Former Chornomorets Odesa striker, Dynamo Kyiv Igor Belanov manages not only to travel to matches of the Ukrainian national team, to attend charity and anniversary matches, but also to be in a cohort of representatives of the terrorist defense.
— How do you manage to do everything?
- Forced. It's my duty. Football is a game that can unite people, distract from hard everyday life and add strength. Together with our UAF colleagues, we support the Ukrainian national team in the matches that it has to play in other countries due to the war. I am glad that, despite serious difficulties, our main team still has the opportunity to play, bringing joy to their fans. The rest of the time I spend on trips to various fights with the participation of veterans. They are mostly associated with charity or someone's anniversaries. For example, I recently attended a match dedicated to the 55th anniversary of Alexander Nikiforov, a man from a famous football dynasty. This game was held in Odessa, and I am very pleased that my native city, despite the war, continues to live with football. Currently, many fans are on the front line and in territorial defense, doing everything possible to win. I have been honored to be part of the second of these categories. I can say that for all our people who are defending the country, the success of their favorite teams is of great importance. A special upsurge is felt with the positive results of the national team. When our main team wins, they fight with great inspiration and mood. As for my immediate football plans, your call caught me on my way to the capital - I’m going to congratulate my old teammate and friend Oleg Blokhin on his anniversary. Taking this opportunity, I want to congratulate him on his 70th birthday and wish him good health, peace in the country and well-being in the family. Blokhin is needed by Ukrainian football, because this is our legend, which many generations of boys in love with football have grown up with and looked up to. I was one of them.
- The Ukrainian national team has further plans related to participation in the qualifying round of the European Championship 2024. How do you rate her performance this year?
— It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer, because our team found itself in the most difficult conditions. Not only did she play all the matches outside of Ukraine, spending a lot of energy on flights and transfers, she also did not always have the opportunity to play in the optimal squad. Remember the June and September series of three fights, when you had to play the third one two days later. And this despite the fact that in the first month of summer, most of the football players had absolutely no match practice due to the war. Therefore, I would not be too harsh in assessing the performance of the national team. The coaching staff and the guys did everything they could. I think they should be supported and wished success in qualifying for Euro 2024.
- What can you say about the performances in the European Cup tournaments of our three representatives - Shakhtar, Dynamo and Dnipro-1?
- If we talk about the Donetsk team, I just can’t understand how they managed to lose to Leipzig with such a big score? Indeed, in the first match against the Germans, Shakhtar looked quite convincing and confidently won 4:1! No matter how strong the rival from the Bundesliga played, the Donetsk team had no right to give way to him at such a high level. Especially in Warsaw, with the support of a large number of our compatriots in the stands. In this match, I expected from Shakhtar, if not a repeat of such a convincing result as in the first meeting with Leipzig, then at least a worthy combination game. Perhaps it was necessary to play in Lodz, which is surprisingly lucky for the teams in our country. Ever since the youth team of Ukraine (U-20) headed by Oleksandr Petrakov became the world champion. In those happy moments for our football, I was in Łódź and rejoiced along with all the members and fans of our team.
As for Dynamo's European Cup performance, it's hard to talk about this topic. When it happened that on the eve of the match with the Turks in bets on their victory, the odds were 1.9, and on Dynamo - 4.0. It is necessary to disrespect Dynamo so much in order to evaluate its capabilities in such a way! Once we drove the Turks in such a way that they did not know where to run! Moreover, scoring five or three goals to them (meaning the matches of the European Cup season 1986/87, when Dynamo Kiev with Belanov defeated Besiktas on the road 5:0, and then won at home 3:0 - approx. auth.)! And now it has come to the point that one of our giants loses at the conditionally Fenerbahce stadium ... It's a shame and very annoying that this happens in the history of Dynamo. For a long time there was no such thing in the tournament affairs of the legendary club, so that in the group stage of the European Cup draw in six matches the Kyiv team earned only one point. To be honest, there was hope in Ukrainian fans that Dynamo would slam the door at least for the last time in the group. But alas... It seems that the Dynamo crisis has dragged on for too long. As a former player of his, it is bittersweet for me to watch this. Not only did the team completely fail this European Cup season, it also looks pale and unconvincing in the Ukrainian championship. Something happened in the Dynamo mechanism that the team cannot win. I just want to ask the leaders: what's next?
If we talk about Dnepr-1, then this team is sympathetic. The Dnipro team has a young and ambitious team, which I really like. And although she does not have enough experience of playing in European competitions, it is still clear that the guys are progressing. Some people probably thought that after the departure of Igor Yovichevich, Dnepr-1 would “fall apart”. However, this did not happen. The Dnipros look worthy in European cups, and they are confidently leading in the national championship. Not without reason, several players of Oleksandr Kucher's team are called up to the Ukrainian national team. Yes, it’s a pity that Dnipro-1 couldn’t win in the final match of the group stage with AZ (Alkmaar). However, even this failure, I am sure, will temper the team and its players.
- If you have touched on the topic of the championship, then I can’t ask you for your opinion on the performance of another of your former teams, Chernomorets Odessa.
- I don't want to say anything about Chernomorets. Three points in nine matches speaks for itself. It's a pity that my home team from my hometown performs like this.
- In just two weeks, the final part of the World Cup will start in Qatar. Who do you think are your favourites?
— You know, I look at different matches and never cease to be surprised. Everything is so unpredictable that you can go crazy! Now all the teams have leveled off, and anything can be expected from each of them. That is why it is very difficult to name a favorite. It seems to me that the Brazilian national team should finally “explode”. This country has a large number of talents that play all over the world. I can imagine how hard it is for the Brazilian coaching staff to choose the most optimal line-up when there are so many candidates that it is possible to form not one, but several equivalent teams. As for the representatives of Europe at the world championship, taking into account the performances in the qualifying round, the traditional fighters — Germany and England, as well as Denmark — looked super powerful. Croatia, the Netherlands, and Belgium made a good impression. Yes, and the French team looked good. It now has a lot of great players in its roster, one of which, Mbappe, is a real star. However, there are enough masters for other teams. In my opinion, the French, Germans and British can be considered the favorites, but I won’t be at all surprised if someone else “shoots”.
Vyacheslav Kulchitsky
