Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Oleksandr Aliyev shared his memories of his former teammate Serhiy Rozhko, who recently died in the war.
Alexander Aliyev- ...He and I played together for Dynamo-2, the junior and youth teams, and then we crossed paths at the Juniors. Serhii was a great player - technical, clever, intelligent. I really enjoyed playing with him in the centre of the pitch, I had a lot of fun.
I called him a phlegmatic player, he was always on his own. Serhii could both screw up a moment and make a candy out of shit.
...We had gangs: me and Milevsky, Dimka Vorobey and Sytnyk, and Rozhok and Yatsenko. But at the races, we always got on well.
As a person, Seryozha was quiet and calm, but when he was in the mood, he could tell great jokes. Sometimes I even cried because of his humour, and now I'm crying because I'm sad that Serhii is no longer with us.
...Serhii Anatoliiovych Bohachyk was our coach at Dynamo-2, may he rest in peace. He always fed the cats at second base. One night, when we were at the race, the cats started fighting and screaming. And Rozhko's windows faced that way, so he could hear the howling very well.
Seryozha couldn't stand it, grabbed his toy gun with bullets, started shooting at the cats and shouting: "You're bullshitting me, how much can you scream?" His shout woke up everyone on the base. Don't worry, none of the cats were hurt, Serhii just scared them away."
...Why didn't the coaches of the Dynamo first team pay attention to Rozhko? Probably, it was fate. Not everyone is called up to the first team. But I was with him on the pitch and saw his level, so I can safely say that he deserved to play in the Dynamo first team and the Ukrainian national team. It's a shame that the coaches didn't see that.
...The last time I saw Rozhko was 4-5 months ago. I came to a friendly game of Sturm. Serhii was also there in his military uniform, he had just returned from the front line. I remember what he said: "It's very, very loud at the frontline". I answered him: "The main thing is to take care of yourself. Hang in there, mate".
I believe that every man should fight for the honour of his country. Rozhok is from Slavutych and a true patriot of Ukraine. I am proud to have known him and to have played in the same team. I will always remember Serhiy as a cheerful, positive and decent person. He died a hero and we will do even more for him at the front. You will see, the occupiers will feel it," said Aliyev.
