Head coach of Dynamo U-19 Igor Kostyuk commented on the information about his refusal of the offer to lead Slovakian club Dunajska Streda, and also spoke about his relations with the coaching staff of the first team.
Igor Kostyuk. Photo: fcdynamo.com- Igor, recently there was information in the media that you had an offer to manage a team in the Slovakian championship.
- There was such an offer from agents, we were playing with the U-19 team in the Champions League at that time. It was not very appropriate to go to another team at that time.
- Did you have direct contact with the management of Danube Streda?
- There was no direct contact with the club, I was approached by agents.
- If there was an offer this season, would you consider this option?
- Now I am in Kyiv, with the team. There is martial law in Ukraine, and it is not quite appropriate to talk about it now. All my plans are still connected with Dynamo.
- How valuable experience did you get in the 22/23 season and at the beginning of the current season as the head coach of the team?
- Two of our pupils are already playing in APL, it's like an incentive for me. It means that our young performers are developing and going to play in the top leagues. The boys are also gaining experience under Mircea Lucescu in the first team of Dynamo. They are progressing, but everything depends on them.
- What impressions do you have of the young players in the first team, who played under your leadership recently?
- On the example of Voloshin, Brazha - these are the players who came to the team and proved themselves. They are already players of the main squad, they attract attention.
Players born in 2005 can already think about the level of the first team, but, for example, the guys born in 2006 are mentally and physically not ready to play for the first team in the Premier League, they need some more time.
- What kind of relations do you have with the coaching staff of Dynamo first team?
- Of course, we communicate. The coach invites U-19 players to the first team trainings, gives them an opportunity to prove themselves, coaches watch our matches. There is a dialogue between us. The direction, which the club management has chosen, is designed for their own pupils, so that the guys prove that not only foreigners can play in the Eurocups, but also our young players. This is confirmed by the matches that we played in the Junior Champions League, playing against the grands. The guys showed maturity in tactical terms, and the playing level was decent as well.
- The first team of Dynamo has a black streak lately, can it be called a slump? Or is the loss of points in the championship an accident?
- According to the rules of coaching ethics I cannot comment on the first team's game. Maybe something is not right in the team right now. The championship is in full swing, but why there is instability in the results, the coaches of the first team will deal with it.
- Will your charges go to the winter training camp of the first team?
- I hope that in winter some players will join the first team and go to the winter training camp. The coach selects players for his tactics, sees if the players are ready to fulfil the instructions that the head coach needs. Our task is to fully develop the players, so that they progress, gain experience, make fewer mistakes, and first of all, so that they realise that they have the opportunity to get into the first team.
- Is the U-19 championship the main goal for this season?
- We always have such a goal. We have to win and play in the U-19 Champions League. Every year we have such a task. The main thing is progress. It is noticeable that the players are progressing, gaining invaluable experience from the Youth Champions League matches.
