Things are not going well for Erik Ramirez at Dynamo. The Venezuelan forward has not yet been able to play in the capital of Ukraine. Although after his transfer, Ramirez was praised as a Lucescu-style striker. Indeed, the Venezuelan had (or still has) good footballing qualities, he is adapted to a similar climate (Czech Republic, Slovakia) and style of football. But nothing really works out.
Eric Ramirez. Photo by O. PopovRamirez is now an understudy to Vladislav Vanat. He comes on for some minutes. He scored one goal in the current championship against the worst team in the UPL. I don't see any skill on the one hand, nor much desire on the other. Now Vanat is out for three matches. It's a chance for Eric to prove himself so that Dynamo doesn't have to look for a forward to rotate in the summer.
First of all, Eric could not stand the big money. Eric came to Ukraine as a modest guy, with absolutely nothing extra. Those people who knew him from Slovakia and the Czech Republic described him as a player focused on football. It was in Kyiv that he met Gerson Rodriguez. After that, Eric changed his outlook a little. There was nothing left of his previous modesty. The striker had problems at Sporting Gijon and Slovan Bratislava. He hasn't played anywhere else. The issue here is not the club, but the player himself. Now everyone has an agent. No one plays for a bowl of soup. This is a question of the professionalism of the player himself, how to deal with his financial capabilities. For some, one big contract is enough, while others look for motivation in football itself.
Another important point is the national team. After joining, we were seriously counting on him, because the then main forward Artem Besedin had a serious injury. Eric did not work fully at the training camp. He needed to catch up. He was just starting to get back into shape when he was called up to the Venezuelan national team. It's a completely different time zone, a difficult journey. At least two weeks of absence. He did not prepare for the next championship game after the national team. He also caught covid there. In autumn, he travelled to his national team four times. And in winter, he refused to return to Kyiv at all. He wanted to stay in his homeland until the same national team was ready. "Slovan also returned him to Dynamo for the same reason. The Slovan coach Vladimir Weiss didn't want to take it anymore and took other players.
I think that there is a purely game moment that Eric did not play. The Venezuelan is a forward exclusively in the opponent's penalty area. Playing in one touch, ahead of the game, with his head, pushing, fighting in a power struggle - this is his bread and butter. He stands there and waits for his chance. For Dynamo, pressure means a lot. That's why the striker has to do a lot of the grunt work. The second point is the number of flank passes. Because there are insiders on the flanks who have to sharpen up themselves, not create for someone else.
Serhii Tyshchenko
