Serhii Krakovskyi: "It's normal to be dissatisfied with something..."

Former goalkeeper and coach of Dynamo Kyiv Serhii Krakovskyi, who now works for Polissia, gave an interview in which he told us a lot of interesting things.

Serhii Krakovskyi (photo: football24.ua)

- Serhii Viktorovych, how would you assess your career as a footballer?

- It's normal to be dissatisfied with something. In certain episodes and matches, I could have played better or differently. It all comes with experience and time. In general, I am satisfied with my football career. I won the championship, the Cup, played in European competitions, played for the youth team and got into the USSR national team.

- Now I have the opportunity to watch matches from the past. Do you watch anything from your former games?

- Yes, sometimes I see Dnipro in 1983. There are some episodes of the Cup when we won. Unfortunately, I don't have the whole match. Of course, I remember it. You remember the guys you played with. Some of them are no longer around.

- In 1983, Dnipro became the champion of the USSR. What was the strength of that team?

- The first round was difficult and not particularly good. But the dedication was high. In the last minutes, we snatched the victory. It was all thanks to motivation and dedication.

When you work hard and do your best, you gain success, experience, skill, and improve your level. Some people rise quickly. Gennadiy Lytovchenko was already playing in 1983, while Oleg Protasov was able to prove himself later. At first, he came out for 20-30 minutes, and then stability came. They grew up in the team. There were older players to look up to in training and games. That's why the team grew.

- Dnipro reached the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, where they lost to Bordeaux in a penalty shootout. How often do you remember the matches against the French?

- I can't say that often. We talk about it when we meet with the guys. But it rarely happens because we were scattered all over the world. Someone stayed in Dnipro, someone in Kyiv, someone abroad. Everyone has their own job. When we meet, of course, we remember different matches. Not just Bordeaux. It was a very difficult match against Bulgarian Spartak. We lost 1-3 away and won 2-0 at home. This shows the spirit of the team, the strength of the team from within. The opponents had 7-8 players from France and Bulgaria. Fernando Shalana was the captain of the Portuguese national team.

- You saved a penalty kick from Shalane during the match against Bordeaux, but in the post-match series you did not save anything. Was it offensive?

- I was very upset. In the penalty shootout, somehow it didn't work out from the first kick. If I had made the right decision, everything would have been different.

- You played for Dynamo's double. Was it difficult to travel from Kyiv to Dnipro?

- It was a bit difficult. Kyiv is Kyiv. When I came to Dnipro, I grew up. The attitude towards a player in the main team of the Premier League and a player in the main team of the double is different. The only difficulty was that my wife and I were studying at the institute. She could not be with me. She came to visit me in episodes.

When we reached the major league, it was a pleasant experience. I felt like a grown-up. Physically, I became a year older, and in football terms, a few years older. I made the transition from youth to adult football.

- What are your memories of Valerii Lobanovskyi?

- Everyone says that he was afraid of him. I didn't have any of that. Only respect. I talked to him calmly. There was more communication during the transition to Dnipro. In general, Valerii Vasylovych treated the players well. He was strict. But there was nothing to scold me for.

- You had only one match for Dynamo. Why couldn't you play in Kyiv?

- Viktor Yurkovskyi and Mykhailo Moskalenko were there. Yura Syvukha had just come back from the World Cup in Tunisia with a victory. All three of them were older, so it was hard to compete with them.

I almost always played in the double. When Yurii Romenskyi was recruited, Yurkovskyi started playing for the youth team. I talked to Puzach at the time. Anatolii Kyrylovych explained everything to me. A player in the first team should get stable playing practice. At that time, the double was a strong team. The first team didn't always win.

- You were in the USSR national team's bid for the World Cup in Mexico. Could the team have won the tournament?

- I don't know about the World Cup, but we had to beat the Belgians.

- What happened in the dressing room after the match against Belgium?

- I can't say that it was anything special. The game was already lost. If you throw your boots against the wall, you can't change anything. Everyone was upset.

- Did you position yourself as the third goalkeeper after Rinat Dasayev and Viktor Chanov, or did you plan to play?

- First of all, it was prestigious to be selected for the World Cup. I understood that at any moment I could become first or second. This is football, anything can happen. So I trained and prepared. If the opportunity arose, I was ready to go on the pitch.

