The legendary defender of "Dynamo" Oleg Kuznetsov spoke about the problems of Kyiv and expectations from the upcoming meeting in Larnaca with AEK.
Oleg Kuznetsov— Oleg Volodymyrovych, do you remember when Dynamo used to look so helpless?
— Over the past 20-25 years, I don't remember exactly. Maybe there was something similar in the European Cups, but I don't recall anything like that in the championship.
— What do you think is happening with the team?
— It is necessary to start with the fact that the pre-season training went well, Mircea Lucescu did not invent anything, there were many test matches against strong opponents. Even the Champions League qualifying matches against Fenerbahce and Sturm, when the Kyiv team won in extra time, gave reason to look optimistically into the future, because the team was improving physically.
"White and blue" started work earlier than everyone else, moreover, in a practically unchanged composition compared to last season. And this meant that before the start of the championship, the team had to be a head stronger than its competitors, as many teams recruited football players almost on a residual basis, and they had much less time to prepare for official matches. But it turns out that now "Dynamo" is one of the worst teams. And talk of a large number of departures is unconvincing.
Injuries are another matter, but they happened to the leaders of the team when the team was already falling. Although, if it weren't for Georgy Bushchan, Dynamo could have finished in the Champions League after Fenerbahce. And in everyday life, I am sure, the club management did everything possible to make the football players feel comfortable. I'm not in the team, but maybe things are not right in the locker room right now.
— If in the championship it is still possible to make up for what was lost, then in the Europa League there is an away match against AEK Cyprus — the last chance to catch Eurospring. With what feelings are you waiting for the upcoming game?
— Probably, the president of the club talked to the footballers, who should be ashamed to look like that in Europe. Apparently, many players do not understand what the "Dynamo" T-shirt means. And as for the upcoming match with AEK and the chances of reaching the playoffs of the Conference League, let the "Dinamo team" remember last season, in which the Italian "Roma" won. It turns out, you can find motivation for this tournament.
It is surprising that the press somehow perceives such results of "white and blue" on a daily basis. Half of the country cheers for Dynamo, but no one remembers such a failure. At such a time, on the contrary, it is necessary for the team to bring joy, and it is not there. As AEK's matches against "Dnipro-1" and "Dynamo" showed, the Cypriots are not an easy team, they have a good collective interaction. It will be difficult with them, but not hopeless.
— What will be your prediction for the upcoming match?
— I really hope that the Dynamo players will wake up with pride and a desire to positively surprise their fans. Let's bet on the minimum victory of the Ukrainian team - 2:1. Optimism is desirable, because in terms of class, the Kyivans are not inferior to their rivals, so why not try to prove it on the football field.
Yaroslav Pyatnytskyi
