Former Desna head coach Oleksandr Riabokon answered a question fromUkrainian Footballabout whether Mircea Lucescu has exhausted himself at Dynamo Kyiv.
Alexander Ryabokon- I don't think so. I hope that all coaches not only work like Lucescu, but at least live to be his age. It should be borne in mind that Lucescu underwent surgery, it was difficult for him, and the long journeys took their toll. Also, many of Dynamo's key players were injured: Bushchan, Shaparenko. The sale of Tsygankov, Verbych and Kendzora also played a role. These are quite significant losses. And the youngsters were probably a bit confused, which is why we got this result.
This season, Dynamo is a more united team and is the number one contender for gold medals. But we need to strengthen the striker's position and the central defence line. With Zabarnyi, Burda and Bol leaving, any injury to a defender will cause a problem. "Shakhtar, on the other hand, is not shying away from bringing back experienced players - Rakitskiy and Chygrynskiy. Today, this is only a plus for Ukrainian football. Another problem for Dynamo is that they have only one centre forward - Vanat. I don't understand why they haven't signed anyone else for this position.
- Dynamo also brought back Yarmolenko. Is he still able to help the team on the pitch, or is his level no longer up to it and he will be a leader only in the dressing room?
- Let's hope he will be a leader both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Yarmolenko is already helping Dynamo score points. As for the national team, everything depends on him, because the best players will play there. He hasn't played much in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons, so we can deduct a couple of years from his age. In this situation, the UPL simply needs such star players. It is a good practice when clubs bring back their great players. I am sure that Andriy will become a decoration of our championship.
- Who do you think can strengthen Dynamo's centre of defence?
- I really like Batagov from Zorya, this guy has a good future. I would not let such a player go if I were Dnipro-1. Arseniy has grown a lot over the past year. A significant role in his development was played by his partner in the centre of defence, the experienced Imerekov, who used to play for Desna.
Andrii Piskun
