Oleg Kuznetsov: "Dynamo's class is much higher than Rangers'"

Former Dynamo Kyiv defender Oleh Kuznetsov told what he expects from his former team's return match with Scottish side Rangers in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League to be held today in Glasgow and recalled his performances for the White and Blues.

- Oleg Volodymyrovych, what do you expect from the return leg between Dynamo and Rangers?

- Before the first game, I said that Dynamo would beat Rangers. And it was all going to happen, we just failed to keep the score that would suit Dynamo. Now both teams have a 50/50 chance of progressing.

The class of Dynamo players, individually and as a team, is much higher than Rangers. In the matches with Partizan, we saw how well Dynamo keeps the ball down, rolling it out on counterattacks. We will definitely not see anything supernatural in the performance of Rangers in Glasgow. They won't be able to surprise Dynamo.

- You used to play at Hampden Park, you know what awaits the current generation of Kyiv players there. Will Dynamo be able to psychologically withstand the pressure of this stadium?

- The team consists of experienced players, so the factor of Scottish fans will not affect the team too much.

- Which player did you like the most in the first match? Who should we hope for in Glasgow?

- I would like to mention the midfield. Shaparenko, Buyalsky, Pikhalonok looked good. The same Yarmolenko also. We saw how Bragaru and Voloshin added freshness. Whoever wins in the center of the field wins the match.

- In the first match, Rangers tried to play their own football, but fell into the sheds, which allowed them to escape. Can the Scots get away with it on their own field?

- I think it will be a close game. "Rangers are very raw right now. By and large, the team is just getting into the season, they have played only two rounds in the championship (Dynamo has played only one game - ed.). Each team will try to catch the opponent in a mistake.

- Have you received a call from Rangers' representatives inviting you to attend the game?

- Over the past 20-25 years, I have not had any contacts with Rangers. I know that Oleksiy Oleksandrovych Mykhailychenko is going to attend the match because he is with his family in London and it is easier for him to get to Glasgow. If invited, I would attend the match.

"At Dynamo, we used to watch tapes of rivals' games. "At Rangers, we didn't do any theory at all"

- Let's talk about your adventures in Scotland. You became a Rangers player in 1990. The Iron Curtain had fallen not only politically, but also for players of your generation a chance to make a name for themselves in Europe.

- That's right, but the story started two years earlier, when Dynamo were eliminated by Rangers in the European Champions Cup. At Euro 88, they had already come to watch me. The initiative came from the legendary Graeme Souness. For a long time, Rangers were leading me.

It came as a surprise to me that I was allowed to leave earlier than my senior teammates deserved. When I got there, there was a crazy team. There were 4 English teams playing there, 5-6 people representing Scotland. Everywhere you looked, there were stars. "Rangers were head and shoulders above the rest.

- How did Rangers' dominance manifest itself at the turn of the 80s and 90s?

- 44 games in the championship, and by the New Year the gap was such that it was difficult to reach Rangers. At that time, Celtic was worse, the games were passable.

- Did you have any other offers in hand?

- It so happened that after the European Championship, everyone started to leave slowly. The decisive factor was a conversation with Lobanovsky, who told me: "Rangers are interested in you. Plus, the money for the transfer will be a good help for Dynamo, and you won't regret it." And Valerii Vasylovych was right.

- "How did the negotiations with Rangers go with the participation of Sovintersport?

- At that time, I had already signed a five-year contract. In terms of terms, it was something crazy. I know for sure that Dynamo got money for me to join the club, and I was offered good conditions. Later, I found out from Zavarov and Baltacha that they gave money to Sovintersport out of their monthly salaries. Fortunately, I was not affected.

- Did they put spokes in your wheels?

- There were no obstacles. At that time, Dynamo could have sold all the players of that team and made a lot of money, but Lobanovskyi wanted this process to go gradually. First, Zavarov and Baltacha left, then Mykhailychenko, then me, Protasov, and Lytovchenko. It's a pity that Bezsonov and Demyanenko couldn't find jobs in the top teams, because they were already over 30, and they deserved it in their class. Lobanovsky could not let go of all 14 players in the squad, otherwise Dynamo could have slipped, so they let go one or two at a time.

- What surprised you in Scotland in terms of football?

- Rangers didn't have any theories, while at Dynamo we watched tapes of opponents' games. This was not practiced in Scotland. There was no base. We trained on the Ibrox. We played dir-dir during training, and there were no recovery activities.

I arrived at a time when only two substitutions could be made. 13 people could be declared - one goalkeeper and two substitutes. And there were 25 people on the team! So, you had no room for error if you wanted to claim a place in the Rangers' first team. If you made a mistake, you could sit on the bench for the whole season. Thanks to their attitude and desire, the players did not want to lose the opportunity to play and get paid for it.

- Did Rangers pay bonuses to players who came on from the first minute?

