The current head coach of Oleksandriya, Ruslan Rotan, recalled the decisive matches of the 2014/2015 Europa League, in which he took part as a player with Dnipro.
- The 2014/15 Europa League semi-final against Napoli at the Olimpiyskiy. What are your memories of that match? How did the team manage to achieve such a historic result?
- It was a fantastic match. I remember that day very well, the match took place in the pouring rain. The energy and emotions before the match were off the charts, the mood was high, and thanks to it, we managed to reach the final.
- Few people even believed in Dnipro at home, let alone the predictions of European experts and bookmakers. How did you manage to knock out Napoli with Higuain, Hamšík and other top stars?
- We managed to achieve this result because we had a very friendly and strong team, the team was of a high level and had been building for many years. The most important thing is that the guys fought for each other and gave their all on the pitch. The key point is that we were ready to fight for the Dnipro emblem and give all our strength and emotions that we had at the time.
- I can see it now: the spectators ran straight onto the pitch of the capital's stadium. How did Dnipro celebrate their sensational success?
- After the match, everyone around me was rejoicing and celebrating, but I personally had no emotions, I was completely "empty" and didn't even have time to rejoice. In my opinion, we played the best game against the strongest opponent possible in the Europa League, because at that time Napoli was higher in class than Sevilla, despite the fact that the Spaniards had already won this tournament several times.
We felt it in the line-up, in the game, especially in Naples, and we must admit that we were lucky. But in the return match, I think we deservedly won and reached the final.
- How difficult was this season for you personally? The change of coach, the story with the contract extension, the first debts at Dnipro...
- You see, when we were playing, we didn't think about debts. We had a great team, we were going for our goal. It didn't matter to us that we were playing without money, training on fields with knee-deep grass... The most important thing then was to achieve our goal.
I repeat, that team had been built for more than one season, and it was able to demonstrate that we are a single mechanism. I really wanted to win the Europa League and it would have been the best ending for the team, where everyone gave everything they could for this emblem.
- What did you lack to win the final? We scored the first goal, then levelled from the penalty spot in the dressing room. To be honest, even against a rival like Sevilla, Dnipro looked decent. Did you burn out?
- No, I don't think so. In the final, the one who makes fewer mistakes wins. In the first half, everything went according to our scenario, when we won 1-0, everything was in our hands. Then we made a couple of mistakes and Sevilla took the lead, but we still corrected our mistakes.
In the second half, in the first 15 minutes, I had a feeling that we would win. The opponents did not succeed, but again, unfortunately, we made a mistake. We didn't clear the ball out of the penalty area, and the rebound resulted in a missed goal. After that, we stopped doing well, there was also an injury to Mateus and we played out the game in the minority. The second half was not according to our scenario.
- This is Dnipro's highest achievement - and at the same time the beginning of the club's end. Do you agree?
- "The Dnipro of 2015 is the pride of Ukrainian football, the pride of the city. We kept the brand, played for this emblem and for the people who gave their lives for it, for that Dnipro. The most important thing is that Dnipro will always be alive, this emblem is our own, and people will remember that final as a victory.
- In your opinion, if Dnipro had won the final, would it have saved the club?
- I think not. Managers need to love football very much and love this emblem under any circumstances, only then would Dnipro have a chance. Today, I can say for sure that Dnipro had no chance then, and the club's decline was only a matter of time.
Oleksandr Kalinin