In football, it is a truism that medals and cups are won by defence. It is the reliability of the defence that is the decisive factor in winning trophies.
Photo by Yuriy YurievThe problems in Dynamo's defence began long before Mircea Lucescu joined the team. Status players such as Aleksandra Dragovic, Domagoj Vida, and Evgeny Khacheridi left, and complete uncertainty ensued. This was one of the reasons for the team's decline after the Rebrov era.
When Lucescu came to Dynamo, it became absurd that even Mohamed Kadiri played in the centre of defence. Mircea solved this issue as best he could without entering the transfer market. He opened up Ilya Zabarnyi. Tactically, he pulled up Denys Popov and Oleksandr Syrota. He started using Tomasz Kędziora and Vitaliy Mykolenko in the centre of defence. At the CL level and in matches against Juve or Barcelona, it was already very bad. But in the UPL, Dynamo's defence did not cause concern.
Unfortunately, last season was not a success for Zabarnyi. We said goodbye to him in the winter. Popov and Sirota are still struggling to reach a level of stability. In the winter of 2023, a new pair of defenders Popov-Dyachuk was formed. Denys is one of the team's old-timers. Last season, Maksym managed to play 5 games on loan for Oleksandriya. Both defenders are strong and physical. But they have tactical problems - they lose their positions. Denys and Maksym are very similar in terms of their playing qualities. They do not complement each other, but repeat each other.
At first, I looked at Dyachuk's mistakes with understanding. He was a young guy who had never played at this level and had no such responsibility. It was easier for Dyachuk when he had someone to push against. His best game was the home match against Shakhtar and the confrontation with Lassion Traore. But if the opponent is a little more cunning, then problems immediately arise. Not only were there more mistakes, but they started to repeat themselves. In terms of creativity, the start of the attack, nothing has changed for the better either.
I understand that the last straw for Lucescu was the game against Young Boys. When Kyiv's defence did not look convincing against a strong opponent. Dyachuk was one of the main antiheroes.
Against Aris and Al Hilal, the new pair of Popov and Bilovar came out. In both games, the Kyiv team played to a zero and avoided any gross mistakes. Everything has become more reliable than when Dyachuk played.
Christian is a pupil of Dynamo's school. But he had a lot of time to play on loan - Desna, Chornomorets, and last season he spent a full season at AEL Limassol in the Cyprus championship. At 22, Bilovar already has a decent amount of experience in adult football. He is 6cm taller than Popov and Dyachuk. He is a more subtle player in terms of his style. He is sharper, reads the game better. He is more similar to Zabarnyi in his style of play. The combination of such a player with the powerhouse Popov can have its advantages. Whatever the case, it's a chance for Christian to gain a foothold in the first team.
In addition to purely football issues, his personal life may also play a role. Christian is romantically involved with Ihor Surkis' daughter Yana. If something goes wrong, the dirty laundry will be washed. There will be additional pressure on the player.
It turns out that Dynamo starts the season with complete uncertainty in defence. Popov is strong before injuries and not very pleasing with his stability. No one can guarantee that there won't be another injury. At any moment, all the chemistry can be wiped away. Bilovar has never played at this level before. No one knows whether Christian will be able to play at this level in the long term. That leaves Sirota, who is also unstable. Dyachuk needs to work very hard on himself to get a second chance.
Sergey Tishchenko
