Sunderland's Ukrainian striker Nazariy Rusyn spoke about the peculiarities of adaptation in England, the change of his team's head coach, and the crisis in Dynamo Kyiv and Zorya.
Nazariy Rusin"I'm grateful to Moorhead for giving me the opportunity to try myself in the Premier League"
- Three months ago, you signed a contract with Sunderland, managed to play your first matches for the new club and score an assist. Are you satisfied with how the adaptation is going?
- I am glad that I started to get more time on the pitch. In the last matches, I did not come out, but I had full support from the manager and teammates. Now I need to prove everything on the pitch.
- Sunderland decided to sack manager Tony Moorhead after a series of poor results. How did the team take this news?
- Look, I can't speak for the Sunderland management. I'm grateful to the coach for inviting me to the team and giving me the opportunity to try my hand at the Championship. In football, everything can change at any second.
- You played 9 matches in the Championship for Sunderland and managed to take part in the scoring attack in the 3-1 win over Birmingham, who are now coached by Wayne Rooney. It was you who continued the corner kick for Bellingham. Did the previous coaching staff pay much attention to standards?
- We are told what we have to do in terms of standards. It so happened that I found myself at the near post and successfully put my head in.
- If we take into account all the matches you have played, who was the most difficult opponent for Sunderland?
- I liked Leicester and Middlesbrough.
- Is today's Leicester, with Jamie Vardy continuing to shine, really a head stronger than the rest of the teams?
- If we take the game against us separately, I wouldn't say that Sunderland were inferior to Leicester in any way (0-1). In my opinion, we shouldn't have lost that game. We had good chances. The team played very well.
"After the first matches, I told the guys that the Championship is a bit like the UFC"
- Sunderland's arena, the Stadium of Light, is completely packed at every home game. After the empty Ukrainian stadiums due to the war and covid, did you not burn out?
- I will tell you that the atmosphere at the stadium is very cool. Sunderland's fans are one of the best in the Premier League, compared to the away games I've played. It is a great pleasure to play in front of 40 thousand spectators. You feel very confident when so many people are pushing the team forward.
The locals here really live for football. They really appreciate it when you go to play the ball or lay down in the box. When you go to take a corner, people applaud, stand up and support you. They don't miss a single thing during the game. It is beyond words.
- As Vitalii Mykolenko's example shows, it's enough to stay in the box to be adored by the crowd.
- Yes! You may not be able to do everything, but you kill yourself on the pitch, give it your all, and people thank you with their support.
- Your first appearance for Sunderland came in the 3-1 win over Norwich. The coaching staff even prepared a game plan for you, written in Ukrainian. Did your team-mate Timur Tuterov do it?
- Maybe (smiles). I am very happy that the adaptation at Sunderland is going in such a way. Timur is helping me. Over these few months, he has improved his English a little bit by ear.
- Have you already managed to understand for yourself why the Premier League is not like any other European championships?
- Every game in the Championship is very difficult. It's a very competitive championship where everyone can beat everyone. It doesn't matter if your opponent is at the bottom or at the top. You win one game and you can move up 5-7 positions. If you lose, you slide down the same way.
After the first matches, I told the guys that your Championship is a bit like the UFC in terms of the level of fighting. I was shocked when there were quite serious collisions in the games that were not whistled for. In Ukraine, you would get a red card for that, but here, you just keep playing. Believe me, there are such clashes that in the UPL half the team was sitting on yellow cards. There is no VAR in the Premier League, which is probably why they fight so hard on the pitch.
Everything changes very quickly in the Premier League. You need to go into every game with maximum concentration. All 24 teams are playing at a decent level. I would put it in the top 7 of all European championships. There is a very high level here. You can grow and progress. Even if I don't stay in England for long, this experience will definitely help me in the future.
- Your mission in England will be incomplete if you do not realise your dream of playing against your beloved Liverpool at Anfield.
- God willing, everything will work out for you.
"The English don't dwell on mistakes. This impresses me"
- We could have witnessed the first Ukrainian confrontation in the Premier League if Mykola Kukharevych hadn't been injured in Swansea's infirmary. Did you manage to exchange a few words?
- Yes, we did. We greeted each other before the game, then talked for 15 minutes after the game. I wish him a speedy recovery.
- Did your European Cup experience come in handy when playing two games a week?
- At the end of the year, the calendar is very difficult. You have to play six matches. In my experience, it is better to play every three games than to train in a weekly cycle. This way you keep yourself in good shape and progress.
- Did any moments surprise you in a good way?
- I noticed that the English can afford to have fun in training, joking in the locker room, and in games they completely switch and kill themselves on the field for the entire 90 minutes. In Ukraine, the day before the game, everyone starts to be serious. And there, people go out on the pitch - wow! Their minds are switched on and they start to kill.
