Niva (Buzov) striker Mykhailo Serhiichuk gave an interview toUV, in which he shared his thoughts on the team's breakup and spoke about his future career.
Mykhailo Serhiichuk- Mykhailo, how did you find out that Niva (Buzova) was going out of business?
- Head coach Ihor Zhabchenko wrote about it in the team chat - that the president had made this decision.
- What do you think prompted the president to make this decision? Was it the assistance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ?
- Apart from that, I don't know what other reasons there could be. As far as I understand, he also has certain nuances in his business, and the war has made its own adjustments. It's his decision - whoever pays the money orders the music.
- How long was your contract with Niva for?
- Until the end of the season.
- What do they say about the salary?
- They promise that all financial issues will be closed.
- What do you plan to do next?
- We'll see. Time will tell whether to continue playing football or to help the country in some other way.
- Are you thinking about retirement?
- I don't know yet. You can see for yourself what is happening in our football now.
- You mean refereeing?
- Yes, that's right.
- How would you rate your time at Niva?
- Considering that we have a practically new team, we have done well. Niva has a good team. We started the season well, and then lost a little bit, but we fulfilled the minimum task - we qualified for the championship group. As for me, I will give myself an unsatisfactory grade. I could have played better, I made unnecessary mistakes.
- Igor Zhabchenko said that you disappointed him. I quote: "Well, what kind of a striker is this who doesn't score?" What can you say?
- I don't want to discuss the coach. This is his opinion. I have never expressed any complaints to him because I don't play enough and so on. He is the coach, and he is responsible for the result.
- Another quote from him: "Serhiychuk just lowered his standards. Everything was fine with him, he was getting a good salary and it seems he lost his ambition a little bit."
- Ambition? I had a certain agreement with Zhabchenko that was not fully implemented, not only in relation to me, but also to other players.
- What kind of agreement?
- It concerns the financial aspect. Perhaps this is what affected the team's results in the second part of the round. In the first one, we managed to win on emotions.
- Did you discuss salaries with Zhabchenko or the president before joining Niva?
- When we were invited, the coach promised us everything. But it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. But I believe that these moments should remain within the team, so I don't want to talk about it.
- There are rumours that Niva could have been involved in match-fixing. Have you seen anything strange within the team?
- No, of course not!
- Did Zhabchenko personally invite you?
- Yes, he did.
- If you were to rewind time, would you have accepted Niva's invitation or would you have considered other offers?
- I had other options that were more favourable from a financial point of view, but I was already with Niva at the training camp and it would have been wrong to refuse the contract.
- What options did you have?
- Chyzhevskyi invited me to Agribusiness, Maksymov called me to PFC Zvyagel and FC Poltava offered me a contract. These are the three teams from which I had a substantive interest and I was thinking about it.
- Are you thinking of contacting these teams now that you are a free agent?
- I can definitely call them, but it's up to the coaches to decide who they want. I would be happy to respond if I get an offer from a good team. I want to return to the highest level.
- You have played in many clubs, where would it be interesting to try yourself now: "Vorskla, Veres or some other club?
- I am ready to walk on my elbows to Vorskla. I always have fond memories of Poltava. I am also ready to consider Veres' offer, but no one has invited me. I have good memories of Veres. I remember when we entered the UPL: we had a good team, but no training ground, no stadium, we lived in a bus and travelled all over Ukraine. Despite this, we fought for the result, the city and the fans. And now we seem to have everything, but no result. It seems to me that Veres is moving in the wrong direction. Again, there are managers who choose how to develop the club. We put our hearts and souls into Veres and it's a shame to see where Veres is now.
- You communicate with Veres players. What do they say, what is the problem?
- It would be incorrect for me to discuss the club's problems.
- Maksymov called you to Zvyagel, and now he's in charge of Dnipro-1. What if Maksymov calls you and says: "Misha, come here, we need your experience".
- After Maksymov's arrival, Filippov started scoring, and he is one of the team's top scorers. This can only happen if you call Maximov and say: "Niva (Buzova) has fallen apart, please take Serhiychuk to Dnipro-1. Then I will thank you and I am ready to pay you a percentage as an agent(laughs).
- So you don' t believe you can get to Dnipro-1?
- Why not? Everything happens in life.
Andrii Piskun
