Well-known journalist Mykola Nesenyuk shared his impressions of the return match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League between Austrian "Sturm" and Kyiv "Dynamo" (1:2), which took place yesterday in Graz.
Mykola Nesenyuk"How would the Dynamo team of Valery Lobanovsky's time play against the Austrian "Sturm"? Obviously, from the defense, counting on counterattacks. And after a goal or more would have been scored in these counterattacks, Dynamo would simply "control the game" in the future, playing "in class" and mentally already in the next match.
Dynamo under the leadership of Mircea Lucescu tried to play in the same way yesterday. But the current Dynamo team could not play against "Sturm" as they used to "in class" due to the lack of the above-mentioned class. Well, now there is no Blokhin and Onishchenko in the team, as in 1975, Zavarov and Belanov, as in 1986, Shevchenko and Rebrov, as in 1997. The aforementioned football players could create a danger for the opponent's goal with almost every forward pass. The current ones can quickly create a danger for their own goal.
The only thing that connects modern "Dynamo" with the teams of Lobanovskyi's time is the desire to play until the end, giving all their strength on the field. This is how we saw the Dynamo team after they conceded the ball while trying to "control the game". After that, emotions came instead of "control". It turned out that before Dynamo he can just play football, play the way he knows how today.
Of course, it was impossible to watch such a game calmly. Just like in the previous away game in Istanbul, Dinamo kept everyone in tension until the last seconds and still beat the home team to advance to the next stage of the competition. And for this, they should be thanked - for real football with an unpredictable result, which, although more nerve-wracking, brings much more pleasure than "controlling the game in the classroom".
What will happen in the match between "Dynamo" and "Benfica" of Portugal? Predictions are a thankless thing. But one thing can be said for sure - it won't be boring!" Nesenyuk wrote on his Facebook page.