This impresses me a lot. The English are by nature nonchalant. They don't get caught up in mistakes. I've never heard from the coaches that Mobray or his assistants have ever shouted at any of the players. They never "shoved". They always praise you. Even if you make a mistake, they encourage you. They always support you. It's like being on another planet. Here, they start to build up for a long time, then you burn out somewhere and everything can go wrong during the game. If my wife and son were here, it would have helped me to adapt even faster.
- It takes a long time to get a British visa. Do you miss your family?
- I haven't seen my wife and son for three months. I miss them very much.
"I have never heard the coaches shouting at the players"
- Do you regret not learning English while playing at home?
- If you want to go somewhere else to play in another championship, start learning here. I have lessons with a tutor several times a week. I speak with difficulty, but I understand 50-60% of what is said to me.
When I discussed with the guys in Zorya that there was such an offer, but I didn't know the language, they told me: "Everything will be fine, you will learn it there". Some people laughed at my pronunciation in the presentation video, but on the other hand, I could have been a bitch and said, "I'm not going, I don't know the language." This experience will definitely benefit me both in football and in life.
- Sunderland is located in Tyneside, where the locals have a rather complicated accent (Geordie - ed.). In three months, have you got on better with the locals?
- Indeed, it is a very complex and specific accent. When they speak slowly, you can catch something, but when they start speaking quickly, it's very difficult to understand. When we were talking to Kukharevych, he said: "I know English, but when I came to Swansea, I didn't understand them."
- Was the training process you experienced at Sunderland very different from what you saw in Ukraine?
- Mobray demanded that we play good attacking football that would please the fans. I understand what is required of me on the pitch.
- At Sunderland, you returned to the striker's position. At Zorya, you revealed yourself playing as an inverted winger. Is it important for you now what position you play?
- The first 5 matches, when I came off the bench, I played as a winger. For my part, I want to bring maximum benefit wherever I am played. It's great for me that the coach can use me in different positions in attack.
- Sunderland has a squad that has a balance between young and experienced players who have played in different English divisions. Which of them really stands out from the rest?
- I don't want to single anyone out. We have a very good team here. People have gone through the school of MU, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, PSG.
- Is Job Bellingham different from his star brother in terms of his playing characteristics?
- They are very similar in the way they play, the way they see the field.
- Did you manage to get on well with your team-mates quickly?
- We have a good working relationship with everyone. Our captain, Luke O'Neill, helps me to integrate into the team. The language barrier somewhat hinders full communication, but it is getting better every day.
- Timur Tuterov has not yet made his debut for Sunderland's first team. Does he often train with the first team?
- He is gradually being brought up to speed. He is a good boy and footballer. It's great that he came to England at the age of 17. Sunderland has all the conditions to grow into a good footballer.
- Let's talk about Sunderland's prospects this season. Do you see the team's potential to intervene in the fight for a direct ticket to the Premier League if they don't lose points during this period?
- I don't want to fly in the clouds. I can only say that the team will do everything possible to reach the UPL. It will be a real celebration for the whole city. We have a good mix of young guys and older ones, who should help the team when something might not go according to your scenario.
I can give you an example of Zorya, when there were a lot of youngsters, but thanks to the experience of Zhenya Shakhov... You cannot imagine how much he helped mentally and psychologically last season. His merit is very great. There are no small things in football.
- You moved to England having had a negative experience of playing abroad at Legia. Does it help you now at Sunderland?
- 100%! I came to Poland and realised that the coach was not counting on me. I was very worried, nervous. I was driving myself psychologically. Now I am more calm. Everything is moving as it should be. I'm honest with myself, I give my best at every training session, I don't hang out at parties. Football rewards hard work.
Even if I don't play in one place, you will find your coach and play in another team. You don't suit one coach, and tomorrow a new one will come and you will be the best player for him. A long time ago, I was told a phrase that really resonated with me: a coach can make any player important or kill him.
- This phrase fits perfectly with your first stint at Zorya under Skrypnyk.
- This football really suited me: I was scoring all the time, but when I returned to Dynamo, I stopped. I analysed a lot, couldn't cope with the pressure and criticism. At the age of 20, you don't understand this and you have to go through a similar experience. Over time, I realised that it was all in my head. When a person is confident and knows why they are doing it, they can achieve a lot. My experience turned out to be painful, but now I can already give something to pass on and help younger players get through it.
- I think that the appearance of your family played a role in your transformation.
- You become more responsible. If I analyse some moments, I would do things differently now.
- Can you give us an example of when you realised you had changed your perception?
- Patrick and Raymond were constantly chasing me around for the first six months at Zorya, [I still had] that kind of psychology, I was angry, I was spitting. It happened that we played Oleksandriya (4-1) in the first round. We were going to breakfast at 9am, I arrived 10 minutes late, and then Patrick took me out of the squad.
