Don't shoot the pianist. Why there is no need to criticize Besedin

Forward of Kyiv "Dynamo» Artem Besedin gets a lot of criticism for the Champions League qualifiers.

Against "Fenerbahce" Artem did not show anything, and in the match against "Sturm" he became one of the culprits of the missed goal in his own goal, when he lost the ball in the middle of the field. In the first match against Benfica, Besedin was not seen on the field.

No need to cut from the shoulder. In fact, the lack of scored goals and Artem's inefficient game have their own explanation. There is absolutely no need to make tragedies out of Artem's performances. He has already achieved a lot.

A year without official matches

Besedin suffered a serious injury at Euro 2020 in a match against Sweden. After which the year was out of the game. He returned already in 2022 during the Dynamo winter training. This was only the final stage of rehabilitation. The second part of the season did not take place due to the outbreak of war. In April-May, Artem only had the opportunity to play in charity matches. Moreover, their number was not large. These are more exhibition games with the desire to raise money for Ukraine.

Even then it was noticeable that he was not physically ready and had not yet fully recovered. Besyedin did not play in the World Cup and League of Nations games as part of the Ukrainian national team. Oleksandr Petrakov chose other players for these matches.

In a year without official matches, Besedin lost all his playing form and did not fully retire after a serious injury. Of course, it takes time to get back into the swing of things. Physically, he had to dial everything from the beginning.

Having missed the first part due to serious health problems, and in the second part not having official games, Besedin simply could not approach the qualifying matches of the Champions League in good shape. In the fall, the attacker's game will be better. Need time.

Non-alternativeness

You can express your dissatisfaction with Besedin's game as much as you want, but there is no better player for the forward position than Lucescu.

Over the past 2-3 years, "Dynamo" has not entered the transfer market with the desire to strengthen the attack. There was an attempt during Oleksandr Khatskevich's tenure, when the Spaniard Fran Sol was signed. 3.5 million euros were paid for the Spaniard. Nothing good came of it. Sol could not play in Ukraine, neither for Khatskevich, nor for Mykhailichenko, nor for Lucheska. Now he is getting his "fat contract" with "Dynamo" in Spain. Somewhere close to the forward is Gerson Rodríguez, who was paid 2 million euros. But the Luxembourger had conflicts with the last two Dynamo coaches and is already playing for the second season on loan.

The moral is very simple: you can't buy a strong, scoring forward for little money. A quality striker will cost between 7-8 million euros and must have good personal terms. Such an option for Dynamo looked unrealistic before the war.

Therefore, they are forced to rely on their own school, existing players. Of all of them, Artem Besedin looks the best. Spouse has constant health problems and unclear motivation to play for Dynamo. Nazarii Rusyn was never able to get a good look at Lucescu. Evgeny Isayenko has not yet reached higher than "Colossus". To hope that Vlad Vanat in 20 years after the loan to Odesa will carry Benfica until it is necessary. The main forward of the youth team, Kyrylo Petrov, also went to gain experience in Kovalivka. Therefore, there is nothing left but to put Besedin in the starting line-up again and again. Diluting his output mainly by Denys Garmash and hoping for Vanat's progress and rapid maturation.

Midfield problems

"Show me your midfield, and I'll tell you what kind of team you have." This saying characterizes the low potential of the Dynamo midfield. Playing under the striker, Vitaly Buyalskyi is more famous for his ability to find the opponent's mistake, work in pressing, ability to find his moment, but Vitaliy was never a creative midfielder, playmaker, projectile carrier. The forwards don't particularly need to expect any assists from him. In this whole story, Besedin distracts the defenders more with his efficiency and gives the opportunity to find free zones for Buyalski, who scores his goals. Artem sacrifices himself somewhere for the success of others. Probably, this is the problem in the national team of Ukraine, where other football players play in this position, not Vitaly.

Not everything is simple on the flanks either. Tsygankov not only assists, but also tries to take over the game himself and finish the moment. On the opposite flank there is no one at all now. During the time of Carlos De Pena, it was easier for the striker. Because the Uruguayan tried to create for the forward. Now, when Kyiv is left without a left midfielder, there is not much help for the striker from the middle of the field. It is impossible to say that Besedin wastes or does not realize his moments. He just has almost none of them. Individual skill does not allow you to create much for yourself. I am sure that if Artem had played in the pre-war Shakhtar, he would have scored more, because he would have supported the middle of the field and had a greater opportunity to hit the opponent's goal.

Besedin was never a strong striker

You can demand or expect Besedin to beat opponents one-on-one, Brazilian technique, sprinting moves, shots in the style of Ibrahimovic, or extraordinary sense of goal, but these are only problems of fans, experts and journalists.

Artem never had extraordinary qualities of a forward. He took everything for his ability to work. This is especially felt in contrast to international matches. I don't remember Artem scoring against strong teams in the Champions League or League, or even Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Premier League. Ditto for the national team. Only a goal against the Finns in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

There is not enough skill, not enough class to be efficient and effective at that level. The UPL is another matter. Here, Artem can count on his 10-12 goals every season, because the level of opponents is lower and the class of Dynamo players is high. This is a very good indicator for today's realities of the Ukrainian championship. Therefore, Lucescu does not invent anything. Mircha chooses stability. Where a forward will definitely do a huge amount of draft work, but won't be super productive in attack.

Besedin is a striker who can be effective at the UPL level. This is not only Artem's problem. International matches show that many of the "Dynamo" squad do not perform at the international level. It's just that for some reason only the forward gets it. Kyiv has always had a good tradition of strikers. There could be no defense, no midfield, but there must have been someone interesting up front.

Lucescu comes from little. If a player can bring benefits at the UPL level, then it should be pushed away from. It's better than any prospects.

Artyom is psychologically stable by nature. At one time, Serhii Rebrov gave Besedin and Yaremchuk chances in the first team. A less talented one mentally managed to withstand this level, and Roman was almost done with football. Psychological stability allows Artyom to calmly accept all his failures, criticism and to carry out the coach's instructions. At one time, the same Yaremchuk or Rusyn could not do this. Durability is sorely lacking in the Couple. Therefore, they are all somewhere on the side, and Besedin plays.

You can complain about the game of Tsygankov or Shaparenko. These football players stood out at the youth and youth level. Even then, they were called potential stars of Ukrainian football and prophesied a great future. Both had talents, potential. This has never happened to Besedin. He had no special talents. He takes everything only thanks to self-sacrifice. Makes the most of his abilities. Therefore, there is no need to make excessive demands on his game. Do not shoot the pianist, he plays as he knows how.

Sergey Tishchenko