In an exclusive interview with Dynamo.kiev.ua, former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder and ex-coach Leonid Buriak told what he thinks about the criticism of the Ukrainian national team, and also commented on Dynamo Kyiv's recent transfers.
Leonid Buryak. Photo — O. Vasilieva- A lot of time has passed since the Nations League matches in September. Have you made a conclusion for yourself, what are the main reasons for the unsuccessful start of the Ukrainian national team in this tournament?
- First of all, in the current level of the Ukrainian championship and the level of our players, who are now playing for the national team. Yes, before the war we had a strong league, but now everything is different. And you know for what reason - the war. In this situation, everything in the country is done for the sake of the Victory, and soccer takes a back seat. I have already said many times that I am grateful to the presidents of our clubs, who in this situation invest money in our soccer. But even so, the Ukrainian championship and our players lack level.
Second. Opponents. Take, for example, Albania. There about 10 players play in the top leagues, in Serie A, APL, French Ligue 1. This is no longer Albania, Cyprus or Finland, to whom we used to score 8 goals. Now they are quite serious teams, and we should prepare for them accordingly.
Although, of course, we should not lose to Albania. We have a good enough team and players. Earlier in the national team of Ukraine there was only Shevchenko, and now there are a lot of players, from whom you can draw in the game.
But I can not understand another thing. Why there is so much anger and bile on the part of journalists and so-called experts, who literally pour dirt on our players and our coaches.
The same Mudryk and Sudakov are talented players, but they should play in their clubs. When you do not have a permanent place in the squad, it is very difficult to play even in Ukraine, what to say about the level of national teams.
Just a failure, and immediately everyone is covered with mud, from players to coaches. When will we learn to live? And to conduct at least some analytics. We should not make conclusions based on one game! And why in this situation everyone has so quickly forgotten that the Ukrainian national team reached Euro-2024? No one talks about it. And this is a very big success, especially in the current conditions in which our country, our soccer and our national team are.
Many people simply do not understand what they are talking about. Before the Euros, the talk reached the point that the Ukrainian national team was seen in the final. And if you think about it a little bit, what will be the answer to the question whether this team can reach the final of the European Championship, given its real potential, all the circumstances and the real potential of other Euro participants?
Some so-called "experts" have played only 90 games in the top league, and now they teach players how to play and coaches how to coach.
I am also amazed that journalists tell Rebrov who he should take in the national team. This is nonsense! It's as if they do not realize that at the level of U-19 and even U-21 is a completely different soccer. So let them first understand such simple things, come down to earth, and then they will voice some of their "recommendations". Personally, my conscience does not allow me to give advice to Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov. I have great respect for both of them, they are great professionals.
During the Soviet times we had a huge number of talented footballers, thousands literally! But to play for the main national team, you have to be ready for it not only in terms of skill, but also psychologically. And sometimes, a person was called up to the national team, and then he had a fever and vomiting all night - he is psychologically just not ready for such a thing. In the national team should play special players, with a special quality of skill and psychology. It is very, very difficult to play at this level.
- Were the problems of the Ukraine national team in the matches with Albania and Czech Republic different or identical?
- One of our main problems is that we play any home game not at home. We play on neutral fields. And this is not the same emotions in the players, no matter how professional they are.
Plus, I repeat, many "national team players" do not have a stable place in the squads of their clubs. They lack game practice, and therefore they come to the national team not in the condition in which we would like. And the players themselves talk about it.
As for the opponents, I have already said about Albania. And I expected that it will be in the match with us just such a team, as it appeared. Well, and the Czech national team is such a mini Bundesliga. And this is despite the fact that it was not in the optimal lineup. And, I repeat, look how many national teams have grown recently, which were not really considered recently - Georgia, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Albania.
- Many people called the match with Albania a repeat of the failure of the match with Romania at Euro-2024. Do you agree with such a comparison?
- I would not draw such analogies. After all, we are talking about different opponents. Romania has always had a skillful national team. And their current team is no exception. But, of course, to concede three goals from them is a lot.
And the defeat against Albania has objective reasons, which we have just talked about. Lack of game practice is the worst thing for a soccer player. Because he must always be under pressure, he must be constantly in the game.
Well, and the quality of our league has fallen very much. Of course, it exists, but where are our teams in the European Cup? They are not there. Because there are not enough quality players.
On the other hand, there is a war now, and we need to gather everyone we have. And when this madness is over, it will be necessary to rebuild not only the country, but also our soccer.
- Are you not worried that the Ukrainian national team has become a second-half team? It too often fails in the first half.
- It is called rolling in, and it is a common phenomenon. In principle, teams almost always play stronger in the second half. But, of course, it worries that we don't play from the first minute, we concede ridiculous goals. It smells of unprofessionalism.
