Oleksandr Nazarenko: "Polissia is definitely happy to have signed me, but I can't speak for Dnipro-1"

Now a former Dnipro-1 midfielder, Oleksandr Nazarenko has confirmed that he will continue his career at Zhytomyr's Polissya.

- Oleksandr, are you no longer a Dnipro-1 player?

- Not anymore. They called me last night and said I was being released, that's all. I went and picked up my documents.

- Who was the initiator?

- We cancelled the contract with Dnipro-1 by mutual agreement. There were negotiations between Polissia and Dnipro-1. Polissia wanted to pick me up as soon as possible. Yesterday (27.07 - ed .) Andrii Rusol called me and said: "We're letting you go".

- Aren't you afraid of competition in Polissia? The team already has Yanakov, Makuana, Shastal and Kozak.

- Competition is always good, both for the team and for me as a player. It will not be easy, but I will try to win it.

- In general, are you happy to have joined a new club?

- Of course I am. I have a new challenge, I want to turn the page and move forward.

- So all parties are happy?

- Polissia is definitely happy. I can't speak for Dnipro-1. After I returned home from the youth Euro, I hardly spoke to the Dnipro-1 management.

- How do you understand Dnipro-1? You are a promising player for the youth national team, and now you are also a generalist, why could the club let you go?

- In winter, I had a year left on my contract. "Dnipro-1 said they wanted to re-sign me. I didn't want to "cut loose". But they didn't offer me a contract. There were no specifics. Only talk.

It's already getting closer to the Youth Euro. There are about two weeks left. (The Euros started for our national team on 21 June - ed.) They say to me: "Here are the specifics, here are the conditions, we can re-sign you, go ahead". I said: "You see, a lot of time has passed from winter to summer. My opinion has changed. I no longer see myself in Dnipro-1. I want to play. I was given little time. I have a different view on the extension of my contract."

It's important to emphasise something here. At that time, I didn't have any options to transfer. I knew that Polissia was following me, but without any specifics. But when I was at the Euros, I got a call from Polissia and was offered a contract. I thought about it and decided to accept.

- At the same time, you still had six months left on your contract with Dnipro-1.

- I wanted to extend my contract back in the winter. I had no complaints about Dnipro-1. I would like to play here all my life. After all, this is my home club and my home team. It's like a second family for me. But a lot has changed, and I didn't want to renew my contract. These six months from winter to summer were crucial for me. I realised that I wanted to play, I wanted to progress, I didn't want to sit on the bench, etc.

- Did Polissia pay a release clause to Dnipro-1 for you?

- I don't know these details. Rusol said we're letting you go, and that was the main thing for me. I wasn't interested in money or anything else. I just wanted to move on as soon as possible.

- Did you win in terms of salary?

- I wouldn't say I won anything. I was offered good conditions. But I didn't look at the money. In the winter, I had the option to go on loan to Portugal, but Dnipro-1 did not let me go. The conditions were much less than in Dnipro. But I wanted to move, I asked them to let me go.

I talked to the Dnipro-1 management to let me go. They told me that we would not let you go, you would play, we were counting on you. And in the end, I got to play almost no games. This also influenced [my decision not to renew my contract with Dnipro-1]. No one took my interests into account.

- So it was a purely football decision for you to develop your playing career?

- Purely for the sake of football life. I want to play, I want to progress, I want to move forward. I've been in Dnipro all my life. I need a new challenge.

- Of course, you haven't trained with Polissia yet.

- I will be with the team only the day after tomorrow (30.07).

- Will Polissia be able to compete for the European Cup zone this season?

- I think this is a very ambitious club. The tasks are set for the club. And there are good players. "Polissia will definitely not get lost in the UPL in its first season.

Anton Terekhov