Anatoliy Doroshenko: "Dynamo refused twice"

Anatolii Doroshenko, a well-known midfielder of Odesa's Chornomorets in the 1970s, told how he had twice turned down Dynamo Kyiv.

- You played for Valery Lobanovsky in the Ukrainian national team at the 1979 Spartakiad. Did he call you to Dynamo then?

- Twice. However, nothing depended on me. Unfortunately, the development of medicine at the time did not allow us to diagnose the cause of my heart malfunction. As it turned out, I had a neutral acidity. It had to be raised by a certain diet: dry wine, apple cider vinegar. Then all the enzymes would work properly.

- In fact, in your prime, did you have to put football on hold?

- I think it would not have been limited to Dynamo. I would have made the national team. Valery Vasilyevich treated me well, let me prove myself on the pitch, I had complete trust. "Play your own football," Valery Vasilyevich said. "In fact, I regret it - I should have agreed to come to Dynamo as soon as possible.

- You just didn't believe in yourself?

- I was afraid that my health would not allow it. I gave up football because of that. Now I can only remember the past and regret it.

Liubomyr Kuzmyak