The U17 coaching team has undergone major and positive changes!

The FCI Levadia U17 team has made a full coaching transition, with three new coaches taking over the roles instead of the previous two: Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, Maksim Rotškov, and Pavel Londak.

This season, the FCI Levadia U17 team finished in third place in the league, with a close gap to the top two teams, indicating the team’s potential. As a result, changes were made to the coaching staff before the new season, with a new head coach, assistant coach, and goalkeeper coach joining.

The new head coach is former striker Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko. Zahovaiko ended his playing career in 2017 with Paide Linnameeskond after years of success both in Estonia and abroad. In the Premium League, he played 309 matches, scored 211 goals, and provided 32 assists. Zahovaiko has also proven himself as a coach. In 2023, he returned from Gambia in West Africa, where he helped the team win their thirteenth championship title as head coach.

Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko: “This is the perfect challenge for my coaching career, and I am thrilled to accept it. Developing young players is a highly responsible job, and I am excited to contribute to an ambitious club like FCI Levadia. The club’s vision and goals push us out of our comfort zone, motivating us all to work hard towards our common objective. Every young player is unique, and I am committed to enhancing their individual strengths. Together with the club and our enthusiastic support team, we aim to provide the best environment for unlocking young players’ potential. We want to build a professional, demanding, and competitive atmosphere where every player can learn, grow, and develop. I thank the club’s management for their trust, and I can’t wait for our first training session.”

Experienced Maksim Rotškov, who played 157 matches and scored 31 goals for Levadia from 1998 to 2005, will take on the role of assistant coach. Rotškov retired in 2017, having played a total of 300 matches in the Premium League, scoring 53 goals and playing nearly 15,000 minutes.

Pavel Londak will join as the goalkeeper coach. Like Zahovaiko, Londak has extensive experience with the Estonian national team and played 257 matches in the Premium League. He also has a broad international career, and he has represented the Estonian national team 27 times.

Pavel Londak: “The main idea is to develop further in this great and successful club, to teach young goalkeepers, and share my experience with them. I aim to help create a strong training system and a competitive goalkeeper school. I will do my best to help young goalkeepers reach the first team!”

FCI Levadia Football School sports director Nikita Martynov commented: “With Pavel Londak, our team gains a very promising coach. Under his guidance, we aim to grow goalkeepers with a solid foundation. Pavel’s experience and education are high-level and admirable. He has played at an elite level, and now he will teach and pass his knowledge to our young players.

“We are also delighted about the head coach and assistant coach! We have been looking for coaches for a long time, and when the opportunity to bring in Slava arose, we took it! It’s fantastic that Slava is motivated to work with youth specifically. The club has invested heavily in youth in the last two years, so we carefully seek coaches for every age group. Slava’s experience and knowledge are invaluable. The boys are in for a very exciting year!”

Welcome to the team, Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, Maksim Rotškov, and Pavel Londak! We look forward to a big step forward for our youth and community, eagerly anticipating the upcoming work and new season!

Photo: FCI Levadia