Jozef Szabo: "I'm sorry, but Leonenko is just a fool"

Former coach of Dynamo Kyiv Jozef Sabo said what he expects from the first match of his former team against Lisbon Benfica in the play-off round of the Champions League qualification, which will be held today in Lodz, Poland.

"It is not at all clear to the spouse who suggested that he got into Dynamo"

— Jozef Jozefovich, how would you rate Dynamo's chances against Benfica?

- "Benfica" is a top team, and there is no way to get away from it. Good football players play there, not some garbage. Even Yaremchuk is sitting in Benfica as a substitute, although he is the main forward of our national team.

I can say with confidence that "Benfica" will not play with "Dynamo" with their sleeves down. Tactics will play a big role in tomorrow's match.

We all know how Lucescu plays. He will choose a tactic from the defense - not to miss, but as it turns out. On counterattacks, Kyiv will have moments to score, but we have no one to score.

— From which of the "Dynamo" players do you expect a bright game in the match with "Benfica"?

— There are no quality attackers in Kyiv. Hope is only for Tsygankov, but he is constantly injured - played half a match, then does not play for a month.

— Many experts praise Besedin for his efficiency.

— Three years ago they said that Besedin is a good football player, but now he is nothing. He can't even get hold of the ball. His only plus is that he mounts defenders ahead.

It is not at all clear to the couple who nominated him to be in Dynamo and in any other team. And he could not play anywhere, he was sent everywhere.

— "Dynamo" currently has a problem with a forward, and the Kyiv native is a rotation player in "Benfica". Maybe we should return Yaremchuk?

— I like this option, but Dynamo does not have the money to return it. It is unlikely that Yaremchuk himself will want to return.

— Will Lucescu surprise us with the lineup at Benfica?

- No. The players who played against "Sturm" will play. The only question is: who will replace Sydorchuk, who has a lot of yellow cards? Apart from him, I don't see a good football player in "Dynamo" in the position of defensive midfielder who can win the ball and start an attack.

— Your prediction for the match against Benfica?

— I can say with confidence that Dynamo won't beat Benfica, no matter how much we want it! This team is simply top class. It is also important for the Portuguese to earn money for getting into the Champions League.

"Leonenko said that Lucescu is a stronger coach than Lobanovskyi? I'm sorry, but he's just a fool"

— What do you think about Lucescu at the head of Dynamo? Vladyslav Vashchuk said that the Romanian does not fit the style of Kyivans.

— I don't like to criticize coaches. I can only say that Lucescu is crazy lucky, what about Lobanovskyi.

— Viktor Leonenko said in one of the interviews that he considers Lucheska a stronger coach than Lobanovskyi. Do you agree with this opinion?

— I'm sorry, but he's just a fool. I strongly disagree with this opinion! Lobanovsky is Lobanovsky! He achieved a lot - he won the Cup Winners' Cup with Dynamo, and at that time there were no legionnaires in Kyiv, he was in the semi-finals of the Champions League three times.

— Leonenko argued his position by the fact that the best football players from the USSR were brought to Lobanovskyi.

— Yes, then the best players played in Dynamo. But Lobanovskyi set up the game and set up the training process. He gave very heavy loads, then no one trained like that. Lobanovskyi said that there is no other way, because we lag behind Western clubs in technology, so we need to surpass them in physics.

— Tell us an interesting story related to Lobanovskyi.

— When I trained the national team, I was every day at the Dynamo base, which was then headed by Lobanovskyi. We were very close friends with him. We always sat with Valery Vasyliovych on the third floor and watched the players practice. One day, Lobanovskyi called Puzach and told him to invite Husin.

Husin came, and Lobanovskyi tells him: "Andrei, I see that you are not ready for tomorrow's match, so go home to your wife, rest." Andriy answers: "Vasilovych, what are you saying, I'm training." - "No no no. I said, go home." Husin lowered his head and left.

Lobanovsky tells me: "You'll see, he'll be back in half an hour." And indeed, after half an hour, Husin returns: "Vasilovych, I want to play, I'm ready for all 100. Let me go, I'll tear everyone!". Lobanovsky was immediately amused: "I need you like this! Go get ready." I remember many such moments with him. Valery Vasyliovych was a real psychologist who was created for football.

