The former midfielder of "Dynamo" and the national team of Ukraine talked about the end of his playing career and his future work.
— Mykola, you have decided to end your career now. But at what point did you come to this decision?
— First of all, this decision was not somehow spontaneous, this decision was made. I seriously began to consider such a decision after the end of my career in Turkey. But with the passage of time, I realized that I was still not ready, I wanted to play more. There were some nuances that prevented me from making a decision to go somewhere and play football. I wanted to be at home, I wanted to be with my family and so on. And it stopped a certain phase of my career as a player.
— After Turkey, you had a contract with Chornomorets. Why did everything change and you went to Cyprus?
- Later there was a variant with "Chronmorets". To this day, I am very hurt that I did not manage to implement all these plans and ideas into life. Later, with the beginning of the war, life changed so much that it was very difficult to plan anything. In general, it was difficult to live, it was difficult to find yourself, and later, with the birth of my third daughter, you look at your family and take matters into your own hands. You understand that you have to go on living.
It was during this period that the revival of Ukrainian football began during the war. I really wanted to go back to Odessa, to Chornomorets. But these were emotions. In the first months of the war, it's hard to remember what even happened during a certain hour, day, week... And when you put aside emotions, I realized that I can't take my family to Ukraine. And when I returned myself, those emotions would not be enough for me for a short time. It would be unfair to the people I respected and counted on. I would not be able to give what was expected of me. So I honestly said I couldn't go back.
And this decision did not give me peace. During this period, I received an offer from the Krasava football club. We just had thoughts about changing the country, where the language and mentality are closer to us. And I played here, it's quite an interesting project, interesting plans. Cyprus is a good country, there were many advantages and moving here.
— You were offered the position of sports director. Why this particular position?
- I am glad that this experience is in my life. I have drawn certain conclusions and am moving on. On January 17, on my birthday, I met with the president, expressed my opinion and we decided that I would end my playing career. I needed to take this step into the future. I want to do agency work, the goals are big, but I want to do everything gradually, gain experience, learn. The president offered me the position of athletic director, which was a surprise for me. I am a responsible person.
Daniil VEREITIN