Former Ukrainian national team player Ivan Getsko told us what he expects from the central match of the 13th round of the Ukrainian championship, in which Dynamo and Shakhtar will play in Kyiv today.
Ivan Getsko-Ivan Mikhailovich, how are you looking forward to the Ukrainian Classical?
- I am waiting only for positive emotions. "Shakhtar have a new coach in charge, and the Donetsk team have new ambitions. There is a change of generations, but this does not affect the results globally.
What's going on at Dynamo at the moment... In my opinion, the Kyiv team is close to collapse, although this word may be too harsh.
I don't know what's going on inside the club, but I'm sure that things are not going well there. The team is losing points in matches against mid-table sides, and this is unacceptable for a giant, if that's what you can call Dynamo now.
So far, I doubt that the missed matches will help Kyiv climb to the top of the standings, given the football they are currently playing. Something needs to be changed...
-Will Shakhtar benefit from a change of head coach in themiddle of theseason?
- Any change of coach causes various convulsions: either the team starts to make rapid progress, or everything goes downhill. At the moment, as I understand it, Shakhtar are well prepared, Dario Srna has maintained the level of the team.
The main thing is for the players to believe in the new coach. If this happens, the Miners will not lose their positions either in the domestic or European arena.
-In the last three matches ,Dynamo scored just one point. Are theKyiv players guilty before their fans?
- Of course they are. This club has a different attitude, it is the face of Ukraine. And what is happening now is alarming. Yes, there is a war going on, but the team does not show even 10 per cent of what is expected of it. And the further we go, the more I think that Dynamo is fading away.
I am not inside the team, but it is often said that the fish rots from the head. I have nothing against Mircea Lucescu, he is a great coach, but there comes a time when you have to have the courage to leave. We can cite the example of Alex Ferguson, who once said that his time at Man United was over - after that, the club never reached the top level.
Something similar happened to Dynamo after the death of Valeriy Lobanovsky. For more than 20 years, the White and Blues have been unable to find a specialist who could bring Dynamo to the highest level.
At the same time, I am convinced that there is no need to look for a coach on the outside. We need someone who knows the team from the inside. The only task is to choose the right specialist, to guess.
-Despite thedifferent number of matches played by the teams, in case of defeat, can Dynamo be excluded from the championship race?
- I would not like to talk about it yet, only a third of the distance has been covered, and the density in the standings is serious. It's hard for me to imagine Dynamo fighting for a top-three finish or for the European Cup zone - Kyiv has always fought for the championship. Yes, Dynamo were once third or fourth... But the level and authority of the club is such that only the maximum result is expected from it.
Nevertheless, I am glad to see the struggle that is going on in the league now - it is important for the development of Ukrainian football. During my career, the first two places were not up for grabs, it was always Dynamo and Shakhtar.
Now the situation has changed a bit: Kryvbas has appeared and doesn't want to give up the top spot, Chornomorets and newcomer Polissia look great. However, it is too early to write off the Kyiv club.
-Who is the favourite in theclash betweenDynamo and Shakhtar?
- Any team can get together for a single game, no matter what condition it is in. That's why I'm sure that even despite the level of our league, this match will be the best in terms of intrigue and the quality of the football itself. This is our Classic, which we are all waiting for.
- Then what is your prediction for this match?
- To be honest, for some reason I've been rooting for Shakhtar more than Dynamo lately. But, again, in 90% of cases when these rivals meet, there has always been intrigue.
I give a slight advantage to the Shakhtar, but I am confident that Lucescu's men will pull themselves together and put up a good fight. I would like the teams to please us with a productive game, so that this match will be a pleasure to watch. The score? 3-2 in favour of Shakhtar.
Yaroslav Pyatnitskiy
