Former Dynamo midfielder Andriy Tsurikov, who now plays for Kolos, spoke about his time at the capital's club.
Andrey Tsurikov- At Dynamo, you worked with the current head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhii Rebrov. What surprised you about this specialist then? Is it true that during Blokhin's tenure, it was Rebrov who took over communication with the legionnaires, as Blokhin had difficulties with English?
- There is some truth in these words. Serhii Stanislavovych speaks English well, so it was not so difficult for him to find a common language with the legionnaires. Moreover, he is a very sociable person. It was good to work with him, quite interesting. He had his own set of coaching qualities, which were complemented by Raul Riancho. I learnt a lot during that period and got a lot of interesting things for the future. I also remember productive training camps in Spain. I didn't work with Rebrov for long, but it was a very useful and positive period in my career.
- Which of the legionnaires of that time - Taiwo, Lens, Mbokani, Veloso - impressed you with their human and playing qualities? What can you say about them?
- I could single out Veloso, because a year before I joined Dynamo, I watched the European Championships. The Portuguese national team played there, and I have been rooting for them since childhood. That's why I was rooting for Veloso at that Euro, and then it turned out that I joined the team and he became my partner. I was very impressed with Veloso in terms of football, he is a really strong player. In training, he did things with the ball that I didn't think were possible. It's not so noticeable during the game, but when you train with him every day, you can see what an interesting and skilful footballer he is.
As for the human qualities among Dynamo's legionnaires, it's Danilo Silva. He's a great person, cheerful, sociable, always helpful if needed. I would even say that over a long time at Dynamo, he has become a Ukrainian in mentality.
