Dynamo and Olympiacos legend Oleg Protasov assessed Roman Yaremchuk's prospects in the Greek team.
Oleh Protasov. Photo by V. Rasner- Oleg Valerievich, were you surprised that Yaremchuk chose Olympiacos at the last minute?
- It was a surprise for me. Your Greek journalist colleagues called me the night before yesterday and told me that Roma was coming to sign a contract with Olympiacos in the morning. It was unexpected for me. I told them that the club had made a good choice, just like Yaremchuk. "Olympiacos is now at a serious level, having won the European Cup - the Conference League. I think Yaremchuk will be interested there.
- Yaremchuk has been linked to Trabzonspor for several months. Do you think he made the right choice in terms of football by signing a contract with Olympiacos?
- There is no big difference if you compare the championships, but Olympiacos is more of a people's team, loved by a huge number of people. "Trabzonspor has never won a European tournament, but Olympiacos has. I think Roma made the right choice.
- Did Olympiacos ever ask you about Yaremchuk?
- No, they haven't. If necessary, I will tell them. But so far, they are coping without me, everything is fine.
- In Brugge, Benfica and Valencia, Yaremchuk failed to prove himself 100%. Do you think he will be able to restart his career in Olympiacos?
- In order to fully reveal himself, Yaremchuk needs to get into an atmosphere where he feels comfortable. Then we can expect good results and goals from him. Roman is a very versatile footballer and has many good qualities for a striker. I am very impressed with him. I believe that he will do well at Olympiacos.
- Tell us about Greek football, does it suit Yaremchuk?
- I worked for seven years in the UAF and didn't really follow Greek football, I was engaged in Ukrainian football. I can say that the Greek championship is not the richest league in Europe, but the clubs gather good players. There are four teams that will fight for the championship - Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, PAOK and AEK.
- With whom will Yaremchuk compete for a place in the main team of Olympiacos?
- The main competitor is El-Kaabi. The Moroccan is exactly the same type of player as Yaremchuk, but Roman will be more interesting - he can hold and hold onto the ball. Sometimes they will have to play together on the field, then Roma will have to be a little in the periphery, go down for the ball, move left and right. But it will all depend on the coach, for now it's just fantasy.
Competition is good, it's not interesting without it. I don't think anyone promised Yaremchuk a one hundred percent place in the squad.
- What can you say about the coach of Olympiacos, the Spaniard Jose Luis Mendilibara?
- I don't know him well, but he showed results - he won the Conference League, but failed to win the championship and the Cup. However, he fulfilled the long-held dream of all Olympiacos fans who wanted to win a European trophy someday. Everyone is very happy! This season, he will have the task of winning the Greek championship and the Cup. For such purposes, you need depth in the squad, and they are creating it.
- You know Olympiacos very well. What is the infrastructure there compared to Dynamo?
- Everything is at the highest level! They have their own base, there have never been any problems with the pitches, and there is a hotel with everything the players need. The club is organized very seriously. Dynamo may have a bigger base.
- The fans in Greece are very passionate. Will they give Yaremchuk time if his adaptation is delayed, or do the fans demand everything at once?
- There are very loyal fans there who adore their teams and would do anything for them. I think Yaremchuk will not have any problems. The fans are very loyal to the players. In recent years, Olympiacos has had many foreigners, many of whom did not play, but no one had problems with the fans. They give you time.
- How many goals do you expect from Yaremchuk this season?
- How do I know, I'm not a seer. Sometimes one goal brings victory in a crucial match, and you can score four in an unimportant one and win 5-0. The number of goals doesn't play as big a role as it seems, although a striker is judged by the goals he scores. So we'll see. I wish Roman only success.
- Let's talk about your career at Olympiacos. At that time, they were not very willing to let our players go abroad. How did you manage to move from Dynamo to the Greek club?
- It was 1990, when the departures from the USSR had just begun, and there were already more liberal views. Previously, only a few players were released - Khidiyatullin, Aleynikov, Zavarov, Blokhin.
I came to Olympiacos because Blokhin took over the team and called me and Lytovchenko, then Savichev from Torpedo came. In Milan, there was an example of Gullit-van Basten-Rijkaard. "Olympiacos followed the same path and invited three players and a coach from the same country.
I was pleasantly shocked by the attention of Greek fans. A lot of people met me at the airport. I did not expect this!
- What problems did you face in Greece?
