After the outbreak of the war, time was divided into before and after. All this had a serious impact on football. Not only professional football. Hundreds of young Ukrainian footballers ended up in Europe.
The name of 18-year-old Danylo Krevsun from the Borussia Dortmund youth team is now a household name. The Ukrainian midfielder has been playing successfully in Germany. He played in 5 out of 6 matches of the UEFA Youth League (his team reached the last 16 in a very difficult group with Milan, Newcastle and PSG) and in the U-19 Bundesliga (West Division) he has 6 goals and 2 assists in 12 matches.
Krevsun's last club in Ukraine was Shakhtar. Then the war broke out. Many families ended up in Europe. Today, Danylo is the biggest loss for Shakhtar among the young players who left. Next summer, he could have been a candidate for Georgy Sudakov's place. Other Shakhtar natives cannot yet boast of such success in Europe. Except for Artem Stepanov of Bayer Leverkusen, who is two years younger and still only plays at the U-17 level.
Dynamo also has its losses. The name of Oleksandr Dragan was on everyone's lips. He immediately ended up at Atalanta. Now he plays steadily at the level of seventeen-year-olds. I think that next season he will be in the primavera. Goalkeeper Oleksandr Petrenko is also successful at Bayer. At the age of 16, he is already playing consistently for the U-19 team. If I'm not mistaken, he played for the first team. They were immediately called up to the 2007 national team of Ukraine.
Now Dmytro Bogdanov's star is rising. The Dynamo Academy graduate ended up in Germany after the outbreak of war at Dynamo Dresden. This season, in seven matches for the U-17s, he scored 5 goals and made 3 assists. At the U-19 level, he scored 6 goals in 7 matches. And this is at the age of 16.
Now Bild has written that Bogdanov will work with Dynamo Dresden's first team at a training camp in Turkey. The club is counting on the Ukrainian international and has signed a long-term contract with him. Dmytro has already played for the Saxons' first team in a friendly match against Czech team Bohemians Prague. The Ukrainian striker made a double in the match against the Czechs. He is publicly praised by the legendary German forward Ulf Kirsten.
"Dynamo Dresden is not a status club like Borussia or Bayer Leverkusen. The team plays only at the level of the third-ranked Bundesliga in Germany. But this has advantages, because it is easier for a young player to get into adult football. The competition is not so high. Plus, the club itself will be maximally interested in the development and further transfer of the player, because he is an asset to the club.
I saw him play in a match for the national team. In November, Volodymyr Yezerskyi's team played in the first qualifier for Euro U-19. Bogdanov was first called up to the Ukrainian national team that year, but he left a very good impression. He is physically fit, fast, persistent, very good in martial arts, and has the ability to outplay an opponent. At the same time, he played not in his position in attack, but on the wing. The coaches were very pleased with his work and dedication in the three qualifying matches.
If everything goes on like this, then in 2-3 years Ukraine will get a player of the national team level from a status club in the Bundesliga. The guy's progress and development is huge. He has all the qualities to be successful in football. The main thing is to think about football, not money. Do not repeat the mistakes that Eric Shuranov once made, who could not decide what he wanted from football. Now he plays only in the Israeli championship. Although he could potentially be (if not for a serious injury) the main forward of the Ukrainian youth national team. The desire to earn more money and change national teams does not always lead to success. Everything has to be done step by step.
Dynamo fans should not feel sorry. This is life. The war has changed a lot. We just need to wish the guy good luck in his further development and keep our fingers crossed for him. I hope that Dmytro Bogdanov will delight the fans at the level of the youth, youth and national teams of Ukraine.
Sergey Tishchenko