When I came to Zorya, Patrick van Leeuwen often resorted to psychological tricks. He said to me: "Do you think you're a great footballer? Show it". I had to endure it, and thanks to that, I had a good stretch in the spring. What I really liked about Van Leeuwen was that he had no authority figures. Everyone was required to do what the coaching staff asked. Either you do it or you don't. No matter who the player is.
- As Patrick's story with Shakhtar has shown, it can be the other way round...
- "I can't say anything for Shakhtar, but Patrick and Raymond helped me a lot to mature psychologically. My opinion is that the football that van Leeuwen wants is much more suitable for Dynamo than Shakhtar.
"I like the fact that there is competition at the top of the table in the UPL"
- I know that you have a pretty busy schedule at Sunderland. Do you manage to follow the UPL?
- Yes, I do. I really like that there is such competition at the top of the table. It's really interesting to follow. It's a bit like the Champions League, when every team can take points from Dynamo and Shakhtar.
- Will the coaching change at Dynamo help the team get out of the psychological hole?
- I hope that everything will be fine at Dynamo. In communication with the guys, it is noticeable that they are also very worried. To understand the whole kitchen, you need to be inside the team.
- Shovkovskyi the coach remains a mystery to us. You met him when he was still a footballer. Can he make a good coach?
- Coaching Dynamo is a very huge responsibility. I didn't have much contact with Shovkovskyi when I played for the double. I can only wish him all the best.
- The situation at Zorya also does not leave you indifferent, does it?
- A lot of my friends are still in the team. I watch all their games. I understood that this could happen. We could have tried to keep that team together, invited a few players, and it could have been completely different.
- In one of his interviews, Vitalii Mykolenko said that you visited him and his girlfriend Viktoriia in Liverpool? Did the story have a sequel?
- They are waiting for a return visit (Smiles).
"The Italian who works at our club was shocked that we were not given a penalty in the match against the Italian national team"
- The coach of the national team of Ukraine twice called you to the national team of Ukraine in June and September, but your debut is postponed until 2024. Were you upset about the coach's decision?
- I can't get into Stanislavovych's head. I am very grateful to him for treating me very well. The way the guys accepted me. I gained experience that will help me in the future. Everything has its time. If I keep playing at Sunderland, I will definitely get my chance.
- The referee of the match against Italy did not give a 100% penalty?
- I think so. Sunderland has a goalkeeping coach from Italy (Alessandro Barcherini - ed.). He was shocked that they didn't watch VAR! He apologised to me.
- Could you have imagined in March that Ukraine would be fighting for Euro 2024 directly until the last round?
- I didn't even think about it. People should appreciate the work done by the coaching staff. Our team has strong performers who can play on equal terms against the finalists of the last Euro.
- Will it be easier to make it to the Euros in the Nations League play-offs with such a grid than through the qualifiers?
- It's great that Ukraine still has a chance to get to Euro 2024. To give joy to our people, our military.
"Melgosa is a good choice for the Ukrainian youth team"
- If it so happens that you won't be able to go to Euro 2024, do you see yourself as a potential participant in the 2024 Olympics?
- Can I go?
- The application can include three players over the age of 23.
- I would be happy to go to the Olympics. I am always ready. Let's see what choice Ruslan Petrovych will make.
- The youth team is doing well in the qualifiers for Euro 2025. Do you follow the success of your former team-mates - Batagov and Brazhko?
- I am very happy for them. We have a joint chat, we communicate.
- You once worked at Dynamo U-19 under Unai Melhosa. What is your personal experience of working with the Spaniard?
- I just came to Dynamo and Melgosa worked there. He is a very good specialist, a great choice of players. Despite the difficult times for the country, they demonstrate that they are in no way inferior to the same Englishmen who won the Youth Euro this year.
Now young footballers have a chance to make a great name for themselves in the UPL and play for the national team. They are progressing rapidly at the adult level, which allows them to demonstrate such high results on a par with their peers.
- In your opinion, should the U-21 championship be brought back to Ukraine?
- It is difficult to move from the U-19 to the first team. In U-21, you play with older guys and gain experience. From my experience, I can say that matches for the double helped me a lot. Many guys can get lost in the transition from youth football to adult football. Someone needs more time to play.
- In England, you had experience of playing for the U-21 team. How would you rate the level of those players?
- A very good level. They constantly chop, attack on attack. We were winning 2-0, but instead of playing to the scoreline, the team kept going. It impressed me a lot.
- You came to England when this country became our true ally during the war. Does this further encourage you to show your best at Sunderland?
- I am very grateful for the support and attitude towards Ukraine. I will try to repay them with my game. I want to adapt quickly and meet the expectations of the management and the fans that are placed on me.
Oleksandr Karpenko
