Former Dynamo forward Viktor Leonenko has shared his expectations for the second part of the 2023/2024 Ukrainian league season.
- Who will become the champion?
- Shakhtar have the best chance. They started earlier than anyone else, although sometimes European Cups do not bring happiness if you go too far. This was shown at Dynamo by comrade Lucescu, who was always hampered by European competitions. In addition, Shakhtar are the most balanced team in the UPL, plus they continue to get stronger.
- Who will take places two to four?
- I will give the second place to Dynamo. They have to improve their position compared to last season. Why not first? We don't know whether Shovkovskyi will succeed. He is just trying his hand at the head coaching position. We also don't know what the squad will look like, because Dynamo focuses on the academy. Although this is just an excuse - that we have all our own. Who cares if the academy is ranked fourth? Let Zavarov and Bezsonov come out, the main thing is to get a result. There are serious requirements at this level, and we are all fussing.
Dnipro-1 will be third, Kryvbas fourth, and Polissia fifth. "Kryvbas looks good and is getting stronger. Polissia also buys a lot of players. A lot depends on where the teams play. "For some reason, Dynamo play their away game against Metalist 1925 in Kyiv at Lobanovskyi Stadium. And there are a lot of such "why's" in our championship. The home stadium also gives you an advantage.
Remember how many games Dynamo played at home under Rebrov? More precisely, under Rebrov and Riancho, because they were both in charge. The second coach doesn't behave like Riancho - he doesn't run around waving his arms.
Won't Kryvbas and Polissia fail in the second round, like Girona, which started confidently and then started to slip? Anything can happen. "Girona are just finding their feet now. Rivals have started to pay attention to them.
- Who will be relegated from the UPL?
- Zorya will definitely not be relegated, they still have matches to play. I think Minaj and Veres will be relegated. These teams have shown nothing during the season and have not bought normal players. Minaj also fired Sharan, who did something.
And any team can play in head-to-head matches, everyone is the same at the bottom of the table. "Metalist 1925 should fight for serious tasks. Firstly, Skrypnyk is a good coach, and secondly, the team has a decent sponsor. They should be at the top. But how can Metalist 1925 play normally if they play their home game against Dynamo away?
- Who will be the best scorer?
- I want the best scorer to be not a fluke, like Kulach once was, who later became useless. I don't see a standout scorer in our league right now, I don't like anyone. Does Vanat score consistently? Who does he score for? How many goals has he scored in European competitions? Vanat just breaks goalkeepers, gets stupid red cards. In our league, anyone can become the best scorer because the level is weak.
Will Supryaga be able to compete with Vanat? You talk about Vanat as if he has scored 30 goals. Supryaha has everything! First of all, it's speed, if he has any left. But he needs to learn to play football. He, like many of our forwards, doesn't know what to do when he goes one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
How many goals would I have scored in this championship if I had played in top form? I would just ask the president of Dynamo: "Who and how many goals should I score?" and I would easily fulfil the request. However, not with these players, who are in fourth place.
Andriy Piskun