Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder and ex-coach Leonid Buriak in an exclusive interview with Dynamo.kiev.ua analysed the performance of his former club in the current season, touching separately on the first match of the Bilo-Syni with Turkish Besiktas (2:3) in the play-off round of the Conference League qualification.
Leonid Buryak. Photo - O. Vasilieva- In what respects does Dynamo's game deserve praise and in what respects - criticism?
- First of all, we should say that it is not quite right to speak only about Dynamo. A year and a half there is a war. This is our biggest misfortune and problem, which has affected football as well. Our clubs are decapitated, all the best legionnaires have left Ukraine. That is why our teams are out of European cups. Yes, Shakhtar are in the main Champions League net, but we do not know how the team will play there. All clubs without exception have problems, and these problems are very serious.
And accordingly, the level of the Ukrainian championship is not the same as it was before the war, and even more so five years ago. This is what we should, first of all, start from. And not to rabidly attack one or another of our teams after a failure.
Moreover, there is a positive side. All those who are inside our football are not giving up. Club presidents are not giving up, they are looking for their niche, options to solve this new problem for all of us. Our leading clubs, as before, strive to be in the leaders, and newcomers of UPL, at least, want to keep their place in the elite division.
In order to return the level of the Ukrainian championship to the previous level, now we need time. But nobody gives this time. Everyone right now wants to see the football that was before the war, or even a few years ago. But it is very, very difficult to realise, and it is simply impossible to do it overnight.
As for Dynamo directly, despite the fact that the players of the team give a huge amount of effort and international matches are constantly played not in Kyiv, I would like to say one thing. Every game has its own rules. In basketball, in football. Even in cards. And if people do not know how to play, if they do not follow the rules of the game, they will inevitably lose. Professional football players can't make so many mistakes. It already looks like a pattern.
There is such an expression in chess: a time limit. So in football players, the time of crisis comes when their strength leaves them. They then begin to make inadequate decisions on the verge of failure, which lead to goals. In such circumstances, matches are lost in minutes. And we are all puzzled, but the players don't take it all that way - they are in the nick of time and think they are doing everything right.
"Besiktas" is a big name in Turkey, although it is not a European grandee. There are very few domestic players in the team, mostly experienced foreigners, who were acquired for a lot of money. This is a well-balanced team. I have been to Turkey many times and I know very well how developed the football infrastructure is there, so Turkish teams work in very modern conditions. Therefore, taking into account all our problems, which I just mentioned, it is not surprising that Dynamo and Besiktas had a difficult time.
Again, we all need to be patient. I am not in favour of throwing mud on Dnipro-1, Zorya, Dynamo for some of their current failures in Europe. I know that Dynamo management is very upset with what is happening. But everything needs time. All of us are now in such a situation for the first time. And our clubs - too. Everyone still tries our football on the past successes of Dynamo and Shakhtar in Europe. But now there is a completely different reality. Without the past there is no future - it is true, but without the present there will be no future either.
Another positive thing is that a lot of Ukrainians are playing in our teams now, they all get their chance, and their task is to take this chance. Yes, the same Dynamo is now playing in the Conference League - it is not the Champions League at all, but nevertheless Aris has shown itself to be a good enough team. I expected more from Besiktas, by the way.
We should also talk about the refereeing in the match between Dynamo and Besiktas. This goal was cancelled, this penalty in our gates.... I can not say that the refereeing was openly biased, but the sympathy of the referees was clearly on the side of the Turks. But by no means I want to justify the game of Dynamo by this - it is very difficult to count on a positive result with the mistakes that the players of the team made. The same mistakes were made by Dynamo players in the match with Minay and in the match with Chornomorets. It is simply impossible to play with such mistakes. I empathise with all Dynamo fans, Dynamo players, but we should never give up. Yes, 2:2 and 3:2 are very different results of the first match in the exit duel. But it is still possible and necessary to fight. We need to play for the result - this is the task for Dynamo for the return match with Besiktas.
- What are the options to solve the problems of Dynamo defence?
- We are all waiting for the improvement of Dynamo defence. Dynamo has a lot of players of this role, but all of them should start playing differently. There are things that are explained in football at a young age, because something simply cannot be done in the game, otherwise, in the worst case - a goal in your goal. And no talent will prevail if such mistakes are made. If Dynamo defenders do not start to grow in the professional sense, they will start to degrade, and then other players will inevitably be found in their place. And these players will sit on the bench. It concerns not only Dynamo - Dnipro-1 and Zorya also play with such mistakes.
- Many call the game shown by Dynamo in the match with Besiktas the best game of Lucescu's team in the current season. Do you agree with this statement?
- In a way, yes. At the beginning of the match Dynamo were rolling, but after 15-20 minutes I was confident that Dynamo would come out of this match with honour.
Again, I expected more from Besiktas. This opponent is definitely a match for Dynamo. If our team had been in a different situation, if it had at least played at home, we do not know how things would have turned out in the first match. Romania is not a home, it is a foreign country, so we play on a neutral pitch. But the Turks will play at home in the return match!
- And what happened in the match with Chornomorets?
- The same thing. Ridiculous goals in their own net, despite the advantage and chances. There are things that are not forgiven in football, they will be punished sooner or later if you repeat them again and again. Cutting, passes, underhand passes, walls - all these things are very dangerous.
- Yarmolenko, in the end, strengthened Dynamo's game?
- Yes! Undoubtedly. As well as Shaparenko. Of course, he is still gaining momentum after the most serious injury, he can`t "fly" yet, but he is already doing his job. By the way, tactically, I would like to see Dynamo use two strikers.
- Who to pair with Vanatu?
- Benito. Yes, he is not a pure striker, but he has good mobility, he clings to the balls. And it is very difficult to play pressing with one striker. Under Lobanovskiy it was instilled in the team not in a month or two, but in a year or two. It is a painstaking, labour-intensive work, which takes a lot of energy.
- How do you evaluate Dynamo's chances to qualify for the Conference League group after the result of the first match with Besiktas?
- There are always chances. Yes, now they are not 50-50 in the pairing of Dynamo and Besiktas, the away win has its own weight. But I hope that Dynamo will properly analyse the mistakes made, a certain rotation will be carried out, and all this together will allow to count on the necessary result in the return match. It is possible to play with this Besiktas, they are not quite good in defence either. So I'm looking forward to the return match.
But we started with the fact that in any situation, in any match, it will be very difficult for our team. We have to endure it all. And if you don't like it, you can just not watch football. What is the use of talking about what happened 10 years ago, if now the realities are completely different. We are talking about surviving, so that children do not die. So it's a blessing that we see our football, and that our teams play international matches, that other countries give them their stadiums for matches and their bases for training.
I would also like the level of our football to be the same as it used to be, but what can you do. I repeat, there is a positive: a big chance for all our young footballers. I just wish they would become men sooner!
Everyone is upset, depressed. But what can you do, you have to accept it, get over it and move forward. We can't give up. And we have to support each other. And if we just say that everything is bad, it will be bad. The main thing is that mistakes should not become a system.
Alexander POPOV
