Former Obolon goalkeeper and coach of Dynamo Kyiv Academy Vsevolod Romanenko spoke about how he coached Hryhoriy Surkis' son Viacheslav and assessed his prospects of becoming the first team goalkeeper of his club.
- Vyacheslav Surkis' first coach (Serhiy Pavlovych Velychko) said that at first he was not serious about football. However, after a conversation between the coach and Hryhorii Mykhailovych, you appeared as Slava's personal trainer, and everything changed dramatically. How true is this?
- This is 100% true. He trained with Velichko when he was under 10 years old. Until that age, all the boys play in the field, looking for themselves, no one forces anyone to stand in goal. When Velychko passed this group to another coach, Slava said: "I want to be like my father - a goalkeeper." I think it was in 2015, when he was nine.
It is important to understand that it was not his father who told him to become a goalkeeper, but Viacheslav himself who wanted to be like his father. He didn't want to be a striker, although before Velichko he played at Obolon as the number nine in attack. So it turns out that I have been working with him as a goalkeeper since 2015.
- How did it happen that you became Slava's manager? Did Grigory Mikhailovich personally contact you?
- Everything is simple. The headmaster of the school, Oleksandr Ishchenko, came up to me and said: "You, as a goalkeeping coach, will work personally with Slavik at the Dynamo Academy." I worked with him in a group and individually. Then he moved on to other coaches - Samborsky and Bashlay.
- Serhiy Pavlovych also said that Slava, who grew up in a circle of rich people (Boyko and Lyovochkin's sons), was more of a fool than a trainee. What happened then?
- You see, he was seven or eight years old at the time - he was still a child. For him, football was still a kind of fun. Still, there is a difference between perceiving the world at the age of seven and later. When he became a little older, namely at the age of nine, he made his conscious choice to become a goalkeeper.
- Did he have any inclinations to play in goal? Did he have anything to work with?
- At this age, the most important thing is to have a great desire. He was very serious about training. I used to come to the training sessions at Koncha Zaspa, where Boyko's group was training, and they were there... I saw them training, fooling around, but that was when I was seven. At nine, Slava was already a completely different child.
- So you taught Slava the goalkeeping craft from scratch?
- "We started learning goalkeeping from the letter 'A' in the ABC book. That's how children go to the first grade, and so did we. We started with letters, then syllables, words and so on.
- Slava's uncle (Ihor Surkis) told me that he was undoubtedly talented, but quite injured. Can we say that the "crystal" period is over now?
- I wouldn't call it an injury - it's age-related. The boy, at 14, added about 15 centimetres in a year, and, of course, physiology is at play here. The muscles in his back can't take it anymore, it starts to hurt. However, this is normal at this age, a natural development. That's why we were there.
- Returning to the art of goalkeeping, one cannot but mention psychology. Coach Oleksandr Yezhakov said that Slava reminded him of Andrii Pyatov in his attitude to conceded goals: he doesn't worry and keeps working. Can you agree with that?
- I can't agree with that. Slavik, when he missed (whether he was guilty or not), he was not on the pitch for five minutes. We struggled with this for a very long time. I told him: "If you missed, play on, you don't need to worry. If you are still worried, you will swallow two more and the game will be over. We will analyse it after the match". At the age of 15, we overcame this illness, almost before graduating from the academy.
Vyacheslav had a successful season for the 2006 Ukrainian championship team, where he made no serious mistakes and performed very well in the final. This is what motivated him not to worry anymore. He matured and started to listen to me even more. The game was over, and only then did he ask me questions. Later, we had video analysis, and we analysed the moments with him.
- Previously, Slava's name appeared in the news after he saved a penalty or won a series of post-match matches. Did you work on this component of goalkeeping in particular?
- After training, we would stay and take penalties in a game-like manner. He was very interested in this, asked me questions, and I told him how I played and how Shovkovskyi acted during the penalty shootout. I told him that there could be one penalty in a season, or maybe 10. Sometimes I asked him to shake the player so that he would hit the right corner. Here he listened to both me and my father.
- So, your father, Hryhorii Surkis, as a goalkeeper, also gave his own advice?
- Of course (smiles).
- How did it happen that in the 2022/23 season so many graduates of the Dynamo Academy, including you and Slava, ended up at Zorya Luhansk?
- You see, 2006 was considered a very promising year: Oleksii Yevhenovych Drotsenko did a good job in the transfer market. We had very talented guys who needed to play. When the war broke out, many of the boys went to other clubs: some ended up in Belgium, some in Austria. Then we were taken to a training camp abroad, and we started to put the team back together. When we called the parents and told them to come back, they were worried about the question: "Where are we going to play?". We can't play in Ukraine, and we can't play abroad either.
However, when everything calmed down and the orcs withdrew from Kyiv, we returned to Ukraine, where the new football season was starting. It was then that we decided that we would play for a team in the U-19 category. According to the regulations, each UPL club must have such a team, but not everyone had the opportunity in such a difficult time. Since our management had a good relationship with the management of Zorya Luhansk, we were offered this option. It's not that many players have moved, but all the players from 2006 and the coaching staff have moved.
- In the third round, your Zorya met Dynamo and lost 1-6. Did Slava take this result well?
- We all understood the situation. We were just playing then, no tasks were set for us. That team was playing with the seniors, gaining experience, filling their balls.
