Oleksandr Shovkovskyi won his sixth match in a row after being appointed head coach of Dynamo Kyiv. The leader of this ranking is Jozsef Szabo with 10 victories, which he won almost 20 years ago, in the 2004/05 season. This was the reason to talk to the patriarch of the Ukrainian coaching corps, who celebrated his 84th birthday on 29 February.
- Jozsef Jozsefowicz, do you think Oleksandr will be able to break your record?
- I hope he breaks all the records at Dynamo. I support him with all my heart. He was a very disciplined footballer. He fulfilled all the coaching tasks. He had a good head on his shoulders. He never drank. I took him as a kid from Dynamo-2. In one of the matches for Dynamo-2, Shovkovskyi made a mistake, and the coaches sent him to Dynamo-3. When I found out about it, I immediately took Sasha to the first team. At that time, I was just forming a new team. I also took Kosovskyi and Holovko.
- How do you assess Shovkovskyi's work at Dynamo in general?
- It's a bit early to give an assessment. He is only at the beginning of his coaching career. But I think he will succeed. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. I'm happy for him now.
- What do you think about Lucescu's departure from Dynamo?
- Lucescu is a professional coach. Yes, he hasn't given much to Dynamo lately. For sure. There is a war going on. Apparently, Lucescu's mood was no longer the same. But you can find the positive in everything. Shovkovskyi worked alongside a very qualified coach. For Oleksandr, this is a good experience that he will need in the future.
- Speaking of Dynamo's management. Many years ago, you had a conflict with the Surkis brothers. How are your relations with them now?
- My relations with them are normal. They congratulated me on my birthday. All conflicts are behind us. Today is a war and we cannot quarrel. We have to help each other. They are supporting Dynamo during the war. I respect them for that. They spend a lot of money on the team. Believe me, it is a very expensive pleasure.
- If you had been told 25 years ago that Shovkovskyi would be in charge of Dynamo and Shevchenko would become the president of the UAF, what would have surprised you more?
- I did not think that Shevchenko would become the head of the UAF. I thought that he would continue on the coaching path. Something didn't work out for him at Genoa. Although, in fact, it is clear why. When there is no team, there is no one to implement tasks with. Let's take a Ukrainian example - Sharan at Minai. If you don't have quality personnel, you can't do anything. Let's see if Shevchenko succeeds in the role of UAF president. It seems that all the money that was in the UAF was stolen. I don't know how he will solve this. But I sincerely wish him good luck!
- Jozsef Jozsefowicz, you were born in 1940 in Uzhhorod. At that time, the city already belonged to Hungary. The Hungarians occupied Uzhhorod on 10 November 1938, when Hitler dismembered Czechoslovakia. What was your childhood like?
- There were 7 children in my family - 5 brothers and 2 sisters. I was the youngest. We lived in a normal house. When the Russians came, our house was taken away from us. They moved us to an apartment where soldiers used to live before. My childhood was hard. Very difficult.
- Do you still think in Hungarian?
- I am ashamed of being a Magyar. Orban has been licking Putin's arse for many years. Orban has long been taken over by the Russians. I get calls from journalists from Budapest, and I tell them about it too. They ask me if I'm not afraid to criticise the leader of the state so harshly. I answer that I am 84 years old, who should I be afraid of?
I graduated from a Magyar school, and my family spoke Hungarian. I also speak Slovak, because my family has Slovak roots. When I came to Kyiv in 1959, unfortunately, I studied Russian, not Ukrainian, but Russian. But now I have forgotten Russian. I told my children and grandchildren to forget it too and never speak to Russians.
- During your playing career, you were called a "fascist" because of your Hungarian roots and the fact that Hungary fought on the side of Germany. Do you remember who came up with this?
- It was invented in Moscow. I was very outraged by this. When I came to Moscow with Dynamo Kyiv, I always played against local teams on the verge of a foul. They were afraid of me.
- You've always led a healthy lifestyle and at the age of 70 you were still skiing.
- Yes, but five years ago I had problems with my leg. I had to replace the hip joint. Before that, I was still running. Now I walk. I do exercises. I have not been to my old house in the Carpathians for a long time. It is located near the village of Verkhnye Studene (there is also Nyzhnye Studene), only 800 metres above the village. It is very beautiful there.
Maksym ROSENKO