In early June, the website Dynamo.kiev.ua reported that Dynamo Kyiv planned to play its international matches in Chisinau or Bucharest. The UPL will play some of its games in Odesa. It's all about logistics. Kyiv are not planning to play in Poland this season.
Photo by Yuriy YurievI understand that the main idea here is that the distance from Odesa to Chisinau is just under 200 km. You can cover it in 3-4 hours. No need to cross the EU border. No need to stand in queues. If our border guards can make an exception for the club's delegation, the Poles don't care. Crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border is quite intense. They will not make exceptions for anyone.
Ukrainian teams don't play international matches abroad for a living. To play international matches there, you need to pay for the rent. War is war, and the cheque will be issued in full. In Moldova or Romania, you can do it cheaper. Moreover, the club has people close to football in these countries (Zaporozhanu and Lucescu, respectively) who can negotiate.
Unfortunately, Dynamo's matches in Poland did not cause much of a stir. The presence of the Polish legionnaire Kędzier, Ukrainian migrant workers, emigrants and refugees did not help. Poles are very conservative in their views. For most, it is not a problem to go to German Bundesliga matches, but they support local clubs. The arrival of Dynamo means nothing to them. Kendziora is not a player of such a status to promote the club in his home country. Ukrainians in Poland were not particularly interested. Perhaps the level of the opponents was not high.
The arrival of Dynamo Kyiv to Moldova will be an event. Not everyone has a good attitude towards Sheriff, as it represents a separatist region. It is unlikely that Yuriy Vernydub's former team will be of much interest in Chisinau. Because of the war, last season they played in the capital, not in Tiraspol. I understand that this season everything will be the same. Local clubs from Moldova are unlikely to have a chance of reaching the group stage of European competitions. Therefore, it depends on Sheriff's qualification whether Dynamo will be able to play in the capital of Moldova. I understand that there is only one stadium in the country that meets all the standards for international matches - Zimbru. It cannot be used by two teams. That's why we support Maksym Koval's team in international matches...
If it doesn't work out with Chisinau, then the Rapida stadium in Bucharest is a very likely option. In Romania, the figure of Mircea Lucescu has a huge influence. His figure can attract fans. Local clubs don't really please their fans in international matches. Therefore, it may be that Dynamo will be the only club to play international matches in the autumn. For the locals, it's an opportunity to get to at least some European competitions.
The logistics are difficult here. You need to cross the EU border. The distance is about the same as to Poland. Perhaps, they will fly from Chisinau to reduce the travelling time.
Here, the change of location in Ukraine is of paramount importance - instead of Lviv, we will go to Odesa. Lviv does not have the infrastructure to base three teams at once. In fact, only Rukh has such conditions. There is also only one stadium - Arena Lviv. It is very difficult to divide all this into three. Rukh has the priority because it owns the base. When the Champions League starts, Shakhtar will also be there. All this affects the recovery, the full training process. Everything must be done according to a clear schedule without additional options. It will be easier to share the infrastructure with Chornomorets in Odesa. The club has a great base and stadium.
The main issue here is safety. It is much closer to the frontline than in Kyiv and Lviv. The shelling is more dangerous. Therefore, we should forget about the emergence of new legionnaires. Not all the existing ones will want to go to Odesa. Perhaps this is the reason why Lonwijk and Ramadani were absent from the meeting. Perhaps this will be the reason for parting ways with Perris or Ramirez.
The second issue is internal logistics. Home games can be played in Odesa, but for away games, you can get a route to Uzhhorod or Lviv. Dnipro-1, Minaj, Rukh, and Veres are based in the west of the country. It will hardly be convenient to get to Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Kovalivka from Odesa after an international game. There is only one way out - to ask for the away game to be moved to Odesa. And then, in the second round, we'll go away. As it was this year, when we played very few games in Kyiv in the spring because we agreed with our rivals about home matches in the autumn.
Serhii Tyshchenko
