Former midfielder of Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukrainian national team Yurii Kalytvintsev recalled his performances for Turkish Trabzonspor in 1999.
- You once played for Trabzonspor. How did you come up with this option to continue your career and what made you interested in this transfer?
- At that time, I was no longer playing in Dynamo's starting lineup and the club received a good transfer offer from Trabzonspor. I was interested because it was an interesting championship. I agreed, but to be honest, I didn't know much about Trabzonspor. It was a slightly different team back then. Before my eyes, they were literally building their infrastructure, everything was at the development stage: a new base, new requirements, etc.
Despite the fact that this team has always been one of the leaders, not everything I saw there was to my liking, not everything was professional. The team was in a transition period. And as the Chinese say, you don't want your enemy to be in transition. But I gained a lot of experience and have no regrets, but today it is a completely different team.
- How much did the level of the Turkish league differ from the Ukrainian championship then?
- The level of the teams at the top of the standings - the Istanbul teams and Trabzonspor - was quite good. And the overall level of the championship at that time was no higher than the level of the Ukrainian one.
- Was there any noticeable difference in the training process?
- Yes, indeed, there were questions about the training process. You understand perfectly well that after the organization and life at Dynamo, after working with Lobanovskyi, of course, the difference in training was simply huge, not in Trabzon's favor.
- Together with you, Kevin Campbell, who had considerable experience in the Premier League, joined the team. Was he the main star of the team then, or did someone else have that role?
- There were many players from the Turkish national team. They were quite experienced. In terms of names, Trabzon was one of the strongest teams in the league at that time, along with Galatasaray, where Haci and the national team players played, and Fenerbahce.
Trabzon had the main players of the national team - Ogün Temizkanoglu and Abdullah Ercan, I'm afraid I'm forgetting someone else, and there were also good young people. But there were signs that it was still a team rebuilding. The older players hadn't finished playing yet, the younger ones hadn't yet caught up, but the team was very strong in terms of names and legionnaires.
- It was with Campbell that a scandal arose that season based on racist statements by the club's president Mehmet Ali Yilmaz, who rumored to have called the Englishman a "cannibal." Can you tell us the details of this situation?
- It was when I had already left the club, but I will say that Campbell was a wonderful person. You can't imagine how positive he was, he was a positive person around the clock. He is a professional and a guy with very good playing qualities. I don't know how anyone could have offended him, who did it, but it only did harm to the team. This person did not deserve these words at all. He was loved. This situation happened for me for unknown reasons, because as a football player and as a person he was just a golden guy.
He was very loved by the team, very respected in the city. And to give you an idea of what respect in the city means, when I arrived and wanted to live in the city, I was told: "Under no circumstances, live only outside the city, because you won't make a move in the city. If you play well, they will carry you in their arms, and if you play badly, they will kick you, figuratively speaking."
- How much did this situation resonate with the team?
- There were no problems in the team. No one paid any attention to it because everyone respected this guy so much. He felt just as good in the city.
- Why did you finally decide to leave the team after one season?
- The club did everything possible to keep me from leaving. I don't know if it's good to talk about it now or not, but if I hadn't left, I could have been promoted to team captain the next season. Because other experienced players were about to retire, and the young people who grew up there had a lot of respect for me. But it was completely my decision to leave the team.
- How much does life in Turkey differ from Ukraine?
- I would say that if I lived in Istanbul, it would be much easier.
- Is this connected with the well-known stereotype about the stinginess of Trabzonians?
- There is no truth in this, these are just stereotypes. It is a small city, although the population, taking into account the villages in the region, is quite large - just over a million people. It is a port city located on the seashore, where people are quite responsive. If you play well, you won't have any problems.
- And what were the problems you had?
- Firstly, it was a bit difficult to get used to the new conditions after Kyiv. Secondly, we can recall the same schools for children, because at that time the education was not at a very good level. But I'd like to emphasize once again that it was at that time, because as far as I know, a lot of infrastructure is being built in the city now, so everything looks completely different now.
- Did the club help you get used to the city?
- Yes, the club did everything possible to make me feel comfortable, they made all the conditions for me to think only about football, but still I couldn't get used to it. I was constantly drawn to Ukraine, to Kyiv. And when a situation arose with a possible return, I ran home without hesitation.
Artem Zhylinskyi