The well-known Ukrainian agent Sefer Alibayev, who previously handled the affairs of Roman Yaremchuk, a forward for the Ukrainian national team and Spanish side Valencia, recalled the player's career at Dynamo Kyiv.
Roman Yaremchuk during his time playing for Dynamo- What prospects did Yaremchuk have at Dynamo?
- At first, he trained with the U-16s under Drotsenko, and then he was transferred to the U-19s, which was led by Belkevych. There, Roma became the top scorer, and Hatskevich took him to Dynamo2. Yaremchuk called me a week later: "Sefer, you know, here they kick and meet very hard". The understudy championship was played by grown-ups, while Dynamo had a young team. But Yaremchuk coped with the pressure.
Khatskevych began to use him deeper, in the position of a 'ten' under the striker. He had his own vision. Yaremchuk's father started to get a little nervous about this, because Roman started to score less, and he was used to seeing his son as a scorer. But over time, he matured and expanded his playing potential and intelligence.
At that time, I received an offer from a foreign club, and I still have it with me. It was a Bundesliga club, Hannover 96. They had seen Yaremchuk at a tournament, and his contract with Dynamo was just about to expire. The Germans contacted Roman directly, but he didn't hide it, he told me right away. But Ihor Surkis persuaded Yaremchuk to stay, and he wanted to play for the Kyiv team himself. He was 18 years old at the time.
Nowadays, our young players are mentally prepared for European championships. Plus, back then, the leading Ukrainian clubs (Dynamo, Shakhtar, Dnipro) gave players a salary of $1,000 after graduating from football school, and today you have to work hard for that kind of money. In the Dutch championship, for example, young players are not paid more than $600.
- Why didn't Yaremchuk manage to get a foothold at Dynamo?
- At that time, it was impossible to break into the first team. Mbokani and Moraes played in Dynamo's attack. Roman went on loan to Oleksandriya, where he performed well. But his father, a difficult person to communicate with, told me: "We want to return to Dynamo. We had a long conversation on this topic, and I tried to convince him: "If he comes back to Dynamo, he will play in the second team. He may score ten goals, but he will lose in quality." As a result, it happened. He was given almost no chances in the first team.
- He made his debut in the Dynamo first team under Rebrov, but failed to make any effective impact.
- Yes, Roma was not a solid player in the starting line-up. Rebrov preferred Besedin more. Why? God knows, I wasn't in the team. Maybe Yaremchuk couldn't fully develop and overcome this transitional stage.
- But it's unlikely that Besedin can be called a stronger footballer than Yaremchuk?
- Besedin was bought from Metalist, and the attitude to players who have been paid for is completely different, even if there is a stronger player sitting right under their noses. Moreover, Besedin played in Holovko's youth team, and there was a strong team there. Artem was playing well, which is probably why Rebrov made a bet on him.
By the way, I asked Golovko to evaluate Yaremchuk, but Roma couldn't prove himself then: he seemed to be around, but his thoughts were somewhere far away. Perhaps he had a girlfriend, he was young. Golovko was unable to identify his qualities at the time.
Alexander Borisovich was a subtle psychologist. I remember him saying: "You have to negotiate with the boys of '96, it's not '92 anymore." He was looking for an individual approach to everyone. When Zinchenko was already playing for Man City, Holovko was worried: "How am I going to talk to him after Guardiola?" (Laughs).
- Doesn't Yaremchuk have a grudge against Dynamo for not being given a chance?
- I think there is something inside, but I wouldn't call it a grudge. I always told him and other players: "Look for a plus in every minus". If Yaremchuk had stayed, it is not known whether he would still be at Dynamo or not. There are so many guys like him who have disappeared.
- What did Yaremchuk say during this difficult period?
- He didn't say anything, he worked on himself, we supported him. There was a moment when Yaremchuk had cramps after the 75th minute of the match, and Dynamo doctors could not find the cause of it. In Ghent, the training and nutrition changed, and Yaremchuk became a completely different player, reaching a new level. Also in Belgium, Yaremchuk regained his lost confidence, because he was the main forward, not the third or fourth, as in Dynamo.
- Were there any offers for Yaremchuk other than Hannover?
- When he played for Dynamo, no. But during his performances at Ghent, I was contacted by representatives of Wolfsburg. They were playing against Shakhtar in the Champions League. The German club showed great interest in him. Roman was in great form then, scoring a lot for Ghent.
I informed Yaremchuk about Wolfsburg's interest, we are on good terms, although another agent was already handling his affairs. But in the end, Roman joined Benfica, probably because the Portuguese made a more specific offer.
Andrii Piskun
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