Football expert Oleksandr Sopko analyzed the match of the 1st round of the Europa League group stage between the local Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kyiv (2:1) that took place yesterday in Istanbul.
Alexander Sopko- Any radical decisions of the Dynamo leadership - such as resigning the coach or players to the front, as Igor Surkis said - are unlikely to help in the current situation, since there are objective reasons that neither the coach nor the president can influence, or maybe be the players themselves. So the main thing here is not to do even more stupid things than it was done before.
Speaking specifically about this game, it was difficult for both teams. It was felt from the first minutes that the players were very motivated, tuned in, they started the match very emotionally, until the first warning, it seemed to me that the teams in full squads would not finish the game. But then, when the first fuse passed, Fenerbahce's individual and team skills began to show more. They managed to reduce this degree, they themselves calmed down, and this helped them to prove their advantage purely in football.
And it was obvious to them, because of which the Dynamo team had to concentrate on what they do best - to defend compactly. And we must pay tribute to the people of Kiev that even having conceded, Dynamo created a segment in the second half, in which they even seized the initiative and did not look doomed. We scored a goal, after which it seemed that Dynamo would play the ending more liberated and even from the position of a certain pressure. But the outcome of the match was determined both by the higher individual skill of the Fenerbahce players and the team as a whole.
So you can’t say that the result is undeserved, the Turks looked more skillful, played football, and did not achieve results at any cost. Dynamo endured, tried, fought, but purely in terms of football, they could not offer anything.
- The absence of Zabarny played a role, how would you rate Burda's performance?
- I think that Burda played at his maximum today, given that he had no practice for a very long time. He looked good, imposed a fight, did not spare either himself or his opponent. And, I think, in this game he looked no worse than Zabarny. His mistakes were not decisive, they were made by others.
- Goals were conceded from standard situations, is it Dynamo's disease?
- Yes, a disease, and not only Dynamo, but all of our football. Inability to play on the second floor, play out episodes. And the Turks played in such a way that this pressure was constant - with standards, very good central defenders were involved, tall, able to play on the second floor. They, apparently, analyzed the last game and prepared well in this component, all the time they tried to complete the attack with a serve, playing ahead of the game.
Dynamo could not oppose the same game at other people's goal, now the team simply does not have the potential, there are no players who can act in this way. And the conceded first goal itself is an illustration of a one-on-one game on the second floor. As Garmash's game showed, he is unreliable in defense.
- Tsygankov scored a goal, however, recently there was information about the player's conflict with the management, they say, Viktor does not want to renew the contract. Based on the game in Istanbul, can you talk about any problems the player has with the club?
- I don't think that one can speak of some outstanding game of Victor by the goal scored. In the first half, he was practically not noticeable. And in the episode it worked great. But, having received the status of an episode player, it is difficult to claim that you will be invited to the top championship. They don’t need episode players, they need those who know how to select, fight, impose a fight, not be afraid of pressure for all 90 minutes.
What is happening with Tsygankov is probably the result of the "far-sighted" policy of the club. Maybe it had to be sold in a timely manner if there were offers, maybe there were some promises to Victor - here I don’t know the details, I’m not aware of the club cuisine.
In any case, Tsygankov is a professional, intelligent player, not a fan of scandals. There is more of a problem in his physical condition. It is very difficult to play fresh all the time in the European championships without having a functional athletic base. As long as he has light legs, Tsygankov is good, he can play. But it will be very difficult for him to withstand the intensity of 90 minutes in the top championships with such readiness. So he needs to weigh everything and draw certain conclusions.
- How can Dynamo get out of the current crisis? Still, five defeats in a row is a fairly serious indicator.
- Everyone has long known the Dynamo problems - the qualifications of the attacking players. It is necessary to look for football players for these positions, while I do not see ready-made players. Neither on the field, nor in the nearest reserve. The same support zone - the transition from defense to attack must somehow occur through the center, this, unfortunately, is not.
Well, as I think, Mircea Lucescu was still so focused on the result that he quickly squeezed the maximum out of the shots that he had. But work for the future, with the aim of reaching a new level of the game, is not visible now. In the same Shakhtar, he worked on the future, spent all the time rotating, acquiring new players. In this he is selenium. If here now he is limited in opportunities, then a conflict is inevitable. Also if he is "outdated" as a coach...
For me personally, it is very surprising that all the acquisitions that have been made over the past year and a half - Kulach, Supryaga, Shkurin, Antyukh - with all due respect to these players, but I do not see them as preachers of Lucescu's ideas. If he saw his vision of football in these players, then it is very surprising that Mircea found something in them.
I don’t see now either Lucescu’s new coaching idea, or the resources with which he can develop it. But let's see how trusting the relationship between him and the president of the club is, how much Igor Surkis will resist the temptation and pressure of all kinds of opinions, how much he will believe Lucescu and go to meet him.
Evgeny Savchuk
