Rustam Khudzhamov has continued his work with the Ukraine national team under the new head coach. Andrea Maldera kept him on the staff as goalkeeper coach and openly said that he trusts him. This is an important detail, because the new coaching staff is already building its own working structure.
The national team camp is taking place in Lviv. For the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the team is working at home again. Khudzhamov is already preparing the goalkeepers in this cycle: the team has held its first sessions, played a match against Poland, and still has a game against Denmark ahead. Anatoliy Trubin, Ruslan Neshcheret and Georgiy Yermakov have been called up to the camp.
In his work on the pitch, Khudzhamov uses Brave GK Venom NWB and Skill 2.0 goalkeeper gloves. These are models that the goalkeeper coach of the Ukraine national team trusts in his professional daily work.
When a new head coach comes to the national team, one of the first questions is who he will work with on the staff. In Andrea Maldera’s case, the decision regarding the goalkeeper coach was clear: Rustam Khudzhamov continued his work with the national team and kept his role in the new cycle.
This is important for two reasons at once. First, Khudzhamov had already worked with the national team goalkeepers in the previous staff and knows the specifics of this role at national team level. Second, Maldera himself publicly said that he trusts him and highly values his work. So this is not just a formal decision to keep a specialist, but a direct choice by the new coach to retain a person he is ready to trust with preparing the goalkeepers.
For the national team, this is also a positive. There is continuity in the goalkeeper position, and the goalkeepers themselves get a specialist they already understand. Khudzhamov already knows this level, this rhythm and the demands of the national team.
For the first time in a long period, the national team is working at home again - in Lviv. The location of the camp already creates a different background for the entire preparation. The team has not simply gathered before the matches, but is doing it in Ukraine and in a familiar atmosphere.
For the coaching staff, this is also an important part of the work. The players need to be brought together quickly, introduced into a shared rhythm and prepared for the upcoming matches. For the goalkeeper coach, it means the same thing: getting involved in the process from the first days, doing the initial work with the goalkeepers and bringing them into the match cycle in the right condition.
This is exactly the context in which Rustam Khudzhamov is working now. Every day of preparation is already tied to specific tasks and the nearest games.
The camp did not start with maximum loads. On the first day, part of the squad held an informal training session. The program was simple: a light run and football tennis for four teams. This format helps the players ease into the work, feel movement again and bring back their feel for the ball.
The next day, the camp moved into full mode. First, the team held a theoretical session. Andrea Maldera spent about an hour explaining his vision for the upcoming matches and separately analyzed the Poland national team: how Ukraine should play, what the opponent’s strengths are and where its weak points can be found.
After the theory, the team went out for an evening training session. So the camp quickly moved from introductory work to proper preparation for specific matches. For the goalkeeper coach, this is also an important transition: first helping the goalkeepers calmly enter the rhythm, and then preparing them for full work within the match cycle.
Rustam Khudzhamov’s work at this camp quickly moved into specific match preparation. First, the team entered the rhythm, then theory sessions and full training began, and after that Ukraine already played against Poland. For the goalkeeper coach, the cycle immediately reached a practical match level.
Now the work continues with the next game in mind. Ukraine has a match against Denmark ahead, and for the goalkeepers this is a new stage within the same camp. They need to keep the tempo, maintain concentration and go through the full preparation cycle without any drop in quality.
For Khudzhamov, this is the normal rhythm of a national team goalkeeper coach. It is consistent work inside a short but intense window, where everything is focused on the nearest matches.
In his work with the Ukraine national team, Rustam Khudzhamov uses two Brave GK models - Venom NWB and Skill 2.0. These are proven models that he trusts in professional work with goalkeepers.
Brave GK Venom NWB goalkeeper gloves are an option for situations where a tight fit, stable hand fixation and reliable grip are important. This model features a Supreme Contact palm, Roll Hybrid cut, Fix Fit system and integrated latex strap. Together, these elements give the glove a compact feel on the hand and confident work with the ball at different speeds.
Brave GK Skill 2.0 goalkeeper gloves solve slightly different tasks. They also feature Supreme Contact, but the model itself gives a more flexible feeling in the wrist and freer hand movement in dynamics. It has a well-designed segmented construction, Rollfinger cut, internal Fix Fit stabilization and cuts between the latex zones that help the fist bend more naturally.
For a goalkeeper coach, this combination looks logical. Venom NWB is for cases where density, fixation and stability are needed. Skill 2.0 is for situations where control, wrist flexibility and freer movement are important. That is why Khudzhamov’s choice looks professional here: two models for different working sensations and different accents in the training process.
Ukraine has already played against Poland and continues working in this cycle. The next game is on June 7 against Denmark. For the team, this is another stage of preparation, and for the coaching staff, it is a continuation of the work that began in Lviv with the first sessions, theory and a gradual entry into match mode.
For Rustam Khudzhamov, this is an important stage. He continued his work with the national team under the new head coach, is again responsible for preparing the goalkeepers and is going through this entire cycle in his familiar professional rhythm.
