In an interview with SportNews, former Ukraine international Artem Fedetskyi shared his prediction for the Champions League second qualifying round match between Dnipro-1 and Panathinaikos.
Artem Fedetsky"Of course, I am interested in Ukrainian football, I watch a lot of UPL matches, but I have little interest in a team called Dnipro-1. This incomprehensible club has nothing to do with the real Dnipro. Many years have passed, and I still can't get my head around all these events with the liquidation of Dnipro. Last season, I probably watched only one game of Dnipro-1. The match against Shakhtar, where the team finally lost its chances of winning gold medals.
"Panathinaikos is a clear favourite both in terms of the team's composition and experience. This is not the first time they have played in the Champions League, unlike Dnipro-1. But Kucher's team is still a Ukrainian team, so... let them try to prove that they can counteract a formidable opponent.
A normal football club should have a development plan. Does Dnipro-1 have one? I doubt it. Why did they have to destroy the old Dnipro? But no, they made a new club out of nothing, suddenly they have championship ambitions... Where is the strategy, the development concept, the philosophy? You need to take everything as seriously as possible. Maybe it's not the right time to invest in football now, because the war is outside the window, but I'll tell you this - even before the war, many clubs in our country lived for one day. Almost no one made any solid plans for the future. And in good clubs, big ones with a history, everything is completely different. I still can't, I can't, I can't, my heart doesn't lie in it, to accept this Dnipro-1.
I still have the Europa League final in Warsaw before my eyes. All those moments, emotions and an unfortunate defeat... But with all that, I still have joyful feelings from the game with Sevilla, I still have a thrill when I watch the video of the goals, and I get goosebumps.
For me, there is only one Dnipro, not Dnipro-1. I hope that the real Dnipro will be revived. With the right people, the right management, the right and true emblem," Fedetskyi said.
