Oleksandr Karavaev: "All teams play against Dynamo as if they are going to the last battle"

All-rounder "Dynamo" Oleksandr Karavaev in an interview Fanday named the reasons for the unstable results of the "white and blue" in the first part of the season, assessed the level of the championship of Ukraine after the start of a full-scale war, talked about the parents in Kherson who, as volunteers, help their neighbors to cope with problems, and also rejoiced at the success of the Argentine national team at the World Cup.

— "Dynamo" made a bright start to the Champions League qualification, defeating the Turkish "Fenerbahce" and the Austrian "Sturm" in turn. Can it be said that the team was brought to the peak of physical form just before these matches? Was it difficult to fully and purposefully prepare for the situation the team was in?

- Everything went very well. Of course, we prepared for these matches very carefully training, recovery, preparation. They approached them, full of desire to achieve a result... But they were very emotionally exhausted, constant relocations and news from the front took a lot of energy and strength. After all, two painful defeats against "Benfica" had a great impact on our condition, it was difficult to prepare ourselves for the upcoming matches.

— Did Dynamo really have no chance against Benfica in the playoff round? What was not enough to give a decent resistance to the Portuguese giant?

- "Benfica" is a very strong opponent, a balanced team in all lines. They have very strong players in attack, so it was very difficult to oppose them in defense.

— Your two goals — "Fenerbahce" in the return match and "Sturm" in the first match — were decisive in many ways, while you remain a rotation player. How do you feel about it?

— Exceptionally professional, as the coach makes decisions and sees better than us what is needed for the team to achieve results. From training and games, he sees and knows who and when to release in each subsequent match.

— Isn't there a certain resentment towards the coaches that, despite the important goals and willingness to play in many positions, you don't have a stable place in the main team?

— As a player with big ambitions, of course you want to play all the matches all the time, but, once again, there is a head coach who makes decisions, and there is a team that does everything to achieve the result. Therefore, I never had and could not have a grudge against the coaches, because I am a professional.

— After the first part of the season, there is an unexpected leader in the table — "Dnipro-1". Legitimate, in your opinion?

— I think so. "Dnipro-1" showed stable and productive football, so I am not surprised that they are now at the top of the tournament table.

— What happened to the team in the match against the same "Dniprom-1" (0:3), with which "Dynamo" started in the new season?

— This match came right after two Champions League qualifiers with Benfica, so maybe they didn't prepare properly for the championship game, having given too much physical and emotional effort in the games against the Portuguese.

— In general, many experts and fans predicted "Dynamo" undisputed leadership this season and the final championship. But so far, not everything is going smoothly for the "white and blue". What do you think is the main reason for shaky play?

— First of all, all teams play against Dynamo, as if they are going to the last battle. Each football player tries to squeeze the maximum out of himself, jump out of his pants, but do everything to take points from Kyiv. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to defeat such teams due to superior skill.

— What games, apart from "Dnipro-1", have become failures for "Dynamo"?

— In principle, you can name all the matches where we lost points. In every match we created a lot of chances, but the execution often failed, and that's a shame. You should constantly work on completing moments.

— Do you think things can be improved in the second part of the season? What should be done in order not to repeat the mistakes?

- Everything is in our feet and heads. All in all, nothing is lost, everything will depend on us. If we win all the matches, beat our competitors, then we can become champions. We will definitely analyze the first part of the season, see the mistakes made and correct everything.

— Despite the war, Dynamo managed to sign two legionnaires. — Dutch Lonwijk and Jamaican Parris. Have the rookies managed to adapt, as they show themselves in training, in two-way situations that the fans don't see?

— The boys adapted very well. Lonwijk probably managed to blend into the team faster - maybe because he is European, but for Parris so far, everything is more difficult, because he is from another continent, and he needs a little more time.

— In general, since the beginning of the war, many footballers have left the UPL, including a large number of legionnaires. If we analyze the first part of the season, has the domestic championship become weaker or, on the contrary, more competitive?

- Faster, more competitive, because many young players have more chances to prove themselves and show at the highest level. Before, when I started, this was not the case - it was much more difficult for young players to immediately break into the top division, because there was a lot of competition due to the large number of quite high level legionnaires.

