USA and Ukraine were discussed and agreed upon. During this meeting, members of the USSFA Promotion Commission expressed great satisfaction with the cooperation so far with USCAC and with the work of the business director of the match, Yevhen Chyzovych. Preparations are proceeding according to plan, interest in the competition, which will take place on Saturday, June 27, is high both among the American and Ukrainian communities. Ticket sales are progressing unexpectedly quickly and may be completed even before the match.” Indeed, this match generated considerable excitement among fans.
The program of the meeting and the matches had its own “highlights”: in the United States, the Ukraine national team was to play one match, and in El Salvador — a second one. In particular, on June 26, a welcoming banquet was to take place at the Ramada Hotel, and the master of ceremonies was to be Severyn Palydovych. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Severyn as part of the “Sporting Lineage” project.
As Yevhen Chyzovych noted, many individuals were involved in preparing for this meeting. The significance of the event was not only sporting but also political, diplomatic, and interstate. Even before the game, the match was widely known, and distinguished guests were expected to take part in the ceremonies: politicians, congressmen, senators, invited ambassadors of Ukraine in Washington and at the UN in New York, as well as Hollywood star Jack Palance-Palahniuk, who has Ukrainian roots.
For the sake of properly preparing this historic meeting, the leadership of USCAC postponed planned Ukrainian youth sports games and other events, as they were scheduled for the same time.
According to USCAC President Myron Stebelskyi: “Our Central Organization and the sports community have long fought for Ukraine’s right to appear on the world stage under its blue-and-yellow flag, independently. Now all of us who have lived to see this blessed time are obliged to help and strengthen Ukraine’s sporting independence.”
Indeed, Ukrainian sport, and the national team in particular, needed support. Because, for some reason — or rather from Moscow — certain obstacles suddenly arose in issuing visas to the Ukraine national football team!!! The рашисти never calm down.
Mr. Chyzovych recalled: “There was a risk that the match would not take place. There were many difficulties we had to overcome to bring the team here.” It turned out that the U.S. Soccer Federation had sent an invitation for the Ukrainian team through the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, since there was not yet a visa office at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, but this did not fit the type of visa required for entry into the United States. “The Football Federation of Ukraine in Kyiv decided not to fly, because only a few hours remained before departure and the visas had still not been issued,” Mr. Chyzovych remembered. “We had to act quickly to fix the situation: my brother was calling the embassy in Washington and Moscow, while I, on my side in Kyiv, tried to convince the team not to disperse.”
Through the efforts of Ukrainians in the United States and with the help of the office of Vice President Dan Quayle, the issue was resolved.
Thus, the obstacles were overcome, and the Ukrainian national team departed, but without several key players, as they were unable to obtain visas in time! Because, once again, visas were issued by the U.S. Embassy office in Moscow! As the press wrote, the United States expected the strongest possible lineup of the Ukrainian national team: goalkeepers – Ihor Kutepov (Dynamo Kyiv), Yurii Syvukha (Metalurh Zaporizhzhia); defenders – Oleh Luzhnyi (Dynamo Kyiv), Yurii Nykyforov (Chornomorets Odesa), Serhii Bezhenar (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, now Dnipro), Serhii Tretiak (Chornomorets Odesa); midfielders – Serhii Kovalets (Dynamo Kyiv), Illia Tsymbalar, Yurii Shelepnytskyi (both – Chornomorets Odesa); forwards – Oleh Salenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Serhii Pohodin, Serhii Shcherbakov (both – Shakhtar Donetsk), Yurii Sak, Ivan Hetsko, Serhii Husiev (all three – Chornomorets Odesa). The organizers also hoped that stars playing in European clubs would join the Ukrainian team: “The announced squad may undergo slight changes if the coaches and the Football Federation of Ukraine manage to bring in players competing in European countries (Lytovchenko and Protasov from Greece, Zavarov from France, and Mykhailychenko from Scotland).” The coaches responsible for resolving the participation of Ukrainian stars of European football were Viktor Prokopenko and Anatolii Puzach.
Due to рашистські obstacles, the Ukrainians arrived in the United States not on June 24 but on June 26, and had to play the very next day. That is, almost without rest, adaptation, or training, the Ukrainian footballers had to take the field. In addition, a ceremonial banquet scheduled for June 25 had to be postponed to June 27, after the match.