- How would you generally assess Slava's performance at Zorya?
- Of course, he gained the necessary experience. Not just him, but the whole team. If you keep track, about six or seven people from our team are currently playing for Dynamo U-19.
- It was in Dynamo U-19 that Surkis Jr. started very confidently and did not concede a single goal in the first four rounds. It turns out that Slava really made a big difference at Zorya, winning the competition for a place in the starting line-up.
- Starting this year, players who are older than 2004 are not allowed to play. We don't have a goalkeeper this year, and Denys Ihnatenko, who played last season, is no longer fit for purpose.
Now Dynamo U-19 has four goalkeepers: Slavik, Yurii Avramenko (injured), Serhii Kiblytskyi and Mykyta Hudymenko. Today, we can clearly say that Slavik Surkis is really the first choice in this team.
- How much pressure does Slava feel from his surname? Now Christian Bilovar, who is dating Igor Surkis' daughter, is playing for Dynamo's first team, and some fans are already starting to ring the bell, saying that soon only "their own" will play.
- He doesn't shy away from his surname, but he doesn't want to stand out. It is clear that there is pressure from the fans. But, believe me, Slavik will prove everything with his work and desire. Usually, those who do not see the training process and his work since the academy days focus on the name. They see the name Surkis - and that's it, the mudslinging and nepotism begins. I won't speak for Christian - I didn't work with him, but Slava overcame this moment a long time ago.
Let me tell you a story. We were flying somewhere abroad for a tournament, and we needed a power of attorney from our parents for one of the coaches. It so happened that the power of attorney was not issued to me. So we approached the border guard's window and gave him our documents for inspection. He sees that Slava's father is Grigory Mikhailovich Surkis and asks Slavik: "What do you have to do with the Surkis?". I stood there silent, and Slava immediately said: "Nothing, I have the same family name".
- So Slava doesn't look like a typical child of the majors?
- No, he doesn't. I've talked to a few children of wealthy people, but this is definitely not the case with Slavik. I'll tell you another story. We arrive in Kharkiv for a tournament and put the kids up in a hotel. Slava went to all the other rooms and then came up to us and asked: "Why did you give me a better room than Osipenko's?" We take him by the hand and lead him around to show him that some rooms are worse, some are better, and then he says: "Oh, okay, then. I just don't need these moments. I want to be like everyone else, I like it." He never used his surname.
- Some insiders reported that due to Slava Surkis' presence at Dynamo, his 2006 year had a greater number of European tournaments. Can you confirm or deny this information?
- Write to these insiders and ask them to open the statistics and see who went to the tournaments and where. Believe me, it's not true. The attitude of our club's management to all age groups is absolutely the same. Grigory and Igor know all the players from 2006 to 2010 by name.
- Has it ever happened that Hryhorii Mykhailovych could call you and ask how things are going with Slava?
- He could call, but as a father, not as a club manager. Just like the parents of Mykytenko (who is now playing in Germany), Kiblitsky and others called me. It's normal for parents to call and ask how their children are doing. It has never been anything like this: "Immediately become my son".
- Do you currently maintain a contract with Slava?
- Yes, we are in touch. We call each other after almost every game, and when I have time, I come to the matches. He is currently working with Oleksandr Moroz in the U19s, but sometimes he can call and consult me.
- Returning to the topic of the surname, I would like to know the following: why does Hryhorii Mykhailovych's son have the inscription "Slava" on his back, not "Surkis"? And why the 71st number? Is it in honour of Denys Boyko?
- The number is definitely not because of Boyko, because I had a conversation with him on this topic. He just told me that he liked the 71st number. I immediately asked him: "Boyko?" He said: "No". He took this number when Boyko had not yet returned to Dynamo. I can tease him by saying: "Slava, did you take the number 71 because of Boyko, or did he take it because of you?" (Smiles).
As for Slava's inscription, I don't know... I have his shirt from his time at Obolon Kyiv, which also has Slava written on it. It's better to ask him how it happened, because I wasn't interested. Believe me, he doesn't care what all sorts of "insiders" write. He has never spoken about this topic. I think he understands everything, and my father told me to take it easy. I also asked him not to pay attention if they slandered him, and he laughed and said that he didn't care who wrote what.
- The question, of course, is quite abstract, but how realistic is it to see Slava in the Dynamo Kyiv squad in the future?
- He has the makings. If he continues to train with the perseverance he has now - and I've seen a few U-19 training sessions - he has a very good chance of breaking into the first team.
- Who else among the young Ukrainian goalkeepers has a great future? Velychko singled out Kostenko from Benfica, Petrenko from Bayer Leverkusen and Avramenko from Dynamo.
- Avramenko is currently having problems with his collarbone. He missed two years at the academy due to age-related Schlatter's disease. Now he has recovered, but he got injured again and had surgery. In short, we shouldn't expect him to play until winter.
Petrenko, who came to Germany, was a really promising guy. As for Kostenko, he has good data, but... I disagree with Sergey Pavlovich here.
In my opinion, the most promising goalkeeper in Dynamo's academy is Pozhar (born in 2009). He already has pretty decent goalkeeping and physical characteristics. He has everything in the complex. He also plays well with both feet, and at the age of 14 he is 190 centimetres tall. In short, he's a machine.
Vladyslav Liutostanskyi