Dynamo midfielder Vladyslav Kabayev spoke about the pause in the Ukrainian championship, his impressions of the Ukrainian national team's performance and the chances of a UPL championship.
Vladislav Kabaev"I'm fresh now - I'm preparing for the match against Vorskla"
- Vladyslav, how are you doing?
- Everything is just great. We played a two-sided game, the team I played for won, we had a day off, so I'm in a good mood.
- And how do you feel?
- I feel good. I had an injury that made me not play for three weeks and missed a few games. It's a pity we didn't beat Besiktas and I couldn't help the team. During the break I had, I spent time with my family: my wife and child. Now I'm refreshed and preparing for the match against Vorskla.
- I can't help but ask about the performance of our national team. How did you like the Ukraine vs England match?
- I watched the match against England by myself because my wife went to Odesa. A lot of my friends play in the national team, so you feel for your country, and you want to get into the national team. But I realise that I still have a lot to do to get there. After the football game, we met with Oleksandr Andrievskyi, Mykyta Burda and Mykyta Kravchenko and discussed the game.
"Tsygankov could have missed a month at Dynamo and then come out and made a difference"
- What have you noticed in the national team managed by Rebrov? What has it added?
- I can't say that something new has appeared in the national team's game. There was no one person who stood out from the crowd. The whole team stood out as a whole. Of course, our guys played more without the ball, but they looked solid. We suffered somewhere at the beginning of the game, ran around... England rolled and rolled the ball, and then we had the first moment - and immediately a goal. One moment and a goal - it says a lot.
- For example?
- That the class of our players is very high.
- The left flank of the national team, which, by the way, is also your flank, has been a little weak. Is it true?
- Well, it happens. Mudryk doesn't have to perform every game. He's a very young footballer, and everyone expects goals and something else from him in every match. He will have it all, because he is a talented footballer. Personally, I believe in Mudryk. I have not trained with Mudryk, but I see that he is a player with great potential.
Nowadays, a lot of criticism is directed at Mudryk, that he is not as visible as, say, Tsygankov. But Vitya is a very good footballer. When I first came to Dynamo, it was striking that Tsygankov could miss a month due to injury and then come out and make a difference.
- About Dynamo. Comment on the team's start in the league.
- Well, look, if you look at the standings, Dynamo has played just three games. And the three teams at the top have six matches played. If we win all the games we missed, we will be in first place.
"Dyachuk will grow into a very good footballer, we just have to wait a little bit"
- What happened to Dynamo in your native Odesa?
- I don't know. Some kind of fatigue, perhaps. There was no rotation before the match in Odesa. Before that, the guys played 120 minutes in the Conference League qualifiers against Aris. It was not even physical fatigue, but moral. And Chornomorets played very well against us - on the counterattack, did not give us free areas. And most importantly, Odesa made the most of their chances.
- What is the reason why Dynamo concedes a lot?
- Yes, we concede a lot, but we also score a lot. Very young players are now playing in the centre of Dynamo's defence. Dyachuk is 20 years old, and he is already playing in the base. In one of the key positions. I know how upset he is after these unsuccessful games, because he understands that he cannot make such mistakes. But the guy is only 20, so you have to be patient. Believe me, he will grow into a very good footballer.
- What do you think Dynamo needs to improve?
- Physically, we are ready. Perhaps in psychology. Psychology plays a very important role in football. Dynamo has shown that it can win both the league and the cup. We have the same squad, give or take, that won those victories. Psychology is what we need to work on.
If we lose, Dynamo is under a lot of pressure. When I look at what is written on the Internet, there is no such pressure on Shakhtar. And we have a lot of young players who need to be given time. I think so.
- Will Dynamo challenge Shakhtar for the championship this season?
- Of course we will. I am convinced of that.
"It was probably meant to be that I stayed here at Dynamo, while Rusyn went to Sunderland"
- I can't help but ask about your former Zorya team-mate Nazariy Rusyn, who joined Sunderland. What do you think about this transfer?
- The fact that Nazariy deserved it. He had such a good season, scored a lot of goals. I am very happy for him. In general, I'm happy for our guys to go to such clubs. It's great to go to the Champions League with Zorya.
- Could you be in his place?
- I don't know. I have never scored as many goals as Rusyn. There was the first season when I scored eight or nine goals, but there was nothing like that (Rusyn had 13 goals last season - O.P.'s note). Now there is some demand for our players. I don't know, it was probably meant to be that I stayed here at Dynamo, and I have no regrets. Rusyn didn't play at Dynamo, but he went to Sunderland.
Oleksandr PETROV
