Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Mykola Mykhailenko, who is currently playing on loan for Oleksandriya, spoke about his desire to play for the capital's club.
Mykola Mykhailenko. Photo - fco.com.ua- Your journey in big football actually started with Dynamo Kyiv: you were captain of the U-19s and played in the UEFA Youth Champions League.
- At first, I trained at the Peremozhets Children's and Youth Sports School in Kyiv. And then I got to Yuriy Lenya at Dynamo, who helped me a lot in the process of my development. I quickly adapted, went to school and trained. Over time, everything took off and I came into my own at Dynamo.
- The loan to Chornomorets opened the way to the UPL for you and 15 other Dynamo teammates.
- It was a very interesting experience. Yuriy Moroz offered me to go to Odesa and I decided that it was worth a try - it was a great chance. Although sometimes it was difficult - everyone remembers these problems with Odesa fans.
- In one of your interviews, you said that you were ready to die for the Chornomorets emblem. Did you eventually manage to reach an understanding with the fans?
- You know how it goes: some fans fundamentally did not want to see us and refused to support us. Some were loyal. Time has passed, but I can repeat now that we gave it our all. We did not care about the fact that we were not treated favourably and did not pay attention to the historical principle of the confrontation between Dynamo and Chornomorets. On the contrary, we wanted to prove that we did not deserve this.
- Soon after, Moroz and some of the Dynamo players left Odesa, but you stayed with the new coach.
- I went through a training camp with Roman Hryhorchuk. After two months of work in Turkey, we returned home. But then it was 24 February. Soon my loan at Dynamo expired, so I returned to Kyiv. Did they want to keep me? I don't know for sure. I had to look for other options.
- Zorya became such an option. However, you had little game practice there and played just over 30 minutes in a few months. Didn't Patrick van Leeuwen see you in the squad?
- Everything went wrong from the very beginning. It was an injury out of the blue, or an illness at the training camp... There were a lot of circumstances that complicated my stay at Zorya. When your partners are getting fit, and you didn't have much confidence in the coach anyway... In the end, I did my best. Perhaps Patrick had some dislike for me. It's hard to say. I only know that I am honest with myself. I don't hold grudges against anyone. I just had to go somewhere else and look for my place. Zorya did not count on me. It happens in football, it's normal.
-You knewRuslan Rotan (head coach of Oleksandriya - ed.) from the youth team.Did you go to Oleksandriya at his invitation without hesitation?
- Ruslan Petrovych knew me well: what kind of footballer I am, what kind of person I am. For this I am very grateful to him. I felt trust and support at Oleksandriya. I am happy to be here.
- You have four goals in the Premier League. Is the most memorable one against Shakhtar in May?
- In terms of emotions, it can be compared to my debut goal in the UPL for Mariupol. But yes, it was something special. "Shakhtar is a very powerful team, so scoring a goal and picking up points is worth a lot. We drew 1-1 then.
- Three of your four goals came from long range shots. Is a strong shot the result of training?
- I think it's a result of determination. When you are not afraid to take the initiative, you hit and get rewarded for it.
- Your contract still belongs to Dynamo. Do you expect to return to your home club one day?
- I have been a Dynamo fan since childhood. When I got into this atmosphere, I felt happy. Now I'm doing my best to develop. Everything depends on my game. "Dynamo is my home club, which has given me a lot. I hope that one day they will need me. However, I don't know what will happen tomorrow, and I concentrate on what I have today. Now all my thoughts are with Oleksandriya. I respect this club very much and I want to thank them with my game.
Liubomyr Kuzmyak
