Akhmed Alibekov: "I promised my father that I would play at Dynamo"

Former Dynamo midfielder Akhmed Alibekov told us why he chose Dynamo over Shakhtar.

"I got the opportunity to join Dynamo's academy after my final year at Metalurh. We won the DUFL with the U-17s and that's when I had conversations with Dynamo and Shakhtar. It didn't work out immediately because I already had a contract with Metalurh. So at first I started playing in the U-19 of my home team, but six months later the club went bankrupt and I moved to Kyiv.

Why did you choose the White and Blues over the Pitmen? Because I promised my father that I would play for Dynamo. Back when I was playing in the U-13s, I had an unpleasant situation with the capital's club. I was invited to a viewing, arrived, trained for a month and then we were told: "We will apply. You need to undergo a medical examination and take photos for the application".

But after that, the coaches told me that I was slow in the tests. Therefore, I will not be accepted to live at the academy. And if my parents manage to move to the capital, they will be happy for me to play. At that time, my parents did not have such an opportunity. Later, they did not want to return me to Metalurh. We trained together with my father, and I made a promise: "I'm going to get to Dynamo anyway. So when it came to choosing whether to go there or to Shakhtar, I chose Dynamo," Alibekov said.