From the first days of the war, FC Dynamo Kyiv has been actively helping our defenders and always responds promptly to any of their requests and requests. The club tries to constantly monitor the needs and condition of the guys fighting at the front. After all, there are a lot of Dynamo fans among them, and our club employees are also at the front.
Alexei Matvienko (photo: fcdynamo.com)Therefore, when Dynamo Vice President Oleksiy Semenenko learned that a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the son of the legendary Dynamo footballer of the 70s Viktor Matvienko, Oleksiy, was undergoing treatment at the Kyiv Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, he immediately contacted the Hero by phone and the next day, together with another outstanding Dynamo player of those times, Volodymyr Muntyan, came to visit him, talk to him, support him morally and, of course, present gifts from Dynamo.
- "Our club constantly keeps its finger on the pulse of events at the front, first of all, following the needs of the fighters," said Oleksiy Semenenko, "And as soon as we receive information that someone needs help, we try to provide it as quickly and fully as possible. The Surkis Brothers Foundation is working on a large scale, and the club also holds many other events aimed at helping the frontline. And all of this happens, if not every day, then certainly every week.
As for today's meeting with Oleksiy Matviyenko, here's the background. The other day I received a message and several photos on my phone from Oleksandr Prusenko, one of the leaders of the group of active Dynamo fans of the older generation. The photo showed Oleksiy Matvienko, the son of the legendary Kyiv Dynamo player Viktor Matvienko, in a hospital bed, and information that he was serving in the Armed Forces and was currently undergoing treatment in Kyiv.
I knew that Oleksiy, in addition to being the son of a prominent Dynamo player, had also studied at Dynamo's football school. And although he was not destined to follow in the footsteps of his star father, Oleksiy stayed in football - as a Dynamo ultras. When the war with the Nazis broke out, Oleksiy, like most of the guys from the football ultras movement, found himself at the front.
I told the club's president Ihor Surkis that our Dynamo player was, as they say, by blood, in the Kyiv Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, and he advised me to visit Oleksiy together with some of the players who played with his father Viktor Matvienko.
I called Volodymyr Munteanu. Fedorovich is a "golden" man - despite the fact that he hasn't been feeling very well lately, he always readily participates in events related to FC Dynamo Kyiv. And when he found out that it was a matter of supporting a real war hero and the son of his former teammate with a handshake, a smile and small gifts, he agreed without hesitation. In fact, I am convinced that supporting the defenders of Ukraine is one of the main missions of our club today.
- "Viktor Matvienko has not been with us for five years, but it seems like he left recently - time flies very quickly," admitted Volodymyr Muntyan. "I am sincerely glad to see Lesha, his son, it is very nice. It's great to have the opportunity to meet and talk. In these difficult times, it is very important. I thank Alexey for defending our country. His father led his teammates into battle on the football pitch, and now he is at the frontline...
Thanks to the skill of players like Viktor Matvienko and others who, unfortunately, are no longer with us, we beat opponents who seemed impossible to beat. And Viktor Antonovich's son is now leading his teammates into battle. I wish Oleksiy a speedy recovery and a safe and healthy return from the frontline with his comrades after our Victory.
- Frankly speaking, - confesses Oleksiy Matvienko, - when the club's vice-president called me and said that he wanted to visit me in hospital together with Vladimir Fedorovich Muntyan, I was a bit confused. I was not used to such attention to my person. But Oleksiy Mykhailovych explained that it was not so much because I was the son of a prominent Dynamo player, but because I was fighting for Ukraine at the front. He added that the Dynamo club tries to constantly support the fighters both financially and morally, and in my case, it turns out that I am not a stranger to Dynamo myself. I am very grateful for the warm words of support and for the gifts.