- After your career as a goalkeeper, you started working as a goalkeeper coach. How much have the requirements changed?

- The main difference is footwork. Previously, this component was not treated so carefully. When I went to Israel, I had to adjust quickly. I had to train individually. We had our own stadium. You could come and train at any time. I had problems with my feet. This is natural, because we didn't play like that in the USSR. I took the ball and practised passing. But back then, there was no such thing as a goalkeeper having to start the attack. Now there is more pressure. They have to play like field players.

- You stayed in Israel for three years. How do you like the legionnaire's bread?

- The first year was hard. Then I got used to it. It helped that my family was there. I went to training, came back and was back home again. Before a home game, I would come home, get ready, change clothes. If it was an away game, then over the course of three years we left only 7-8 times the day before the match, and so - only on the day of the match. My son told me that he got used to me. But in the USSR, there were constant training camps and visits to the base. I hardly ever saw my family.

- What was the level of local football compared to the USSR?

- The level was lower, but they were all technical. They did not hit hard, but accurately. There were also good players there. David Pisanti played in England for Queens Park Rangers and German Cologne, as well as for the Israeli national team. He had good speed. I played against Eli Ohana. He also played for the national team, he was the main forward. But he never scored a penalty for me. I missed an 11-metre penalty in Jerusalem when the score was tied.

- How do you like the climate in Israel?

- It was difficult at first. Training starts at 9 am. You can't start later because it's hot. When the coach gave speed to the players - movement with the ball, a shot on goal - I got the most. There were twenty field players, and I was the only one. The second goalkeeper could not always come to training in the morning because he was studying at the institute. It was hard. In the evening it's easier because the temperature drops. In the summer, we gathered only at the end of August because of the climate. We went abroad for training - Germany, Holland, Romania. We tried to choose places with mountains. It was cooler in the highlands.

- Why did you decide to return to Ukraine?

- I didn't plan to stay there. My daughter had to go to third grade and my son to first grade. The family wanted to return home. There was an offer to stay. Financially, there was a very good option in the Arab League. I went there, looked at it and decided that it would be difficult for me alone.

- How different were the finances in the USSR and Israel?

- I was paid in dollars there. I immediately converted almost everything into this currency. I kept the essentials. Compared to the USSR, it was more. Even in the first league of the Israeli championship.

- Khimik (Zhytomyr). How did you end up there?

- Through Leonid Yakovlevich Koltun. He was invited to coach there. He called and offered to go. I agreed to go.

It was 1994. It was my first team where I worked after my career as a goalkeeper was over. I was responsible for the goalkeepers and did the warm-ups. When Leonid Yakovlevych had to leave, I conducted training sessions. It was not difficult for me.

- In 2007-2009, you worked for Dynamo Kyiv. How do you remember this period for yourself?

- I invited Stas Bohush. Oleksandr Shovkovskyi didn't do well. He was injured, his personal life was not going well. Somehow, everything did not work out for him. There was a bad streak. One bad game, then another. It was uncomfortable. I missed optional balls.

Semin said that we needed a goalkeeper. He just had to be a Ukrainian, so as not to fall under the limit. I chose Bogush. I talked to the coaches with whom he had worked in the youth teams. I made my choice.

Stas was not the main goalkeeper in Zaporizhzhia. He and Dmytro Bezotosnyi shared the game practice, playing in turns. I could say I took a chance and mentioned the name: "We need Bogush". Then the club managers agreed with each other.

Stanislav played well for a year and a half. Almost without mistakes. It hurt Shovkovskyi to not play in his home club. Sasha then had a different attitude to work and everything else. He overcame himself. After that, he played for a long time, almost 10 years.

- Why didn't Bogush go further?

- He lost the competition to Shovkovsky. This is the strength of character. It depends on the person whether you can pull yourself together at the right time.

- You worked with the Ukrainian national team born in 2001. Anatolii Trubin went through you. Did you immediately notice his potential? What is the phenomenon of this goalkeeper?

- In his character. At first, he was capricious, didn't know which way to channel his emotions, just like Mykhailo Mudryk. And then he focused all his attention on football and he started to succeed. Anatolii has not yet said his last word. "Benfica is not the limit of his capabilities.

- Were you surprised that he went to Europe at the age of 22?

