This coming Thursday, October 13, Dynamo Kyiv will play the match of the 4th round of the Europa League group stage with the French Rennes in Krakow. And the day before this fight, a pre-match press conference was held by the head coach of the Ukrainian team Mircea Lucescu.
Mircea Lucescu. Photo — Oksana Vasilyeva- What is the situation with Boyko's injury and how ready is Neshcheret for the match with Rennes?
- We have only one healthy goalkeeper left - Neshcheret. And he, of course, will play with Rennes. Ruslan has been training with us not so long ago, only 10 days have passed since he recovered from his injury. However, we trust him and believe in his best qualities.
Boyko's injury is almost the same as Shaparenko's - the cruciate ligament. Denis will remain out of football for six months. At a consultation in Barcelona, he was told that an operation was needed.
Due to personnel problems in the goalkeeper position, another goalkeeper, 17-year-old Avramenko, has now joined our team.
— How do you feel in Krakow, where Dynamo plays home matches?
- Yes, we nominally hold home matches here, but rather we play on a neutral field. Although this is not such a big problem, constant moving brings more difficulties. The road from Lviv to Krakow takes at least 7 hours, so the recovery of players after matches is the main problem. Perhaps that is why the last match was lost at the last minute, we lacked functional readiness. However, you need to play with a cool head, wait for your chance and show support for Ukraine through football.
— Where did the team find themselves in the recent massive missile strikes throughout Ukraine?
- We were just on the way, moving from Lviv to Krakow. We arrived in Poland quite late, but still had a training session in the evening on the field near the hotel, where there was no good lighting. We also had a training there yesterday, but I think that this is even for the best. This trains the players confidence, concentration and interaction with partners.
- After three rounds in the Europa League, Dynamo is in fourth position in its group. How would you rate the first half of the group stage?
“Unfortunately, the result is disappointing. This happened because we have a lot of injured players, besides, it was not possible to carry out the transfers that we wanted to make. As for the game, in my opinion, the guys are trying and giving their best. We didn't deserve to lose all three of those matches. We continue to work and try to demonstrate our best game.
- Do you think it is necessary to play against Shakhtar in Lviv this weekend?
- At first it was planned that the match would be held in London, everything was planned. However, during the latest Russian attacks, we were in Lviv, the players heard and felt everything. They worry and worry about their families. It seems to me that returning to Lviv now may not be the best idea.
We offered several options: to play in Warsaw, in Krakow, or in Lviv, but a little later - on Monday or Tuesday, since Shakhtar played yesterday, and we are playing tomorrow. We will have very little time to recover and move, we will be able to do a maximum of one workout. Therefore, we are waiting for a response from Shakhtar, UAF and UPL.
It was at the time when these missile attacks were taking place that we had a scheduled training session. But we were allowed to go abroad, so plans changed.
This is not our solution, we need to find a common solution in this situation. We offer alternative options and are waiting for a response.
