Serhiy Mokhnyk, Dynamo's Deputy CEO, is in charge of the development of young players. On Saturday, Dynamo's youth team defeated their principal rival, Rukh Lviv 2-0, and once again took the top spot in the Ukrainian U-19 Championship. After the match, Serhiy Andriyovych answered questions from the club's official website.
- This season, Dynamo U-19, as always, claims to win the youth championship, but the competition is very serious. Do you think this is the most competitive championship in recent years?
- Last season, in fact, only Dynamo and Rukh were fighting for first place, while the current leaders of the tournament are constantly changing, Dnipro-1 has improved, Shakhtar's boys look good, and in fact, four teams are fighting for victory. Competition is the engine of progress, so we are glad that the current generation of young Dynamo talents will be tested by serious competition in the domestic championship.
- In your opinion, does this U-19 generation have a chance to really compete for a place in the first team over time?
- To begin with, we need to understand that our important victory is that after the outbreak of the war, Dynamo's management managed to retain almost all the best talents in the club system with titanic efforts. It was very difficult, but the club managed to do it, and not only the U-19 team has a number of gifted players who, by their potential, can play in the first team and grow up to the national team. I won't name any names, the most important thing here is the guys' attitude, motivation, ambition and efficiency. If they add all of the above to their talent, they will reach great heights themselves and help the club win.
- In the first round of this season, our U-19 squad played a number of nominally away matches at the club's base. Can you explain this situation, is it correct to understand that in the second round Dynamo will play nominally home matches away from home?
- That's absolutely right. We really changed fields with several teams for several reasons, the main one being the request of the U-18 and U-19 coaching staffs to simplify logistics before difficult trips and a long journey. A friendly tournament in the Czech Republic? Eight Dynamo players, the backbone of the team. A friendly tournament in Korea? Nine Dynamo players and again the backbone of the team! At the same time, those who "criticise" us have not called up a single player to the national team. Why? They must have wanted to. Apparently, personal interests are more important than the interests of the country.
What happened in the qualification for Euro 2024 (U-19)? Our players once again played a key role in the victories over Slovakia and Malta and won their qualifying group. Long journeys, flights, logistical difficulties, etc. We always meet the needs of the national teams and I see nothing wrong with the fact that for the benefit of the national team, our club and the players themselves, we have exchanged pitches with a number of our rivals. I hasten to reassure those who are very worried about this - in the spring we will play against these same rivals on their pitches.
- Are you referring to a recent comment made by Shakhtar U-19 coach?
- I'm speaking directly. Please note that we beat all the leaders of the U-19 standings - Rukh, Shakhtar and Dnipro-1 - with the same score (2-0) in calendar matches that were not postponed. And we did not concede a single goal. Some people do their job, while others are always in the way.
- Are there any plans to strengthen Dynamo's youth team in the winter and what are the plans for the U-19 players?
- The selection process at all age levels does not stop, we watch and look for talented performers who can strengthen our team and unlock their potential. But this is a labour-intensive job, and we will make decisions after the first part of the season. It is very important to understand that no one will take players for the sake of quantity, but if the head coach recognises that one of the proposed candidates will make Dynamo U-19 better, we will consider this option.