Dnipro-1 midfielder Valentyn Rubchynskyi summed up the results of the first part of the season for his team and outlined its future tournament prospects.
Valentyn Rubchynskyi. Photo - scdnipro1.com.ua- Was the winter break timely for Dnipro-1?
- We were almost the first to start playing. By the end, we were already a bit fed up. It's good that we had a result at the end of the season, which gave the team inspiration.
- What was the key to Dnipro-1's rise to the top after a terrible start to the season?
- Newcomers joined the team in the summer. They had no time to adapt. It took time for us to learn each other's style of play. This was the key to overcoming the crisis.
- Did Artem Dovbyk's departure to Girona hit the team hard?
- It was hard. The whole game of Dnipro-1 was built around Artem and we had to learn to play without Dovbyk. Then Oleksandr Filippov arrived and became a good replacement. He started scoring and making assists.
- Which matches against which opponents do you remember the most?
- This season's victory over Shakhtar (3-1). We didn't start well, conceded a quick goal, lost the tempo. Then we managed to establish the game and win back. It became easier, they caught our game and never gave it away.
- Dnipro-1 started the season with Oleksandr Kucher, but after the first matches he resigned after a series of unsuccessful results. Where did the mechanism that led Dnipro-1 to second place last season break down?
- I think we failed the training camp. We prepared in Uzhhorod, but the opponents were not at the same level as Panathinaikos. Secondly, 5-6 people came to the team, we had to play together and feel the rhythm.
We did everything the coaching staff asked us to do. Somewhere it didn't work out, there was no result. Good matches alternated with bad ones. This is not the fault of Oleksandr Mykolayovych [Kucher] alone, but of all the players.
- When did you realise that you had reached a turning point?
- We have a very good team that did not lose heart. A new coach came in and gave us some emotions. We returned to Dnipro and it went from there.
- Were you not afraid of moving to Dnipro, which is close to the war zone? In Uzhhorod, the situation is radically different.
- All Ukrainians were ready to leave. No one was afraid. If Kryvbas is playing at home, why can't we?
- But the legionnaires, it seems, were not all ready...
- I understand the decision of the legionnaires.
- When the match with Oleksandriya lasted for 5 hours, did you think that such a thing did not happen in Uzhhorod?
- It was very hard to play for 5 hours, but we were understanding about it. In general, it's good that we can play football at such a time, even if it's for 5 hours.
- Dnipro-1 will long be remembered for the fact that you are the first club in history to be eliminated from all UEFA tournaments in one season. What can you say about the rivals you played against in the European competitions?
- It was unpleasant to be eliminated from three European competitions. We got into such a time when there was a decline in the team. Last year we played in the Conference League group, this year we didn't go anywhere, and next time we may go even further.
In the first match against Panathinaikos, we failed in the second half, missed several counterattacks, but the game was even. In Athens, we put up a fight, we could have pressed the opponent, but we lost many players due to poisoning.
The first game against Slavia didn't go well, they tactically and physically outplayed us, and then it was difficult to come back from 0-3 down.
The relegation from Spartak was a cumulative effect. Defeat after defeat, then the coach left. We went into the return leg under Valery Gorodov and Yevgeny Baryshnikov.
- Did it not come to mutual accusations within the team?
- No one was looking for someone to blame. Everyone understood that you can only blame yourself. Maybe that's why the result came later.
- In terms of its potential, could Dnipro-1 have qualified for the European autumn despite all the troubles?
- If we had played like we did in the middle of the championship, we could have counted on success.
- What did Yurii Maksymov do to pull Dnipro-1 out of the crisis?
- Time passed, we became more coherent and started winning. The mood in the team improved.
- Has the game of Dnipro-1 changed much since the arrival of the new coach?
- He said that we are all good players with the ball. We are very strong in attack, but we need to be more aggressive in taking the ball away and adding to the pressure. We have to play on equal terms with all the teams in the championship.
- Did you feel Maksymov's personal influence on you?
- When he arrived, he had individual conversations with everyone. He wanted to know everything about everyone. What kind of character does everyone have, what components of the game need to be improved. And it did us good.
- After such a successful series, what can Dnipro-1 expect in the second half of the season?
- "If we have a good training camp, no injuries, no one is lost, we have every chance of competing for the championship.
- Are you ready to take over as leader if Pikhalenok or Svatok leave the team in winter?
- Their departure will be a big loss for Dnipro-1. As Dovbyk's example showed, if we have an equivalent replacement and time to play together, we will definitely not lose in quality.
- Last season, Dnipro-1 fought for the championship with Shakhtar and Zorya. Now the number of contenders has increased.
- I think the fight will continue until the last round. That makes it all the more interesting. No one will want to concede.
- What do you think of the level of this championship?
- Now the teams are more or less equal. Each team can surprise the opponent. We can beat Shakhtar and lose to Vorskla. Similarly, our rivals can lose points. That makes it all the more interesting.
- Which of the UPL teams surprised you in a good way?
- Shakhtar have improved their organisation and game pattern since the arrival of their new coach. "Kryvbas play very aggressive football, which is quite difficult to resist. Everyone defends and attacks. It's a typical team.
- The number of penalties increased in the first half of the season. Is this a consequence of the presence of VAR at every match?
- I think so. If without VAR something could be overlooked or regarded as a yellow card foul or nothing at all, then with VAR it can give a false impression of the limit of severity at a given moment, and in the dynamics everything looked completely different.
- Which of your teammates deserves to be invited to the national team of Ukraine?
- We have been fighting for the championship for the second season and the representation of Dnipro-1 could be much greater, we have very good players. I believe that Ruslan Babenko, Oleksandr Filippov and Oleksiy Hutsulyak can create quality competition.
Oleksandr Karpenko
