{"id":601,"date":"2026-05-19T10:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:04:22","slug":"andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Andriy Shevchenko names Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Italian coach Andrea Maldera has been named as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, Ukrainian Football Association president Andriy Shevchenko announced on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The 55-year-old becomes the first foreign manager to take charge of the Ukrainian men\u2019s national team, stepping in after Serhiy Rebrov left the role in April. Rebrov\u2019s exit came following Ukraine\u2019s failure to secure qualification for the World Cup.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Andrea Maldera appointed as Ukraine head coach by the Ukrainian Football Association.<\/li>\n<li>Andriy Shevchenko made the announcement on Monday.<\/li>\n<li>Maldera is 55 and will be Ukraine\u2019s first foreign national-team head coach.<\/li>\n<li>He takes over after Serhiy Rebrov stepped down in April following a World Cup qualification miss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Shevchenko described Maldera as someone with a strong connection to Ukraine, saying the coach is \u201can Italian with a Ukrainian soul.\u201d He added that Maldera had already spent five years working with the national team and then continued his development by taking on roles with leading sides.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrea has a background of working with great coaches, clubs, and achieved results,\u201d Shevchenko said. He also stressed that the appointment matters not just for experience but for leadership goals, adding that it is important Maldera now has ambitions as a head coach and, most crucially, understands how to manage the national team.<\/p>\n<p>Maldera previously served as a technical coach until 2021 under Shevchenko during Shevchenko\u2019s time as manager of the Ukraine team. After finishing his contract with the association, he moved into further coaching work, including an assistant role with Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton &amp; Hove Albion.<\/p>\n<p>He later worked in a similar assistant capacity at Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1, continuing his career in top-flight football before his return to national-team management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italian coach Andrea Maldera has been named as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, Ukrainian Football Association president Andriy Shevchenko announced on Monday. The 55-year-old becomes the first foreign manager to take charge of the Ukrainian men\u2019s national team, stepping in after Serhiy Rebrov left the role in April. Rebrov\u2019s exit came following Ukraine\u2019s failure to secure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zalebs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"372\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"headline\":\"Andriy Shevchenko names Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":296,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"description\":\"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp\",\"width\":585,\"height\":372},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Andriy Shevchenko names Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Zalebs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\",\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\"},\"description\":\"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/za.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zibuyile-dladla\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach","description":"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach","og_description":"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat","og_url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/","og_site_name":"Zalebs","article_published_time":"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":585,"height":372,"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Zibuyile Dladla","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zibuyile Dladla","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/"},"author":{"name":"Zibuyile Dladla","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"headline":"Andriy Shevchenko names Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach","datePublished":"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/"},"wordCount":296,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/","name":"Ukraine appoint Andrea Maldera as new head coach","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-19T07:04:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"description":"Andriy Shevchenko confirms Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach, ending Serhiy Rebrov\u2019s spell after the World Cup qualificat","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/italian-maldera-appointed-ukraine-coach-c5c0.webp","width":585,"height":372},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/andriy-shevchenko-names-andrea-maldera-as-ukraines-new-head-coach\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Andriy Shevchenko names Andrea Maldera as Ukraine\u2019s new head coach"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/","name":"Zalebs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e","name":"Zibuyile Dladla","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zibuyile Dladla"},"description":"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}