- Absolutely not. It was the right decision. He is a conscious guy, he understands everything.

- Now in the U-19 team, David Fesyuk is the main goalkeeper. How would you assess the potential of the Haiduk goalkeeper?

- A very good guy who has not yet realised his potential. David is constantly improving and working on himself. There is something to work on, he consults me. He also has good coaches at Haiduk. At the age of 18, Fesyuk is absolutely fluent in English, German, Croatian and Slovak. The guy is very serious and conscious. I think he should succeed.

- Former Hajduk coach Tomislav Rogic said that he had never seen a faster goalkeeper than Fesiuk. Did David impress you with his footwork?

- His speed and reaction are at a very high level. The only problem is that he lacks a little bit of size. This scares some coaches away. But everything will come with time. There is no need to make a tragedy out of it. He has other strengths.

- Fesyuk is linked to Man City and Valencia. Will he be able to play at that level?

- Of course he can. He is a serious guy. He takes everything very seriously. When I found out that Vlad Kravets would play against Slovakia in the last round of the Euro U-19 qualifiers, I was not offended. He continued to work on himself and prepare for the game.

- Kravets plays in Ukraine for Shakhtar, while Fesyuk plays abroad for Hajduk. Is there a difference in the training of these goalkeepers at the club level?

- Ukrainian clubs also work with goalkeepers. There is no global difference in terms of training between them. They are different by nature. Kravets is bigger, but not as fast as Fesyuk.

- During the Euro U-19 qualifiers in Malta, the goalkeepers were the captains. Fesyuk played two matches with the captain 's armband, and Kravets played one match . Is this a conscious choice?

- They both deserved it.

- Dynamo goalkeeper Viacheslav Surkis, born in 2006, is invited to the U-19 team. He was with the team in a friendly tournament in Korea and during qualification in Malta. How do you assess his potential?

- He plays consistently for Dynamo's youth team. Surkis needs to work on his strength, speed and ball handling. In general, Viacheslav has a huge potential. The guy is very good. His time has not yet come. He takes his work very seriously. If he says something, he does it the right way in the next training session. It's easy to work with such people. I am lucky to have three such goalkeepers.

- How would you rate the generation of 2005?

- When they first got together, I told Oleg Vladimirovich Kuznetsov: I have never seen players play like this right away. With these guys, you can solve problems.

- In Malta, you lost to Kosovo 0-4 in the second round. What happened?

- We conceded a quick goal due to a defensive mistake. We ran to win back. We conceded the second, third, fourth. This happens in football. It was not our day.

- Name the most promising goalkeepers in Ukraine.

- We have them - Fesyuk, Kravets and Surkis. Plus Vlad Krapyvtsov from Dnipro. Sviatoslav Vanivskyi and Markiyan Bakus should not be discounted.

- Of the European clubs, which goalkeeper impresses you?

- Today - Andriy Lunin. There is a big difference between the Lunin who used to play for Real Madrid and the one who is playing now. He has grown a lot.

- You are currently working at Polissia. Tell us about your work.

- I work with young people. The Polissia school existed earlier, when the club was in communal ownership. I coached children from 7-8 and up to 17-18 years old. Now I work at the club's academy. We mostly stay at the base, and if necessary, we go to the city - to the Spartak stadium.

- The club from Zhytomyr is developing. How do you like the conditions?

- Polissia has a new base, two new pitches, and good facilities. The second base has been renovated. Another floor has been added, and the U-19s live at this base. There are all the conditions for work.

- You know Yurii Kalitvintsev from your time together in the Ukrainian national team. Did he invite you?

- No, I worked here even earlier, when Serhii Shyshchenko was the coach in the First League. Yurii Mykolaiovych came to the club later.

- Zhytomyr region is rich in talent. Do young players have any prospects?

- Good guys are not only from Zhytomyr. Now we have the opportunity to invite not only locals, but also talents from Zakarpattia, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.

- You were in occupation during the full-scale war. Can you tell us more about it?

- The children were sent to Kyiv, and we were under occupation for 38 days. Two tanks came to our village of Mykhailivka-Rubezhivka. There was food. Water was pumped through a generator and phones were charged. It saved us. We cooked food on firewood. There was no other way to survive.

Serhii Tyshchenko