— The head coach talks a lot about the fact that it is difficult to show results and fully prepare for games when the team actually lives on wheels. Agree with Mr.

— Of course, it is difficult, but at the same time we never complain about it, on the contrary, we are glad that we have the opportunity to play and help the defenders of our country at such a time.

— Now there are many rumors about possible transfers of Dynamo players remember and Tsygankov, and Zabarny, and Bushchan. Are such issues discussed within the team? How do guys react to such rumors?

— Of course, we discuss, share opinions. Every football player wants to play at the highest level, and everyone wants each of us to be able to prove ourselves and step forward to a higher level.

— Of course, we cannot ignore the topic of war. How much daily terrible news prevents you from concentrating on work — practices and games?

— We owe it to ourselves to concentrate in order to do our job well and show results, because our defenders give us this opportunity. But all the horrors that are happening in Ukrainian cities do not come to mind. I sincerely believe that justice will surely be served and all the guilty will be duly punished.

— Your parents spent a lot of time under occupation in Kherson, and the Russians did not let the city rest after its liberation. Did it manage to get them to a safe area?

— Unfortunately, my parents are still staying at home, they don't want to go anywhere. They help those who cannot properly help even themselves. Through them, my friends have given many high-quality warm things from abroad, and parents distribute them to everyone who needs them. They also help neighbors in the house to repair windows or anything else after the shelling.

Of course, I feel for them, many times since the beginning of the war I have insisted on their departure to a safe territory. But they don't want to go anywhere, because they are in their native home, on their native land, where I spent my entire childhood.

— Besides your parents, are there any relatives or loved ones left with whom you keep in touch? How do the people of Kherson survive all the suffering that has befallen them?

— Many acquaintances stayed there, many parents of acquaintances. Hard, very hard. But everyone saw how the Khersonites triumphed when our soldiers liberated the garden. It is very difficult now under fire, everyone is suffering, but at the same time they believe that everything will fall into place, we will win this terrible war and progress in everything.

— In the match that "Dynamo" played in Istanbul in the Europa League group, the local fans were distinguished by shameful behavior, provoking our players with their actions. How did you personally react to such psychological attacks — was it demoralizing or, on the contrary, infusing sports anger?

- Added more sports aggression, you can't behave like that. You should always remain human. Simply, no one can put themselves in our place, because they do not think what they are doing. Anyway, everything comes back if you do evil, so you can't do evil to anyone.

— Some fans, without moral principles at all, put on the masks of the main terrorist of the present times — Vladimir Putin. Were they visible to the players on the field? What would these fans do or say if they met face to face?

— As our President said: "What can you talk about with a sick person?" And I wouldn't say anything either. You just need to pay no attention to such bullies, but if they touch you, then be able to give a decent fight back.

— You also had the experience of playing for Fenerbahce. Did you remember the period when you came to Istanbul?

— Almost six years have passed, but every time I come to Turkey, many people remember me, approach me, take pictures and wish me success. There are also many adequate and normal people there. Even in the "Fenerbahce" team, and now I am talking to two guys from the staff - very friendly people who asked after the start of the war if I needed any help.

— Summing up the results of 2022, experts and fans name the best players of the championship of Ukraine. Among those who are mentioned most often — Artem Dovbyk from Dnipro-1 and Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar. In your opinion, what are the strengths of each of them, and which one would you personally prefer?

— For now, I will give preference to Artem among these two players, because he shows stability and it is not the first year that he shows results. But Mykhailo is very talented and has all the qualities to be in leading roles not only in our championship.

— Did you follow the World Cup, who did you root for?

— As in the previous World Cup, I cheered for Argentina and personally for Messi. Despite the fact that they lost the first match to Saudi Arabia, I was still confident that they would become world champions.

— The national team of Ukraine has a difficult road ahead to Euro-2024, in rivals — the top teams of England and Italy. Many are already saying that "yellow-blue" has nothing to count on... What can you say to such "experts"?

— The same was said when we played against the same national teams of Spain, France, and Portugal. Everyone remembers the result... Therefore, we will also go to future matches with the desire to achieve a positive result that will allow us to break into the European championship.

Oleksandr Kalinin