Ukraine v Hungary (29 April 1992) was the first international game for the Ukraine national football team to be recognised by FIFA.[1] The game took place in the city of Uzhhorod close to the border with Hungary in the spring of 1992 and saw Hungary win 3–1.
Background
This game was organized almost by accident. The president of FFU was on vacation with his wife in Budapest. Walking the streets of the city, they ended up by the doors to the Hungarian Football Federation and decided to enter. With the help of his wife who knew English, they agreed to play a game between the two national teams.
At first they come up with the date of 28 April, but because of Viktor Bannikov's birthday it was agreed to postpone it to 29 April. The place also was changed from the original at Olympic NSC in Kyiv to the Avanhard in Uzhhorod, because of financial difficulties. Those difficulties also contributed to the hardship of gathering the national team of the FFU because the Federation could not afford to pay a plane ticket of some of the footballers. On the other hand, Hungary also did not seem to be such a difficult opponent finishing in the fourth place of Group 3 during the UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying event. However the Hungarians managed to pull a surprising draw during the game in Moscow with József Kiprich being the major hero of the Mighty Magyars at that time. Hungarians did manage to bring their optimal team roster to the game in Uzhhorod, the central stadium of which was filled as never before. Emerich Jenei in his career as a coach effectively led his teams in the games against the Soviet Union national football team and had some world-class experience qualifying to the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
The Ukraine national team at that time seemed simply as an alternative, a type of B-team to the post-Soviet football project of CIS national football team. In 1992 it was even planned to conduct the CIS club championship which ultimately did not realize. Concurrently with the game in Uzhhorod between Ukraine and Hungary the CIS team played its own friendly against the England national football team.[2] The main Ukrainian international candidates chose to travel to Moscow among them were Akhrik Tsveiba, Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, Volodymyr Lyutyi, Andrei Kanchelskis, Sergei Yuran, and Viktor Onopko. Mykhailichenko was given the captain's handband which he kept until the disbandment of the CIS team. For the post-Soviet team that was the first friendly after their intensive winter tour from January 25 to February 19 when the team has played five games.
Even with the above-mentioned players being involved in the preparation to the Euro-92 Prokopenko still had some resources to choose from, such as Oleh Protasov, Oleh Kuznetsov, and other. However, because the financing of the Ukrainian Federation ceased from Moscow, being left with only what was available within the country. Ukraine also did not have its own embassies which only added extra hardship to rally players numerous of whom played abroad in Germany, Israel, and elsewhere. Prokopenko managed to obtain the "allegiance" from two of the former Soviet internationals and one CIS "drop-out": Oleh Luzhnyi, Ivan Hetsko, and Yuriy Nikiforov. Another promising player was Serhiy Scherbakov that together with Onopko, Nikiforov, and Serhiy Bezhenar played for the Soviet Olympic team (U-21). Prokopenko also managed to invite some Russian-born players such as Yudin and Salenko who at that time played in Ukraine. Important also that both Hetsko and Shelepnytsky had been recently rallied by Byshovets for the Italian tour in the winter of 1991 when the Soviet team played series of friendlies with selected clubs.
The Prokopenko's team however fell apart by the end of 1992 and only few players continued their international career under the blue-yellow flag. Interesting is another fact that good portion of this team later joined the Romantsev'sFC Spartak Moscow that was among the top European clubs in early 90s.
Squads
The list of 20 players for the first game of the Ukraine national team was such,[3]
The game itself according to the Komanda newspaper was less rich on events as the whole period of it organization. The weather at the Avanhard stadium was more than favorable for the football festival with a sun shining all day with +22°C. At first Shelepnytskyi wasted an opportunity to open the score by striking the goal-post, then the referee, Vadim Zhuk (Belarus), was indecisive to point to a penalty mark for the foul against Scherbakov.
And after the break all the fire for a victory was lost to the guest team and with it the whole game. In the second half several quick and nice Hungarian counter-attacks were accented by good finishing performances from Salloi[4] and Kiprich[5] and made out of the newly formed national team the team of a school boys. About five minutes to the end of the match Kiprich realized a penalty[6] nicely settling the ball in the left low corner and setting Kutepov off-balance in opposite direction. At the end on the 90th minute, after trailing 0:3, the Ukrainians managed on a consolidation goal from Hetsko scoring the free-kick.[7] Hetsko made a history becoming the author of the first goal of the national team and the only one in his career on such level.
Note that attendance might not be precise, because of various reasons. One sources claim eleven thousand another thirteen thousands. However considering that Avanhard itself has capacity to hold 12,000 it would be safe to assume that the stadium was filled at least to its near limit.
