Football 24interview with the famous midfielder of Dynamo Kyiv and the Romanian national team of the 2000s, Tiberiu Gioane.
Tiberiu Gioane- Tiberiu, on Monday, Ukraine and Romania will start their journey to Euro 2024. What are your expectations from this match?
- As from the first match, probably. A neat game. I think there will be a draw - 0:0 or 1:1.
- Romania has now played two sparring matches - against Bulgaria and Liechtenstein - both of which ended 0-0. What can such a drought in the attack indicate?
- You can never compare friendly matches with official ones. For example, we also beat Moldova in a friendly not so long ago - 5:0. Now you have beaten them 4-0. It doesn't mean anything. Sparring is not even 10 percent of an official match. It's a very big difference.
Ukraine is, of course, the favorite in terms of the lineup. But Romania always plays well when they have to act as a second choice, achieving great results on the counterattack. So I think the Ukrainians will play cautiously. They will not rush forward with great force.
- That is, we will see a completely different Romania than in these sparring matches?
- Of course! We did not lose a single match in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. We were 0-2 down to Switzerland, but at the end of the match we equalized. And at home, we beat them in general. Romania has not lost an official match for a long time. So, I think there are good chances to continue this series.
Ukraine, again, looks more solid - both in terms of names and clubs where the national team players play. But our players won't just take part in the Euros for no reason either.
- Mircea Lucescu did not appreciate the sparring with Liechtenstein. They say that the Mister was disappointed and left the stands before the final whistle...
- I don't know, because I didn't see the whole match. Lucescu attends all the games, he doesn't miss anything. You know him very well. Do you remember when Metalurh Donetsk played someone in the European Cups, and Lucescu was sitting alone in the stadium? Mkhitaryan was still playing for Metalurh, and then they bought him from Shakhtar. No one was at the stadium except Lucescu and a few fans.
- Who from the Romanian national team should Ukrainians pay special attention to?
- Michele and Man - they represent Parma, which is now back in Serie A. These guys are very dangerous on the counterattack. We hope they will score or create chances. They are young, fast, good.
- The last time Romania won the Euros was back in 2000 , when England was beaten 3-2...
- This is our only victory at the European Championships (smiles).
- Do you miss the big victories?
- Of course. What a team we had then! Hadji and everyone else played. However, we managed to win only one match.
- Where were you on that epochal day when Romania defeated England? Do you remember it?
- I remember, of course. I was still a young man then. I was watching the match on TV at home (smiles). Emotions were off the charts! In the last minutes, Viorel Gania scored a penalty and we won 3-2. It was a very good game.
- Returning to Lucescu... Mister believes that the current composition of the national team of Ukraine is the strongest for all the years of independence. What do you think?
- The same. If you look at the squad - from goalkeepers to strikers - everyone plays in big clubs. All of them have improved a lot after leaving Ukraine due to the war. Moreover, they have established themselves in their new clubs.
But you have had good teams and results before - when Shevchenko, Rebrov, Luzhny played. I'll say this: the current squad will rightfully be considered the strongest if Ukraine reaches the semifinals or at least the 1/4 finals.
- Top 3 Ukrainians whom Romanians should be afraid of?
- Of course, Mudryk, Dovbyk, Tsygankov. But I would expand this list far beyond the top three. Malinowski, although he has lost his place in the first team, remains a very good player. He can come on at any time and decide the fate of the match with his beautiful left-footed shot. From Dynamo, this young guy is Shaparenko. And also Sudakov. They are a very good team. I predict that Ukraine will attack, will have a certain advantage, but Romania will survive. 0:0, 1:1 - I think everyone will be satisfied for the first match.
- You once played at Dynamo together with Rebrov and Yarmolenko, who was just starting out. Share your fond memories of them.
- Very good, decent guys. I remember that Rebrov was a model for the whole team. He used to go to the gym before training. He would tell his teammates and give them tips. That is why he has become a good coach now. He worked fruitfully in Hungary, where he led Ferencvaros to the Champions League group stage and played against Dynamo. I think he will have even better results in the future. Yarmolenko is nearing the end of his career. Perhaps he will start working as a coach. Or he will stay at Dynamo and do his job at the club. This Euro is probably the last one for him.
- Another ex-partner of yours, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, is already in charge of Dynamo. Do you watch your club's matches carefully?
- Sometimes I do, yes. SaSho took over the team when it was in 5th-6th place and brought it back to the championship race. We fought for the title until the last rounds. I think he has a huge win ratio. Perhaps the highest among all Dynamo coaches. They trusted him, and he succeeded. Now I'm waiting for Dynamo's games in the Champions League qualifiers.
- What did Lucescu fail to do? Mircea's first season at Dynamo was very good, but then...
- It's hard for me to assess. I didn't see many matches back then. You know how it goes: something goes wrong, there is no result, the coach suffers. Wherever Lucescu coached, he had good results. And Dynamo was no exception - in the first season, they won the championship and the Cup. But then came the war and everything else. It was not easy.
- With whom do you have the warmest relationship on the team?
- I've been on the phone with Vasya Kardash most often. Maybe I'll go to the match in Munich now and meet someone there.
- Vladyslav Vashchuk, another former teammate, went to war. Do you know about it?
- No, I didn't know. It's the first time I've heard from you.
- He joined the ranks of the Armed Forces last year. Did you ever expect him to be such a warrior?
- No, of course not. Who could have ever thought of that? That there would be a pandemic someday, and then a war.
- How do you personally feel about the tragedy of a country close to you?
- I believe that at any moment this war can spread to Europe. Everyone is saying: "NATO, NATO". But if NATO wanted to, it would help Ukraine better. I think Romania and Poland are in a very dangerous situation. No one can be sure that they will be spared. Two years ago, it was hard to believe that Kyiv would be affected. But the war has come and there is no telling when it will end.
- I see that you have a good handle on the agenda.
- Yes, more or less.
- What else does your daily routine consist of besides football and war?
- I take care of my child. My son is growing up, he is now 11 years old. I try to spend as much time with him as possible - go somewhere, see something. Does he play football? No, not at all (laughs). He doesn't even want to hear about football. It's not so easy to become a football player.
Oleh Babiy
