ean Sol commented on the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk and Viktor Tsygankov to L'Esportiu de Catalunya.
[...] You played with Victor. How would you describe it?
- Tsygankov is a very young player with energy. He likes to play on the inverted flank, and he has a great shot on the ball. Above all, he's a player who has big ambitions to become a world-class player, and he's working very well in that direction. That's what makes him special.
- And as a person, in the locker room?
- When I played in Kiev, he was young and hung out with players his own age. His mindset was always very professional; he worked out a lot in the weight room, ate right and did everything with his personal trainer. Even so, he had his moments of laughter, even though he had a different personality than we have here.
- Is he a shy man?
- His character is common in Eastern Europe. I remember him as a guy who had no problem communicating, and he was one of the few people who spoke English to me. And that's very rare for a Ukrainian player.
- Explain in more detail...
- In Ukraine, especially in Kiev, most people know Russian, and very few speak English. It's like here in Spain, but even more pronounced. In the beginning, when I joined the team, Viktor was one of the few people I could communicate with without too many problems.
- Did his arrival at Girona surprise you?
- No, because when he played for Dynamo, every season they said that he could leave at any moment. Serie A and English Premier League teams wanted him. It was only a matter of time before he made the jump to one of Europe's top leagues.
- How important was Viktor as a performer for Dynamo?
- He was the main influence on Dynamo's game. He was the top scorer, the best assistant, and all that on the wing. The team revolved around him. He scored penalties, free kicks... He was always closer to the goal than the others.
- And at Girona, he's already proved himself...
- I know Girona very well. I played a lot of games against them. Victor suits them. He is a fast and technical winger. This is the first step to what he can become, I am sure he made the right decision when he came here, and it's already seen...
- It must not be easy to adapt during a war.
- Yes, life in war can traumatize you and affect your game. But there are people who are willing to pay to leave the area and go to a better place. Both he and Mudrick - at Chelsea - had that opportunity.
- But Mudrick went to Chelsea for $100 million. There's a difference, isn't there?
- I was very surprised because I don't see a 95 million difference between the two. It's a market problem, and Girona has moved very well to solve it. I assure you that there is no such difference, because Viktor was one of the best scorers at Dynamo Kyiv and did much more than Mudrik, who had only one good year at Shakhtar. We will see in the future, but for now he hasn't shown anything.
- Were you surprised by Tsygankov's quick adaptation in Girona?
- I was not surprised. I know him well and I knew he was capable of it. He has the level to play in the starting lineup of Girona, and Michel, who knows more than me, knows it. He puts Victor in the decisive matches and that's why I want to congratulate him, because he deserves it. I am a witness that he has tried and worked hard to be here.