Nikolai Pavlov: "It may be time for Lucescu to retire"

Renowned Ukrainian coach Mykola Pavlov has explained the reasons why Dynamo Kyiv failed in the 2022/23 season. It should be recalled that the Bilo-Syni finished only in fourth place in the Ukrainian championship, and in the international arena they failed to qualify for the spring part of the European Cup, finishing in last place in their Europa League group.

"Lucescu came in and gave crazy results straight away, but then the war started and the problems started. Although the war affected all the big clubs, not only Dinamo, right?

I remember how long ago I hosted Dnipro, when the team was coached by such masters, coryphaei as Volodymyr Yemets and Yevhen Kucherevskiy. But I worked days and nights, I did not sleep. I was busy with the team, looking for sponsors. I did everything. I had to show my level, otherwise I would have been eaten! I was young then, hungry for wins.

Lucescu is 77 years old now. Before Dynamo, especially now during the war, he lived in hothouse conditions. At Shakhtar everything was made for him: planes, helicopters, steamships - everything! All worked for him and for him. In Kyiv, it was not quite like that. This season, many key players left, many were injured and missed a lot of games. Primarily we are talking about Mykola Shaparenko and Heorhiy Bushchan.

However, if players get injured in a straight line, it means there is something wrong with the training process. It is obvious. And all those friendlies and exhibition matches before the championship kicked off... Those matches did not help Dynamo's game and the team's functional preparation for the championship. We failed the preparation for the championship.

For me Dynamo is not just a club. This is the club I root for, the club I had the privilege to coach my time. "Dynamo is not a club that will wait for years for the results, no. The fans will not give it, the public, the management.

I wish Mircea Lucescu be healthy from the bottom of my heart, but, you know, I do not believe that the coach with a stick or on crutches can produce results. Perhaps it is simply time for him to retire," Pavlov said.