- It was not easy in Greece. There were problems with the president of the club, and financial non-payments when they did not fulfill their obligations. I remember that the then president of Dynamo, Bezverkhyi, even came to deal with the management of Olympiacos.
- Did Bezverkhyi manage to resolve the issue?
- It took a long time. The trials between Dynamo and Olympiacos ended only five years ago. Everything was twisted and did not concern me. All I know is that the clubs reached an agreement, but I don't have any detailed information.
- You said there were delays. Did Olympiacos pay you everything in the end?
- Not quite. Then a new president, Kokolis, came in and paid some, but not all. As it turned out, a German agent stole the money from us. At that time, the agency business was just developing, and Lytovchenko and I hired an agent who was a lawyer to represent our interests. He helped us take the money out and then pocketed it himself. It was painful for us, but these are not the kind of sums that football players operate with now.
- I read about fraud with contracts. It was written that you signed three agreements with Olympiacos. Under the terms of the first contract, you were bought for eight million dollars for five years. The second one had completely different figures: three million two hundred thousand dollars and three years. There was also a third contract: four and a half million dollars, valid for five years. What really happened?
- I don't want to go into this because I wasn't particularly involved in these matters. I think the main topic was how to pay the money - with clean or dirty money. This is usually how it happens. We have passed this topic. Now Olympiacos has a new president, Marinakis, and he's doing well.
- So what contract did you sign?
- At first, I had a three-year contract. Then Kokolis came, paid off part of the debt, and I extended the agreement. A year later, I received an invitation from Japan, I asked for a vacation, and he let me go to Osaka.
- Let's talk about football. Your statistics in Greece are impressive. You scored 50 goals for Olympiacos. How did you feel playing under Blokhin's guidance?
- The methods were the same as in Dynamo under Valery Lobanovsky. I was used to it, so there were no problems. Unfortunately, we failed to win the championship, although we had a good team. But then in Greece, non-football trends were developed. Other teams controlled the refereeing process and influenced decision-making.
- Who did you communicate with the most at Olympiacos?
- With Lytovchenko and Savychev, with Oleg Volodymyrovych a little less, because there was a difference in age. Then we learned the language and made Greek friends.
- Blokhin has a difficult personality. Did he have any conflicts at Olympiacos?
- I know Volodymyrovych's character. Everything happened, but a lot of time has passed and now it's hard to remember anything.
- Let's talk about coaching now. How did you become the head of Olympiacos?
- At first, I was hired as a scout, and at the same time I was running my own academy. Then the head coach Katanets was fired from Olympiacos, and President Kokolis called me. He told me then: "This championship is very important for the club. No Greek team has ever won the championship seven times in a row. I want to win it! I need you to take over Olympiacos!" It was difficult for me to make a decision because I had no coaching experience, but in the end I agreed and fulfilled the task - we became champions.
- How did you celebrate the championship?
- The whole team was taken around the city on a double-decker bus. The people were happy, everyone was celebrating, setting off fireworks. The Greek people know how to celebrate victories.
- Which of the Olympiacos players of that time can you single out?
- We had a fun team: Karembe used to play at Real Madrid, Giovanni - in Barcelona, Castillo, who was then at Shakhtar, was just starting with me, Djordjevic was the captain and leader. These players helped me as much as they could, or rather, did not interfere with my work. They saw that I was not yet an experienced coach. The atmosphere was good.
- How did Karembe and Giovanni behave in the team, did they act like stars?
- No, there was no such thing. They are very calm guys. Karembe and I are still in touch, he works as a sports director at Olympiacos. He's a nice guy! Giovanni is also a very kind person without any "show-offs". I had no problems with anyone.
- And with Castillo? At Shakhtar, he constantly clashed with Lucescu and failed to reveal himself at the Donetsk club.
- When he played under me at Olympiacos, he was very young and was happy that I was giving him a chance to play. We had a good, working relationship.
- Last question. Oleh Valeriiovych, what are your future plans, what are you going to do?
- I can't do coaching anymore. I've worked in the UAF and psychologically I'm not sure that I want to work as a coach anymore. But I intend to stay in football, though I don't know what I'll do. For now, I'm on a creative break and have time to think.
- Do you want to work in Greece or Ukraine?
- For now, I live in both countries. I am already 60 years old and have no problems with moving. Wherever I am in demand, I will work.
Andriy Piskun
