Demian Tretiak, 16, became a newcomer to Dynamo Kyiv. Next season, he will play for the 17-year-old team.
Demian Tretiak. Photo by FC Dynamo Kyiv Tretiak's previous club was Dinamo Zagreb. Demian spent one season in the Croatian capital. It's a familiar story: after the outbreak of war, many Ukrainians found themselves in Europe. Tretiak ended up in Zagreb. At first he was watched, and then he was left in the team. If I'm not mistaken, he is the first Ukrainian in the history of Dinamo Zagreb.
In Ukraine, Tretiak played for Dnipro without any units. There is an assumption that he got to Croatia thanks to Igor Jovićević or Ivica Pirić. Both Croats were associated with Dnipro football. It is clear that such "channels" were very effective during the war. The parents of young players were looking for every opportunity to escape the war.
Tretiak plays as a central defender. He has good anthropometry by nature. Physically, he is doing well. In Zagreb, he didn't really show himself. He played for the 16-year-old team. Without much prospects for the already more status U-17 team. The main reason for his departure from Croatia is that the Ukrainian defender could not convince himself. Adaptation played an important role. At Dinamo Zagreb, they prefer their own players. Among the foreigners, there are Bosnians (who are then given Croatian passports and, accordingly, EU citizenship), Montenegrins, Albanians, and players of Croatian origin (American Dino Klapia, Swede Edwin Lukacevic). It is not so easy for non-Balkans to adapt.
In May, Volodymyr Yezerskyi, the coach of the 2007 national team, held the first familiarisation training camp. Tretiak was part of the youth team at a friendly tournament in Bratislava. It was the first training camp, which was of an introductory nature. We invited some of the candidates. There are plenty of Ukrainians in Europe this year. Tretiak was not particularly memorable. He played a completely lost match against Ireland (1-3). And almost an hour against Slovakia (1-1 and lost in a penalty shootout). He did not play in the match against Latvia.
Demian has good qualities by nature. The position of centre-back requires a lot of serious work and endurance. All your mistakes can lead to a goal. Players in this position take a long time to develop. You need to be patient here. Dinamo Zagreb doesn't take talentless players.
Why does Dinamo need Tretyak? It's simple: in 2007, Dynamo lost three central defenders. Before the war, Savelije Kosse left for Olympiacos. After 24 February 2022, Yelisey Lytvyn ended up in the UK, and Dmytro Varivoda joined the Austrian club Admira. The DUFL Cup (there was no championship because of the war, so only the Cup was played) showed that the 2007 team needed to be supplemented due to losses. Especially in defence.
Sergey Tishchenko
