Former Dynamo head coach Oleksandr Khatskevych shared his thoughts on the match between Kyiv and Shakhtar (0-1) in the 28th round of the Ukrainian championship.
- Oleksandr Mykolayovych, did the Classic meet your expectations?
- Given the tournament schedules, the level of play was very high. Both teams were cautious and therefore neither Dynamo nor Shakhtar had any bright moments. Although the game was tense until the end.
- Who can you single out as the best player in the match?
- It's hard to single anyone out because no one wanted to take any risks. Both teams made a lot of mistakes in simple situations. Sudakov and Shaparenko had enough of them. The football was of an average level, more focused on the result. In this game, I will not give the Lion of the Match to anyone, no one played brilliantly, not even Sudakov and Shaparenko.
- According to rumours, Sudakov's clause is worth 150 million euros, and Ihor Surkis wants 300 million for Shaparenko. Who in this match has justified the amount of money he has been asked to pay?
- You can want both 150 million and 300 million, but a footballer is worth exactly as much as he will be paid for. Shaparenko and Sudakov are quite creative guys who can lead teams. Such players cost money. How much? That's another question, and it depends on the buyers.
- Do you think we'll see Sudakov and Shaparenko in the UPL next season or will they go for promotion to Europe?
- First of all, it depends on the clubs' strategy - where and with whom they want to move. But, of course, it's time for Sudakov and Shaparenko to leave, because the Ukrainian championship, unfortunately, cannot be competitive in Europe because of the war. Everything will depend on specific proposals.
- Returning to the Klassik, were there any players in this match who played below their level and did not meet your expectations?
- In the first half, Shakhtar controlled the ball more before scoring, and in the second half, Dynamo controlled it more. In these moments, the first pass from the central defenders is very important. However, neither Shakhtar nor Dynamo were able to move from defence to attack through the first cut-back pass.
- Didn't you think that Dynamo looked weak-willed and lacked aggression, because in this match they only needed to win?
- Both teams approached this match in a very good condition - both in terms of points and play. Whereas Shakhtar likes to attack positively, Dynamo uses space very well and runs out to launch quick attacks.
I cannot say that Dynamo was not aggressive enough. In the second half, Dynamo had more possession of the ball, but we still need to work on positional attacks.
- Why did the team captains, Yarmolenko and Stepanenko, start the match in reserve? Were you surprised by this?
- In any game, the best players come out. Probably, Shovkovskyi relied more on the fast wings, on Voloshin, so Oleksandr Volodymyrovych decided to leave Yarmolenko in reserve. Dynamo's coaching staff must have realised that the team would play the first half without the ball and would need to use the space in attack and the speed of the wingers.
As for Stepanenko, in Shakhtar's last matches, Kryskiv played as a full-back, while Taras only replaced him and was a rotation player. So there are no surprises here.
- How would you rate the refereeing in this match? There was a controversial moment before the penalty when Kryskiv and Sudakov blocked Buyalsky, but the referee did not whistle a foul.
- To be honest, I am impressed with the refereeing of this young man [Oleksiy Derevynskyi]. He is quite confident in refereeing and letting the teams play. At the end of the match, emotions were already running high, but the referee made a great call.
As for the controversial moments, a foul could have been given on Buyalsky, but the referee decided to continue the game, he kept the pace going. Someone would have whistled and been right, someone would not have whistled and also been right. This moment is at the referee's discretion.
- Did Shakhtar deservedly become the champion of Ukraine?
- Shakhtar were stronger this year. They had a smoother run in the league and were more stable throughout the season. But Dynamo lost confidence and aggressiveness in the first round under Lucescu. But with the arrival of Shovkovskyi, after the winter training camp, Kyiv reminded me of Lobanovskyi's team of our time - quick transitions from defence to attack, fragmentary pressure at the right moments, game discipline.
- And if Shovkovskyi had taken over Dynamo at the beginning of the season, could Kyiv have become champions?
- History does not tolerate conditional "if only". There is a club president who makes decisions. Why did Lucescu continue to work at Dynamo after, to put it mildly, a bad season in European competitions and a fourth place in the UPL? This question is better asked to Ihor Surkis.
- What do you expect from Dynamo in the new season under Shovkovskyi?
- Let's wait for the end of this championship and see how the national team will perform at Euro 2024. I hope that the new UPL season will be no worse than the previous one. I want to see new, young and promising high-level players emerge. I hope that each season will bring new emotions and names, and the championship will slowly grow and become competitive.
But the most important thing is the performance of the Ukrainian national team at Euro 2024, because the national team is the face of the country. I want the guys to achieve the result they really deserve.
- What is this result? How should we perform at the Euros?
- A very large group of Ukrainian national team players play in the top championships and are leaders in their teams. I think that Ukraine, with today's selection of players and the level of skill of the team, deserves to be quite high at the European Championships.
- In recent seasons, Dynamo has been failing in European competitions. Can the Kyiv team under Shovkovsky's leadership break this sad tradition and somehow make it to spring?
- You said: "At least somehow make it to spring". In 1997, Lobanovskyi came to Dynamo and was given the task of getting into the Champions League. He said at the time: "We can get there, but what are we going to do there?". That was the question.
Today's Dynamo team, although young, already has experience. There are many players who have played in European competitions. I only wish them to get into the group, and for them not to be just participants, but to reach the play-offs and go as far as possible.
- Does this Dynamo team have a chance to reach the main round of the Champions League through qualification?
- Why not? Dynamo players have been playing together for years. Popov, Tymchyk, Dubinchak, Vivcharenko have been playing together for a long time. They already have experience. In the middle zone, it's the same - the guys have been playing side by side for years. Therefore, we cannot say that the team is inexperienced. But somewhere you need to have a luck factor, because no one has cancelled it in sports. Plus, in qualifying games, you need to give your best.
And what kind of tournament it will be is another matter, given that last season Dynamo didn't even make it to the Conference League. Only in Europe can you test your level and see what you can claim and what kind of footballer you are.
Andrii Piskun