"Jovyevich wants to revive these football players, but born crawling cannot fly"

— Let's talk about our other representative in the European Cups. Did you manage to watch Shakhtar's test matches under the leadership of Jovičević?

— Watched the match against Roma when they lost 0:5.

— Why did the "miners" play so poorly?

— Because a new coach has arrived. Jovičević is trying to adapt the players to his tactics, but so far he is not succeeding. In addition, "Shakhtar" now does not have the same footballers as before.

Jovičević took all the footballers who were on rent in Mariupol. And which "Mariupol" took place in the last UPL season? The last! Here is the answer for you. Jovičević wants to revive these football players, but he was born crawling and cannot fly. I saw them in the Roma game. They are simply no!

But our other teams aren't any better either. Almost all legionnaires left our country. There is no getting away from this, we have a war going on and we have to think about completely different things.

— What do you expect from Shakhtar in the Champions League?

— Of course, it will be difficult for Shakhtar, especially with such a lineup. If you're lucky, maybe they'll take third place.

— What do you say about "Zorya", which lost to "University" and was eliminated from the European Cups?

— I did not understand at all what Zorya was playing and what the players were doing on the football field. "Zorya" sometimes shows a crazy game in a good way, sometimes you watch and wonder how some football players even play in this team.

— Do you not think that Zorya management made a mistake by inviting Patrick van Leeuwen to the position of coach?

— I don't know what their leadership is thinking. People need to understand football like Krasnikov himself. A man has been in football all his life, knows all the cuisine, and when he gives advice, you must listen. And people who are zero in football begin to take those who are imposed on them.

We have young guys who played great football and then coached the youth. They need to be trusted.

— Who, in your opinion, is the favorite of the new UPL season?

— "Dynamo" managed to keep the team, the players did not run away. The only downside is there is no striker. But despite all the problems of Shakhtar, I think the Miners will challenge Dynamo for the championship. Jovičević has to put the game in time. I don't know if Dnipro-1 managed to assemble a team, but other clubs are much weaker than our giants.

"Yarmolenko had to be hidden at the base so that he would not get into the Moscow Spartak

— Another topic I would like to touch on is the Ukrainian legionnaires. I remember how beautifully Shevchenko and Rebrov ended their playing careers, returning to their native Dynamo. Why do you think Yarmolenko did not choose this path, but moved to the exotic championship of the UAE?

— I don't know what he will do in that team, it's his choice. He will still be called up to the national team, but I think he will not return to Dynamo. I will tell you an interesting story about how I took him to Dynamo.

- Let's go.

— He was playing in "Desna" then, and I came to watch. In the end, it was necessary to hide him at the base so that he would not get into the Moscow "Spartak".

- What about you!

- Exactly! I watched his game and immediately after the match I called Igor Mykhailovych Surkis, I said: "We need to take the boy!". He agreed. And then they tell me: "There are people from Moscow sitting in the stands, they want to take Yarmolenko away from Spartak." After the game, the team left, and I left Yarmolenko on the base so that the Spartak team would not find him.

Then I took him to "Dynamo" and he received a very serious injury for a double - he was treated for six months. After recovery, Yarmolenko went to training, but he looked very bad, and Ihor Surkis just arrived.

The president called me to him and said: "What kind of specialist are you, look who you took?! He doesn't know how to play at all." I say, “Wait. The guy hasn't played for six months, give him time to get in shape." And Yarmolenko did not give up, played and began to progress.

— Let's talk about one more collection. Malinovsky, most likely, will leave Atalanta. Where do you think he should go?

— English football will suit him. Malinovsky is not a coward, a man, and in the Premier League he will be able to reveal himself in a new way. In England, the best championship.

— Now there are many rumors surrounding Dovbyk. The Italian mass media are courting the forward of "Dnipro-1" and the national team of "Salernitana". Where do you think Dovbyk should go?

- Dovbyk should be released, but not to some "Salernitana"! This team is not for him, he will die there. He needs to move to a top 6 Serie A club.

The example of Shevchenko in "Genoa" is before our eyes. I told him then: "You can't take this team, there are no football players there. You won't do anything there, no matter what training you do, and you won't go out to play on the field yourself." That's how it turned out in the end.

Andriy Piskun