Prykarpattia midfielder Ivan Sondey spoke in an interview withUFabout his footballing youth at Dynamo.
- How did Dynamo notice you and Boldenkov? Do you have any idea in which match?
- Dynamo probably noticed me already in Saki, because at that tournament I won the prize for the best midfielder of the tournament (and I was very surprised by this, as our team took the penultimate place, but, of course, I was very pleased to receive such an award). As for Boldenkov, I don't know, because we didn't talk after the tournament and the next time we saw each other was at Dynamo.
- At a young age, you faced a difficult choice, because you were invited by both the giants. Why did you choose Kyiv over Shakhtar? Which of their coaches and selectors convinced you?
- I received an offer from Shakhtar much faster than from Dynamo, and at first I agreed to move to Donetsk. My parents also supported me in this. I returned home to my village from the final part of the competition, and just a week later, the coach of Prykarpattia Petro Rusak called me and asked if I was at home and if my parents were there. He explained that he and Dynamo's selector (Ivan Terletskyi) were coming to us to take me to Kyiv. That was probably the turning point for me, when I was 100% sure that I would go only to Dynamo. Again, I want to thank my parents who supported me this time and let me go to Kyiv, although it was very difficult for them to leave their son in a big city at the age of 14.
- Is it cool or hard to play and live at Dynamo ?
- I still remember how my mother cried (my father tried to hold back his tears, but he couldn't do it either) when they left me at Dynamo's base in Nyvky. It was hard to live for the first six months, because a new team, a new school, no one from my family around... At that time, my view of the world changed a lot, I realised what adult life was.
- The capital. The Dynamo Academy. Children of ministers, ambassadors, businessmen. Did you have any majors?
- I think there were majors in every team - and Dynamo was no exception. The one thing I can say is that they were good people and always helped if needed.
- Who was the coolest in the generation born in 1994 at Dynamo? Favorov, Khlyobas? Hemega? Khoblenko? Someone I don't know?
- Ihor Galkin was very strong at that time, but unfortunately, due to health problems, he had to end his career at the age of 18.
- I remember how a short Kyrgyz ran for Dynamo Academy in the region - he could not be declared as a foreigner at the professional level until he was 18. Was Israilov worth inviting him from Kyrgyzstan and waiting for him to come of age? Was he really a talent?
- Akha Israilov was one of the key players of our generation: great technique and vision on the pitch. I am sure that he was worthy of being invited. Unfortunately, after DUFLU, he did not fulfil his potential in Ukraine. However, I heard that he played a lot in Asia, somewhere in India.
- Did you have any chances to join Dynamo's first team or did you feel that you were "covered"? Was it because of an injury or competition?
- Unfortunately, at that time we had a lot of legionnaires in the league and didn't give the youngsters a chance. Plus, I got a serious head injury during training, which made me miss the entire last year of the DUFL. No way! I was forbidden to play sports at all! I had to be treated for a long time, undergo examinations until I was able to go on the field again.
- There was a time after Dynamo when you even played for FC Kalush. Weren't you afraid that your career was over when you were 16?
- After I returned from a year's pause at Dynamo, I was given time to recover at Dynamo-2. I stayed there for six months, after which I left the club because I had no playing practice. It happened when all the teams were formed and there was less than a month left in the season. So I came back home and, in order not to waste my form, decided to play in the region. I decided for myself that it would be for six months, so that I could go back to a team for training camp. Did you think it was over? No, I knew that I would not finish with football - everything that happened was like a test for me.
Artur Valerko