The match took place as scheduled. The result was 0–0. A draw, as experts note, was more favorable for Ukraine than for the United States. The match was attended by 11,815 spectators. The Ukrainian national team played with the following lineup: Pomazun, Bondarenko, Nykyforov, Pokydko, Tretiak, Kovalets (Rebrov, 76), Tsymbalar, Hudymenko (Drahunov, 46), Hetsko, Moroz (Vatamaniuk, 81), Shcherbakov. The U.S. national team lineup was: Meola, Balboa, Doyle, Armstrong, Clavijo, Quinn, Myhalyk, Murray (Sorber, 80), Kinnear, Vermes (Chang, 46), Wynalda (Masters, 59). The coach of the American team was Bora Milutinović. The referees were Michael Caulfield (Ireland), Jerry Arcamone and Allen Brown (both USA, assistant referees).
This was a significant success for the organizers, as the match generated real excitement among fans. This was largely due to the активність of the Ukrainian community in the United States. Mr. Chyzovych stated that they encouraged all Ukrainian sports fans to attend the game and bring Ukrainian flags: “If we fill the stadium, we can prove to the Olympic Committee and FIFA that the Ukrainian football team deserves trust and has American support. If this happens, doors will open for the Ukrainian national team to participate in high-level international tournaments in the future.”
After the match, a press conference was held, where the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Viktor Prokopenko, spoke: “It was amazing. This is a success for the Ukrainian team. It was the first time this team, made up of professional players from Ukraine, played together as a real team.”
In the evening, a ceremonial banquet took place with greetings and gifts. Greetings from the President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk were delivered by Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington, Oleh Bilorus, who noted: “For the first time, we are celebrating this officially with the Ukrainian flag raised side by side with the American flag at today’s event.”
Words of congratulations were also delivered by the head of USCAK, Myron Stebelskyi, who presented representatives of the Football Federation of Ukraine with a $3,000 donation from the Fund for the Revival of Sports in Ukraine. From USVT “Chornomorska Sich,” a donation of $500 was handed to the Ukrainian footballers by Omelian Tvardovskyi. The director of the Ramada hotel, Orest Fedash, a well-known athlete, donated valuable equipment to the federation. Other greetings and donations were made by Oleksandr Skotsen, a renowned footballer; Ivan Burdnyk, head of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; Roman Kolisnyk, head of the sports society “Ukraine” in Toronto; Levko Holubets, a representative of Plast; and many other members of the Ukrainian community. Assistance in organizing the team’s visit and gifts for the Ukrainian players were also provided by the U.S. Soccer Federation and local political figures. This historic football event was widely covered by the American press, and the match itself was broadcast nationwide.
The significance of the USA–Ukraine match is reflected in the following statement: “The first appearance outside Ukraine should be considered a great victory for the football of a still very young state, struggling with various difficulties caused by long years of oppression. And suddenly—Ukraine appeared on the international stage, the national team performed under its native blue-and-yellow flag, and before the game, the melody of our national anthem ‘Shche ne vmerla Ukraina’ was played. Thousands of supporters of Ukrainian sports came from various, even very distant, cities of the United States and Canada, carrying blue-and-yellow flags.”
Participants of this unique match also shared their memories. In particular, Ivan Hetsko recalled: “In 1992, the match against the USA was the second in the history of our national team. I remember that the entire stadium, filled with our diaspora, sang the Ukrainian national anthem. As for the game, the American team was still in a formative stage and was not a serious opponent at the time. They had many young players.”
Serhii Rebrov shared his memory: “I joined the national team with great joy. We were accommodated at the ‘Sport’ hotel, but for a long time we were not told whether we would fly to the USA or not. The guys were even told: ‘If you want, wait; if not, you can go home.’ I did what my teammates from Shakhtar—Yevhen Drahunov and Serhii Shcherbakov—did. We stayed. That’s how I got to play in the second match in the history of the national team, which became my debut. Honestly, I don’t remember the game at all. Reference books say that in the 76th minute I replaced Serhii Kovalets, and the match ended in a 0–0 draw.”
Indeed, we have much to be proud of—both in achievements and in people! Know your history—and you will achieve victory!
Author: Oleksii Lyakh-Porodko
