Today, on August 26, the Europa League group stage draw took place, which determined the opponents of Dynamo Kyiv. In group B, the Kievans will be opposed by the French "Rennes", the Turkish "Fenerbahce" and the Cypriot AEK. Impressions from the "white-blue" lot in the commentary Footboom shared the legendary Dynamo player Oleg Kuznetsov.
Oleg Kuznetsov (photo: A. Mayorov)- In this group, we see two familiar faces - teams with which both Dynamo and Dnepr-1 have already played in the qualification. Of course, Fenerbahce will want to take revenge, because the Istanbul club was very unhappy with the departure from the Champions League from Kiev. I think that Mircea Lucescu's team will have difficult matches against Fenerbahce, a good team that, by the way, had not played yet at the time of the match against Dynamo. But until September, Fenerbahce will be in full condition.
— Cypriot AEK, judging by the matches with Dnipro-1, is also not a gift. There are many Brazilians, Balkans and few Cypriots in this team — somewhat reminiscent of the pre-war Shakhtar.
- Yes, the performers there are of very high quality, although they are quite old. We simply will not be in Cyprus. But I would not compare this AEK with Shakhtar. Shakhtar had a lot of promising young legionnaires, and the Cypriot team has very experienced players... AEK is able to surprise and squeeze out the maximum in at least one game, but in general it is a passing team.
— "Rennes" — favorite of this group?
- No, the favorite is Dynamo Kyiv. However, the French team cannot be weak, and Rennes proved this last season with a good performance in the French championship. This is a very resilient team.
— Which Dynamo can we see in the Europa League — stronger than now or vice versa?
- "White-blue" should be added to the game plan. The lack of official matches had a negative impact on Dynamo's performance, especially in the confrontation with Benfica. But now the people of Kiev will play a lot - both in the Premier League and on the European arena. Soon they will have a schedule of three matches a week. The only risk is that Mircea Lucescu, I think, physically prepared his charges for August - for the Champions League qualification, so Dynamo may have a decline in September.
— Is the attack also the most problematic line of Dynamo?
- Lucescu made a bet on Besedin, who did not live up to expectations. Therefore, in the future, it is possible that young Vanat will receive more trust. Plus, you need to rely on your reserves, involve talented young people. Have to search. In general, Dynamo has a solid clip of performers. There are also ambitions, including the Europa League, with the intention to definitely continue the fight in the spring of 2023. I think it’s wrong to bet on any one forward in attack and experiment in the Ukrainian championship. And the same Besedin is able to come on as a replacement - there is no need to write him off.
— What do you think will be the final schedule in Group B?
- Three teams will compete for two tickets to the playoffs of the Europa League - Dynamo, Rennes and Fenerbahce.
Oleg Semenchenko