- No. Before each season, the chairman, manager, captain or old-timers of the team agreed among themselves on the shore that a certain amount was paid for each victory. There were no crazy bonuses.

- How did you cope with the language barrier?

- The biggest problem was communicating with local players. Even the English had a hard time understanding them because of their heavy accents. I was lucky that the team had an Australian physiotherapist who explained everything in simple, normal sentences. The club provided an interpreter and I could always turn to him.

- Was it difficult to learn the language? Nowadays there are chats, social networks, and online courses. In your time, you could only rely on dictionaries, cassettes with correspondence lessons, and live communication...

- I had a base from my school days that helped me at the initial stage. There were also audio courses by Ilona Davydova that I listened to on the way to training. It took me an hour to get there. We communicated well with our neighbors. My daughter (famous actress Katia Kuznetsova - ed.) was immersed in the environment from the age of three and learned English very well. A year later, in kindergarten, we didn't realize that she spoke with a Scottish accent, like a local.

"Two Ukrainians tore Celtic apart in '94"

- Scottish fans are absolutely incredible. What story of fan loyalty do you remember from your time at Rangers?

- It may sound like a fable, but it was true. We played the Old Firm Derby against Celtic. We won 4-2. Mykhailychenko scored two, and I scored my only goal for Rangers. Two Ukrainians tore Celtic apart. (Smiles).

After the game, the newspaper wrote that the owner of an Indian restaurant, who had a son the day before, promised to name the child who scored Celtic's fourth goal in front of witnesses. It seemed like a good story.

But a few years ago I was sent a photo of that Scottish Oleg. He is now 30 years old. This is a real guy whose name was defined by football.

- At Rangers, in addition to Souness, you managed to work with Walter Smith. Was the contrast strong after Lobanovsky?

- Lobanovsky told us how to play against the opponent for half an hour before the game. In Glasgow, you had to arrive at the stadium at 12 o'clock to have lunch, and the lineup was already lined up, and before the warm-up, a motivational speech - and off you go. After the match, the best player met with sponsors in the box. They handed him a beer mug, invited him to take a picture, and have a glass of champagne. It was a mandatory program.

- Did you often get together with the team off the field?

- We could get together when it was someone's birthday or on the occasion of the birth of a child. No one smoked or drank alcohol. Only beer. People knew that if you indulged yourself, you might not make it to the next game.

- At Rangers, you had your first serious injury. If I'm not mistaken, it was a game against St. Johnstone, when you crossed paths with Baltacha in Scotland.

- I tore my ankle and was out for 8 months. I avoided serious injuries at Dynamo, so it was a difficult period for me. Later I realized that I had to recover differently, give myself time and not force things. And when I returned, my knee often let me down.

For a defender, it is important to be sharp, to fight, and after such an injury, I took a long time to recover psychologically. You are afraid even subconsciously, going into a fight, that it can happen again.

- You had surgery in the United States. In Europe, sports medicine hadn't advanced that far at that time?

- In Europe, an injury to the cruciate ligament of the knee put an end to your career. I flew to Los Angeles. At the time, a lot of NBA basketball players were suffering from this injury. By and large, if it wasn't for the injury, I might have re-trained myself to play the line.

- You might not have found Laudrup and Gascoigne, and Gately and McCoist didn't ask you to bring bacon or red caviar?

- They were private guys. They didn't have such a friendship with anyone that they would visit with their families.

- You have fully experienced the atmosphere of the Old Firm Derby. What do you associate with the confrontation between Celtic and Rangers?

- Almost at the first game for Rangers, my wife came to the game in green, and it was explained to her that she should not appear at Ickbrooks in Celtic colors. There are areas in Glasgow where fans of one of the teams are not allowed to go. But we had neighbors who supported Celtic, and we got along great. For every fan, the main thing is the match at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, getting together with friends, screaming, shouting, drinking before and after the game, and on Sunday, a service in church.

- Did you witness when Smith and his assistant brought the players 6 bottles of champagne to the training session after Christmas?

- It was after Christmas. It's clear that after the whole team has spent time with their families, you're not fresh the next day (Smiles). Before the start of training, we were told that we had broken the regimen and would be running a lot. I thought to myself: "I guess we'll run the Cooper test". We walked the first lap in bewilderment. Suddenly, the head coach and assistant brought out a bucket of champagne and poured champagne into a glass for each lap. We did 8 laps like that (Smiles).

- You mentioned that you signed a contract with Rangers for 5 years, but left a year earlier.

- Smith made it clear that they weren't really counting on me when my injuries became more frequent, and they were ready to loan me out. Andrii Bal facilitated my transfer to Maccabi Haifa. The team wanted to take part in the Champions League. It so happened that I spent the last year of my contract at Rangers in Maccabi.

Oleksandr Karpenko