In the summer, another club from the so-called Kolomoisky pool disappeared from the Ukrainian football map, Dnipro-1. Artem Fedetskyi, who played for Dnipro from 2012 to 2016, explained the problem of oligarchic football in Ukraine, why he likes the German system of building football clubs, and noted two Ukrainian clubs that Artem likes as promising business projects.
Artem Fedetsky
- Artem, why do you think Ihor Kolomoisky bankrupted FC Dnipro and SC Dnipro-1?
- I still can't understand why he made the real Dnipro, not Dnipro-1, go bankrupt. The real Dnipro, with its history and fans, still leaves me with unpleasant memories, because we could have paid off some of the debt, sold some players, and kept some, like the youth. We would have started with the second league, but we would have had the emblem, history, and ultras, which were and are among the best in Ukraine.
- History is repeating itself. Kolomoisky has already destroyed the second Dnipro club, Dnipro-1.
- In addition to Dnipro and Dnipro-1, Kolomoisky owned: "Kryvbas, Volyn, Arsenal, and Karpaty. And all of them disappeared in due time. From 2010 to 2013, the UPL was the top championship. Legionnaires came to us and then played at the highest level in Europe.
- What needs to be changed to prevent such stories from happening again?
- Personally, I like the system in German football, where the club is managed by a group of investors. Those who don't want to play football anymore can sell their share to another investor. In Ukraine, however, there is usually one person in charge of everything, and if he or she doesn't like something, he or she can close the club immediately. The same is true for Ingulets, when Povorozniuk began blackmailing the UPL by withdrawing the club from the competition because they did not allow the stadium to be built. There are rules, all stadiums are checked before the start of the competition. It shouldn't be the way Povorozniuk is doing!
Clubs with a history and fans should exist regardless of the whims of one person who pays today and not tomorrow. A footballer must show results on the field and be confident in the future. If there is a normal system in the club, there will be progress in the team's game, because the players will not be distracted by financial issues.
- Would the German system take root in Ukraine?
- First of all, the player must be protected. There should be a guarantee payment from the club, relatively speaking, for a season in the amount of the annual salary. Bonuses are motivation and this is different. We need to gather club owners and talk. If everyone approached this with dignity, I think the system would work. In Germany, the picture is beautiful, the stadiums are full. I was there for only a year at a small club Darmstadt and saw how everything works. Management, marketing, work with fans - everything is at the highest level. It's not easy to build everything at first, but once this machine starts working, then you just need to stay out of the way.
- In Germany, a football club is a business, while in Ukraine it is a toy, don't you agree?
- For some, it is a toy, it is true. For some, football is a business. Throughout Europe, football is perceived as business and commerce. But there are good examples in Ukraine, like Shakhtar, who bought players for 150 million euros and sold them for half a billion - this is successful commerce. To this we add football successes: the UEFA Cup, multiple champion of Ukraine.
For a club to be a business, it needs to be done with the right people who are really interested in the development of the project. And not like now, when some clubs have money and various jesters start hanging around them to make money, get their own player, and so on.
- Are we talking about Polissia?
- Think for yourself. I won't name the club. But since we've already mentioned Polissia, I like this project and its president. I would like to highlight the marketing ploy of Usik playing for the team. You don't have to make a circus out of football, but there should be such moments.
Polissia has everything to develop: the right approach, structure, and vision of the owner. If there are more people like Butkevych, modern football facilities, youth academies, conditions for children, and modern coaches, it will only be a plus for the future and development of football in Ukraine.
Andriy Pysarenko
