Vitalii Mykolenko still wakes up every day and has to make a nervous phone call to his parents. The Everton defender will get in touch with mum, Olesia, and dad, Sergei, to check if they’ve made it through the night unscathed at their home near Kyiv. While the news agenda moves on, Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia. And as bombs continue to land on Ukraine soil, Mykolenko is never sure what news he will get when he makes that call every morning before training. “I ask, ‘Are you okay?’,” said the 25-year-old defender, who joined Everton in 2022. “Sometimes it is bad news, they couldn’t sleep, sometimes it is okay.
“It is hard for me to be here but harder for them because they are there. They don’t know what can happen this night or the next night when they are dropping missiles and bombs at night. You never know.”. Mykolenko’s father has previously been involved in the conflict and he has friends playing football back at former club Dynamo Kyiv. He hears the horror stories. The world has maybe moved on, but the war continues to rage on.
“Hopefully one day it will stop,” said Mykolenko. He, along with other prominent Ukraine sports stars, continue to be inspirations for those risking their lives on the front line. None more so than WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk. “I think he’s the best sportsman at the moment in Ukraine, the best boxer in the world,” said Mykolenko. “He’s a good guy. I spoke with him a few times when he came to visit us with the national team. He’s a very calm guy, very friendly. [You] can ask him everything, how he prepares for the big fights, it’s interesting to listen to him about how it is difficult.
“I know he was on the front line, not many times but more than once. You can help the people on the front line financially but sometimes it is better to help mentally.”. Will Everton beat Liverpool? Give us your score prediction in the comments section. Everton head into tomorrow night’s Merseyside derby - the final one ever at Goodison Park - with their tails up despite an FA Cup defeat by Bournemouth as they’ve won three on the trot in the Premier League. The arrival of David Moyes has been instrumental in that as they moved nine clear of the relegation zone but Mykolenko has also brought a change behind the scenes - chess matches between the players.
The Ukrainian was taught how to play the game while at Dynamo Kyiv’s academy as a young child at their summer camps. He gave up playing until recently before the Peterborough game just before Moyes arrived at the club. Now there’s a chess club at Finch Farm and at the hotel pre-match with Mykolenko the grandmaster. “Then before we played Peterborough, in the hotel we played for five minutes and I beat Michael Keane and Joao Virginia,” said Mykolenko, who is also into carp fishing and rarely watches football. “Then I ordered a chess board. Now we are playing when we have free time. It is good for your brain, you have to think about tactics. The guys are really improving.
“One week ago I tried to teach them how to play, now I will not teach them because they nearly beat me. Now we have seven or eight players playing it on their phones. “It’s good for me because I have more communication with my team-mates and it helps me on the pitch because when you have good relationships outside of the pitch, it will make it better on the pitch. I’m still the best here. I play for myself and they’re playing five guys against me. It’s big pressure. I cannot lose!”.
Back on the pitch, Mykolenko is not only benefiting from Moyes’ arrival and the Blues’ upturn in form but also the promotion of left-back legend Leighton Baines to the first team coaching staff. Everton will hope to brush off the Bournemouth defeat and maintain their winning run in the league to strike a blow to their neighbour’s title hopes as well as steer themselves closer to safety. Club captain Seamus Coleman summed up the mood change at Everton when talking about Mykolenko. “Seamus said to me, ‘Myko you’re smiling, it’s good when Myko is smiling’,” said the Ukraine left-back.
The smile will stay there if Everton beat Liverpool tomorrow. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in a new 'lowest price' deal.
