Oleg Salenko: "What I saw in the last two matches of Dynamo is a complete failure"

Ex-forward of Dynamo Kyiv Oleg Salenko told what he expects from the first match of his former team with Turkish Fenerbahce in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League, which will be held today in Lodz, Poland.

"Definitely not Besedin..."

— I don’t have a very positive impression about the level of readiness of Dynamo for the next match with the Turkish club, Salenko noted. — The last two games of Kiev (with Lyon - 0:3, and with Antwerp - 1:2, - ed.) clearly demonstrated that the team is not in proper shape. It's one thing to hold charity matches, and quite another to hold control matches. What I saw is a complete failure.

- In nine sparring matches at the training camp in Switzerland, Dynamo scored 14 goals, but nine of them were against the reservists of Sion and Lyon. Attack - the most problematic line of the "white-blue"?

- Exactly. Besedin is effective ahead when Dynamo are actively attacking. But Besedin is not yet able to run away from rivals and decide the fate of the episode himself. Given this, Mircea Lucescu, I think, will put someone else on the attack.

- Spouse?

- He runs well, but he can't regain his confidence and scoring instinct. Regarding the option with Garmash in front, I'm not sure that Lucescu will choose this option, because Denis also does not have high speed and endurance for spurts in the other half of the field.

- Then, if you look at Dynamo's application for the game against Fenerbahce, Vanat remains...

- Yes, Vanat has a chance, but, nevertheless, I'm leaning towards the option with Spryaga. It should be taken into account that now Dynamo will be able to play with Fenerbahce exclusively from defense, and wait for the opponent's mistake. It is useless to wait for open football... A teammate is needed in order to break into the operational space and score at least one goal.

Dynamo ran out of time

- Dynamo played a lot at the Swiss training camp, although there was little time for full-fledged work ...

“There really wasn’t enough time. In sparring, the Kiev coaching staff needed to see as many performers as possible. Dynamo has no top players now, so Lucescu has to watch everyone in the game, without exception. There was not enough time for "physics". Unfortunately, the team will gain normal conditions later... Now is a landmark stage for Dynamo - it is imperative to break into the Champions League group.

- Is returning to the legionary team a good sign?

- Verbic and Kendziora hope to return to the Champions League. The matches of this tournament will be held in Europe, which suits these legionnaires quite well. As far as I know, the terms of their contracts at Dynamo have not changed, and neither Verbic nor Kendzer have received good offers from European clubs. Therefore, the Champions League is a chance for legionnaires to keep their name, salary and the opportunity to play outside of Ukraine.

— What can you say about Dynamo's rival?

- In Fenerbahce, there is a very serious preparation for the duel with the people of Kiev. The Istanbul club makes a huge bet on the Champions League, which is why it has increased very significantly.

"In Poland, like at home"

- Dynamo will have to formally play a home match in Poland. Is this another downside?

- No, this will not affect the game of the "white-blue" in any way. All Poles will cheer for the Ukrainian team. In addition, the entrance to the Dynamo-Fenerbahce match for Ukrainians, of which there are many in Poland, will be free. Thus, a full house is expected at the game, and the entire arena will strongly cheer for the people of Kiev.

- What is your feeling before this match? How can the game end?

— Now Dynamo Kyiv needs luck more than ever. As for the premonition... I think that a 0-0 draw will be a very good result for the White-Blues.

Oleg Semenchenko