Igor Kovalevich: “Maximov wanted to return to Dynamo after Germany. But Mikhailichenko considered that 35 years is a lot.”

A well-known football functionary, former president of Borysfen Borisfen Igor Kovalevich, sharing his impressions of yesterday's Champions League 1/8 final match between English Liverpool and Real Madrid (2:5), recalled ex-midfielder of Dynamo Kiev Yuri Maksimov .

Igor Kovalevich

“Watching just now the crazy Champions League match in which Liverpool hosted Real Madrid, and enjoying the game of 37-year-old Modric, I immediately remembered the match of my Borisfen with Dynamo Kiev and a real benefit in that match of the 35-year-old Yuri Maksimov.

I always loved working with young guys, I enjoyed watching their formation and growth, but I also tried never to look into the player’s passport, knowing full well what a huge benefit experienced players can bring in the development of young guys.

I remember how on the very eve of the start of the spring stage of the championship, the head coach of the team Sasha Ryabokon approached me with a request to conclude a contract with Yura Maksimov, who had just returned to Ukraine from Germany, where he played for the Werder club for several seasons. The coach justified his request by the fact that Yura would greatly help our team in the spring stage of the championship, even though he had not gone through a single training camp with her.

Yura and I agreed on the terms of the contract very quickly, signing it literally within some fifteen minutes, and Yura from the very first minutes of signing the contract became a real team leader not only on the football field during the game, but also in training and at home.

In each calendar match of the spring stage of the championship, he was the real Team Leader, the best player on the field in both teams. And the match with Dynamo, in which Yura scored two goals against Dynamo, became his real benefit.

I remember how the father of Grigory Surkis, after the first goal scored by Yura against Dynamo, approached me and Grigory Mikhailovich, with whom we watched the match together, and asked the question: “How old is Maksimov?”.

But after returning from Germany, Yura Maksimov immediately wanted to return to Dynamo, he trained with the team for several days. But Oleksiy Mikhailichenko, at that time the head coach of the Kiev team, considered that 35 years is a very long time.

With that game on the football field, Yura Maksimov, as well as today with his game Modric, once again clearly proved that players should not look into their passports. After all, even at the age of well over thirty, being a true professional, you can not only show an excellent game, but also be a real Leader on the football field,” Kovalevich wrote on his Facebook page.