Volodymyr Maziar: "Lobanovsky laughed - 'You want to play for Dynamo, but do you even care about the salary?

Former Dynamo Kyiv striker Volodymyr Maziar recalled the period of his career at the club.

- Volodymyr Ivanovych, since childhood you have kept a notebook with the results of Dynamo's games, did you dream of playing for Kyiv?

- Let's start with the fact that I did not graduate from any academies. Only when I was 15 did I start playing in district competitions. I tried to get a place in a sports boarding school, but it didn't work out. I had the desire, but no school.

My father was also a footballer, he played for the region. He worked with me individually. Only at the age of 16-17 did I start playing for the region, then for the university. I got to "Gazovyk" (Komarno), we played in the second league. I already had invitations from the First League, but Dynamo invited me.

I didn't believe it at first, two weeks before the invitation, I could barely get to the stadium as a spectator to watch the Champions League. And here I am, in the same dressing room as Dynamo's stars.

The support of Oleg Luzhny and Andriy Gusin was very important. I passed the training camp and signed a contract with Dynamo in 1999. I didn't get into the application right away, we flew to Kyiv from the training camp, and the base flew to Spain to play Real Madrid. (Dynamo played 1-1 in Madrid and 2-0 in Kyiv in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which is the only time a Ukrainian club since independence has reached the semi-finals of the main European competition - ed.)

When we were in Israel in 1999 preparing for the quarter-finals with Real Madrid, I saw that the team was not afraid of the Spaniards. Lobanovskyi gave us such confidence. The goal then was to win the Champions League. I think such people are born once every 200-300 years.

- It was not easy for a forward who came from the second league to win a place in the attack from Shevchenko and Rebrov. Did you succeed?

- "I trained with the first team, but I was not included in the application for the Champions League until I was 18. Now the application is 22-23 players. It was like that at Dynamo. If you didn't make the first team, you played the next day for Dynamo-2. And if you didn't play a full game, but a half, then the next day you play in the second league for Dynamo-3. Then you go back to training with the first team. There were no days off. But we didn't want to, we dreamed of playing for the first team.

For that quarter-final with Real Madrid, I was not included in the 18-player squad, but since I was in the extended 22-player squad, I still received a small bonus.

Seeing and hearing Lobanovskyi every day is forever. Dynamo's school is the most powerful. After six months at Dynamo, I was loaned to Vorskla, and by the end of 1999 I was among the top 33 in the league. That is, among the three best strikers. Such a leap - in a year from the second league. Those who played at Dynamo were no longer afraid of anyone. "Dynamo is a brand, pride and responsibility.

- Did you often talk to Lobanovskyi?

- Not often, but there is something to remember. I didn't have a contract with Dynamo yet. There were options with other clubs. I had a short conversation with Valerii Vasylovych. He asked if I wanted to play at Dynamo. I answered that I did. "Then go and sign a contract with Hryhorii Surkis". I thanked him, left, and Lobanovsky laughed: "Aren't you interested in the salary?"

Valeriy Vasylovych immediately asked what my parents did for a living, what an athlete does outside of football. "When they found out that my parents didn't have a job, they gave me a certain amount of money especially for them. That was a man. He is no longer with us, but he is one of the top ten coaches in the world.

- What did Valerii Lobanovskyi, a former striker, advise you?

- I played more for Dynamo-2. Lobanovskyi advised me to be more focused on the goal, to play less with my back to the goal. I remember it as the Our Father.

- And how did you settle in at Dynamo?

- When I was first given the Dynamo Kyiv shirt, I was at the training base, sharing a room with Dima Romanenko. I asked him to leave, locked all the doors, pulled on a T-shirt, stood by the mirror and started crying (Smiles). When you've been a Dynamo fan since childhood and then you're wearing a Dynamo shirt, I think everyone will understand me. Hryhorii Surkis said a golden phrase - "there are no former Dynamo players". I agree with him, I still support Dynamo, I remember watching the last match and switching off the TV, my nerves were too much. "Dynamo is in my heart. Whoever has been to Dynamo will live only with Dynamo. In any team, no matter what you achieve, you will have Dynamo in your heart.

- You still became a former Dynamo player. When did you realise you had to leave?

- It didn't make sense to stay at Dynamo-2, so I joined Vorskla. We had several players leave us, including defender Serhii Balanchuk, may he rest in peace. Last year, he was killed in action near Bakhmut. Before joining Vorskla, Serhii played for Maccabi Haifa, and a street in Israel is named after him(where the Russian consulate is located, since 7 June 2023 - ed.)

- At that time, was it already clear that Shevchenko and Rebrov wanted to become coaches?

- I did not have such communication with them. Andrii Shevchenko changed the game of the national team, for the first time it started playing such combination football. Serhii Rebrov has European experience and approach, which he demonstrated at Dynamo, Ferencvaros, in the UAE and now in the national team. I think such coaches are the future of our football.

Anton Terekhov