Yuriy Vernydub: "I am very proud of Lunin"

Ukrainian coach Yuriy Vernydub was one of the specialists under whose guidance Andriy Lunin's skills grew. Having joined Zorya Luhansk, the goalkeeper successfully played the 2017/18 season, attracting the attention of agents and scouts from various clubs. The Kryvbas coach told Sport.ua about the goalkeeper's development and his brilliant performance in the Champions League match against Manchester City last Wednesday.

Yuriy Vernydub

- I am very proud of Andriy. What else is there to say when a person has written his name in big letters in the history of the Spanish giant and the Champions League. I watched the whole Manchester City vs Real Madrid match and I'm very glad it happened. Lunin is a great player. I can say the best things about him. He deserves it.

- Do you remember the 2017/18 season, which Andriy Lunin spent at Zorya under your leadership after Dnipro's disbandment?

- If Andrii had stayed in Dnipro and continued to play in the Second League in 2017/18, and then the following year in the First League, do you think he would have been able to progress? I think it's unlikely that he would have gained what he did in just one season in the elite for Zorya. I'm not talking about a call-up to the national team, where he made his debut in 2018. Anyway, Lunin's move to Zorya was an important acquisition. Both for the player and the club. I remember when he first joined our team, I told him: "Andrii, I guarantee that you will play. We'll try to develop you as best we can by giving you more game practice. The most important thing is for you to be able to prove your worth through your hard work and attitude to football in general." And that's exactly what he did.

I even had to sacrifice goalkeeper Oleksiy Shevchenko to some extent, whom I immediately warned that he would have to be patient. I understood that Lesha did not want to waste time and joined Karpaty. He played well for half a season in Lviv, was invited to Shakhtar and signed a contract with them. However, let's get back to Lunin. No matter what anyone says, the fact remains that he joined Real Madrid from Zorya. And thank God that this transfer took place.

- What words of advice did you say to him before he left for Madrid?

- I wished him the most important thing - health. And also to add to the determination and desire to work that he was endowed with. Although Lunin was then predicted to play the role of second or third goalkeeper, as well as the prospect of playing on loan at another club, I still believed in him. I knew the character of this player, his potential. When Andriy was in Madrid to sign the contract, he spoke to Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui. Lunin was already given the opportunity to prove himself: he went to the training camp with the new team. I am sure that having a chance, the guy started trying to use it in every way possible. For him, even then, the minimum task was to be one of the three Real Madrid goalkeepers. Year after year passed, and he proved his worth, gaining trust and making himself respected.

- You and Andrey Lunin crossed paths in football a little over two and a half years ago, when you were in charge of Moldovan Sheriff. Did you talk to him after your team's sensational victory at the Santiago Bernabeu?

- Yes, I did. We talked for just five minutes at the stadium immediately after the game. I understood Andriy's mood at that moment, so I didn't want to burden him once again. Before that, Lunin had helped me a lot in fulfilling my grandson's request to get Luka Modric's shirt. So I was returning from Madrid with a sense of fulfilment, for which the grandfather received a phone call of gratitude from his grandson.

- What do you think Lunin's immediate future might look like?

- He has now worked very well for a new contract at Real Madrid. I think that Andriy will have a headache now, both from the offers and from the thoughts of whether to stay in Madrid or not. As far as I remember, he has always wanted to play at the royal club. Dreams come true, and it's good that it happened.

- Real Madrid is recognised by FIFA as the best club of the twentieth century and has one of the largest number of awards and trophies in the world. So if we take into account the well-known saying "You don't look for a good thing from a bad thing", does it make sense for a Ukrainian goalkeeper to move somewhere else?

- It really does. I think he will stay in Madrid. Although Andriy must decide for himself what to do. He needs to consider where he will be better off and what he can expect.

Andrii Pysarenko