Yuriy Bereza: "Before the match with Shakhtar, I joked that Maksymov should tell the players: if they don't win, they will go to

Yuriy Bereza, Honorary President of Dnipro-1, commented on the team's victory over Shakhtar in the Ukrainian championship match in an interview with the DniproNin Telegram channel.

- Please comment on the match against Shakhtar.

- Yuriy Maksymov's arrival not only gave new life to Dnipro-1's game, but continued the process of building a great team. "Dnipro-1 has been, is and will be a regular participant in European competitions. I believe that with this coach, we will be able to achieve our main goal - the Champions League anthem at the Dnipro Arena, of course, after winning the war.
It was not a game, but a chess combination, a game of football chess. Yuriy Vilievich used all the club's strengths.

Everyone knows that today Shakhtar is one of the strongest clubs in Ukraine, primarily financially. However, the coach's work came to the fore: his instructions and tasks to the players worked, and we won. The head coach of Dnipro-1 is a good football chess player, a motivator and a nice person. I knew Maksimov as a player, but now I know him as a coach. I am sure that he has a great football coaching future. And Maksymov will raise his cups above his head, not only in Ukraine.

- What did you talk to Maksymov about before and after the match?

- We are in constant contact with him. Before the match, I joked that he should tell the players that if they didn't win, they would go to the first assault company(laughs). After the match, I just thanked him for the victory and asked him to thank the guys for their endurance, meaningful football and victory.

We had a black streak associated with the previous coaching staff, whose decision to appoint him was unsuccessful. But now we have a coach who matches the spirit of the team. Mikhailenko and Jovicevic were the same way. "Dnipro-1 is Maksymov's team. He is one of the best options we had before his appointment, and I believe that he is the future.

- How do you feel when you see Dnipro-1 in first place in the table?

- I want to remind all the sceptics that 6 years ago we played our first game against Bukovyna in the Ukrainian Cup. Then I said that in 5 years from the creation of the team there would be European competitions, and in 10 years - the Champions League. I did not lie. I feel proud to have kept my promise to my hometown. After yesterday's match, my soul sings.
There are few people in general who initially believed in our project, and you (TG channel "Dnipro") were among them. Who would have believed it if we had been told 6 years ago that we would beat Shakhtar 1-3? And we still have Kohut and Yurchuk in the squad. The same Rubchynskyi, who, however, was still serving balls back then (laughs). He suffered from injuries for a long time, and now he is at the heart of the team, playing the main roles.

Thanks to people like you and our fans, Dnipro-1 has been, is and will be. Initially, only the Dnipro resident wrote good things about Dnipro-1. And now the headlines: "Dnipro-1 unexpectedly defeated Shakhtar".

- You started to appear at the Dnipro Arena again and the team's results went up, is it good luck?

- Of course(laughs). Maybe my presence is an additional lever for the team. I also started to appear at the base in Prydniprovs'k, we play football with the coaching staff, there are such "notches" that sometimes it almost comes to fights, but everything is within the limits of mutual respect, of course. The administration plays against the coaching staff. When the president returned, order was immediately restored.

- I saw in the photos that Yevhen Selezniov also plays with you, what is your relationship with him now?

- Where can you get away from him? He has changed since 24 February, just like most of the country. If he did not understand something before, now he is a patriot, a volunteer and helps the army a lot.