Since the end of August of this year, 21-year-old defender Christian Bilovar, a pupil of Valery Lobanovsky Dynamo FC, has been playing on loan in the Cyprus championship for AEL from Limassol (he played 7 matches in all tournaments). While the Whites and Blues were on the island for the Europa League game against AEK, Christian came to support his team-mates in the European Cup match and spoke to the club's media about how his career is progressing..
Christian Bilovar (photo: ael-fc.com)— Glad to see the team, I'm fine. But it is a little difficult to focus on work and on the new stage of my life, because my thoughts are constantly in Ukraine. All my family, my relatives and loved ones are there now. I am in touch with them every day and pray for them, because you can never be sure of what will happen tomorrow.
— How often do you get asked about the war in Cyprus? What exactly are you talking about?
— I have no friends here, except for football players with whom I play in the same team. Therefore, only they asked me about the war. They are really interested. When I just moved, they asked if everything is fine with me, if everything is fine with my family, what is the situation in Ukraine now. I tried to explain everything to them so that they would not get the wrong impression. The main thing I wanted to convey to them is that with God's help, the truth will always win. This applies to both war and other aspects of life.
— There are many Russians in Cyprus, were there any problems with them?
— So far, I have not noticed that there are many of them here, at least I have not crossed paths with them, because I am almost nowhere. I communicate the most with Kevin Mirallas and Nico Iliciano, who at one time played for the national team of Moldova. These are two mature and experienced players who helped me a lot in my adaptation when I first arrived here, always asking how things are in Ukraine, whether I'm doing well, whether I need help with housing, etc.
Despite the high status of Miralles, who was once the main star of the Belgian national team, he now watches a lot of Dynamo matches and follows our team. He and I mentioned how Dynamo once beat Everton 5:2, and he didn't go to that match, because he was told to prepare for the next one and that they could do without him. I can't say whether he watches every match, but I know that he is interested in our team. We even watched the broadcast of the Kyiv match with "Rukh" on YouTube together.
— And did you not ask him if he would like to move to Dynamo?
- No, but he is an open person. And if Dynamo wanted to talk to him, he would at least not refuse.
— Which of the people from Dynamo do you communicate with the most now?
— I can't single out someone, I talk to a lot of people. Basically, these are young football players: Denys Popov, Vladyslav Vanat, Ruslan Nescheret, with whom we were born in the same city, so we keep in touch. In addition, I follow every Dynamo match. And I react to victories and defeats, like every football player.
— When young footballers go on loan, they usually choose central Europe. How did you decide on Cyprus?
— I had several offers: one of them in Poland, one in Belgium and one from Cyprus. For me, as a young football player, it was decisive that I was promised game practice in almost all matches of the season.
— Did you talk to Lucescu before going to rent? Maybe he told you something, somehow motivated you?
— Yes, I spoke with him at the end of the training camp in Switzerland. He recommended that I go on a loan and said that I need to gain game practice and experience. Because it makes no sense for me to sit on the bench now, but I need to play. This is the only way I will be able to grow into a good player. I listened to him, and I will always listen to his advice.
— Playing in the center of defense requires maximum communication with partners. How are you doing with foreign languages? Do you understand the coach's requirements?
- I speak English fluently. Although there are many foreigners in the team - Brazilians, Portuguese, etc. - but on the field communication is always in English. In particular, we have the brother of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker playing for us, as well as many other players who at one time played in the top European championships.
— This is a vivid example of the fact that young football players, while still playing at the Academy, should learn foreign languages...
— Of course, you never know where life will take you. And now I regret not having studied more languages earlier at school. Many players tell me that there are teams where the main language is, for example, French or Spanish. And now I'm trying to learn a little French.
— The Cyprus Championship is perhaps underrated. We see how AEK played in the Europa League group with Dynamo, we remember Anorthosis, which in the 2010s reached the group stage of the Champions League, then Europe learned about APOEL...
— I can say that the level of the championship increases when the level of football players who play in it increases. And in the last few years, three to five, many top football players come here, and in teams of different levels, from leaders to outsiders. As an example, you can take "Aris", which played in the second league last season, and now occupies second place in the top division. This is due to the fact that many legionnaires have come to them, including from the French Ligue 1 and the Spanish La Liga. Also in this season, "Omonia" played in the Europa League group, and in two matches with "Manchester United" it did not concede to the English giant in any way, the same "Apollon" played in the Conference League with "Dniprom-1". The most interesting thing is that next season Cyprus will be represented in the European Cups by other teams, and this is the beauty of the country's championship.
— It turns out that your main task here in Cyprus — gaining experience, new football knowledge to return to the home team?
— Now God has given me such an opportunity to be here, and I see that in this championship and in this team I can progress. But I can't measure my progress - I can only assure you that every day I'm doing my best to develop as a football player. Of course, I would like to return to Dynamo, because it is my home club, but my progress will be evaluated by Mister, and the final decision - whether to bring me back or not - will be up to him.
— "Dynamo" is going through a difficult period now — due to psychological condition, due to frequent relocations. How do you feel as a fan of the team?
— Such a great coach as Mr. Lucescu will definitely lead the team out of this black streak. If the team is criticized, the coach helps them, if the coach is criticized, the team helps him. I am sure that Dynamo is working together like never before. I personally attended the training session of the first team and saw how the players treat this coach. I am sure that with the respect that the boys have for Mister, he will quickly manage to get them out of this black streak.
— You have a good opportunity to address the defenders of Ukraine who are defending our Motherland from the invaders. What would you personally tell them?
— I would like to thank everyone who defends the country, because I know what a great job they do so that my family, my loved ones, can sleep peacefully. I pray every day for all Ukrainians, not only for my loved ones, so that the truth will prevail and we will understand who was right.