If you are in the national team, you should always play from the 1st to the 90th minute and be as focused as possible, as responsible as possible and do everything for the sake of the result. The same Croatians are always literally "dying" for their national team. At the same time, every match for the national team is an opportunity for a player to assert himself. The stronger you play for the national team, the more expensive you will be.
Valeriy Lobanovsky was interested in the quality of the game, but first of all he was interested in the result. And people go to the stadiums for the result. And this result at the national team level is difficult to achieve when you are the first to concede 1-2 goals, and the first shot into the goalpost is made in the 80th minute of the game.
- What should we expect from the October matches of the Ukraine national team in the Nations League - with Georgia and Czech Republic?
- Georgia is a serious enough opponent now. More players in this team play in foreign clubs than in our team. I watched how the Georgians played with the Czechs, and I can say that they are really good. It will be very difficult.
But it will not be easier with the Czechs. Moreover, now the Ukraine national team is an irritant for such teams, because our players are well known in European top clubs. Very difficult games await us in October.
- Do we still have chances to finish in this Nations League group, objectively speaking?
- Everyone always has chances. In the end, in a particular match, everything depends on the preparation of the teams. But we are more difficult than the other teams - we are disadvantaged by the fact that we play our home matches not at home, but on neutral pitches. And this is not a home game. After all, when you play in front of your own stands, you add to your emotions the emotions of the fans, your friends and relatives who are at the stadium.
There are chances, but, of course, the tournament situation is now very difficult for us. It will be very, very difficult to take first place in this group. But not impossible.
- Let's talk a little about Dynamo, more precisely about the club's recent transfers. Let's start with Ceballos.
- A large selection group works on transfers at Dynamo. And all its developments are under the control of the club president. One problem: the quality of players. I know that Dynamo tried to sign about eight newcomers, but all of them refused to move for family reasons. The question is not about money, the question is about war. Some of them were forbidden to come here by their parents, others - by their wives. It's a serious problem.
Well, as for Ceballos, everyone knew about him, everyone saw him. But it's too early to talk about his prospects, he hasn't played for a long time, only now he has been given a place in the squad. Especially, we are talking about the UPL, about the current level of which again we will not talk. Let's see how Seballos will prove himself not only in the Ukrainian championship, but also in the Europa League (the conversation took place before the Europa League match between Dynamo and Lazio, in which Seballos got injured and was out for a few weeks - editor's note).
But I think that Dynamo has closed one of the problematic positions for the Ukrainian championship for the next couple of years, which needed strengthening. And there the youth should also pull up - Dynamo U-21 now has about five promising players, including central defenders. Ihor Kostyuk has a rather skillful team now.
- Guerrerro debuted in the starting lineup of Dynamo at the same time with Ceballos, but unlike the latter he did not show himself. Why?
- He dissolved in Dynamo players. I don`t want to say that he is a bad performer, but he needs time. Thankfully, the atmosphere in the team is great now, and it is easy for newcomers to join it.
Guerrero had not the last chance. But he has to prove his level, nobody will put him in the lineup for nothing. Moreover, the main postulate, which was before the war, nobody canceled in the current conditions: any foreigner, coming to the team, must be a head above the Ukrainian players, with whom he will compete for a place in the lineup.
- So, can we expect competition between Guerrero and Vanat by position?
- They are different players. Personally, I see Guerrero in a position closer to Buyalskyi, Pihalenka. This is his position, in my opinion.
Another thing is that you can`t play with one forward all the time. In the matches with Salzburg in the Champions League qualification, maybe we lacked one more forward. The same can be said about the recent match against Ruch in the championship.
But, in any case, Shovkovskiy's team is an order of magnitude above Lucescu's team. Although, of course, we should thank the Romanian specialist for the fact that under him Dynamo became the champion, won the Cup of Ukraine and the Super Cup of Ukraine. Not every coach can do it. But, I repeat, I am more sympathetic to Shovkovskiy's team. And it has ways of development. Maybe already this season there will be a couple of new players from Dynamo youth team, whose game will delight the fans. The main thing is that Shovkovskiy's team has both depth and backbone. And there is also someone to build off of - Yarmolenko, Buschan, Buyalsky, Shaparenko.
For example, in the Dynamo vs Ruh match I was satisfied with the Dynamo players' performance. One problem is the result. There are not enough shots on goal. "Dynamo has always been a kicking team. If Lobanovsky asked how many shots you took in the first half, and you answered that five, he would say: "No, I don`t even want to hear it!". So, in my opinion, Dynamo needs to "sit" on strikes. Without kicks there will be no goals.
- How do you see Dynamo's prospects in the main stage of the Europa League?
- Dynamo's opponents are serious teams. It is frightening that we haven`t played with such teams for a long time, they are skillful. It is difficult for me to assess the prospects, because I have a liking for Dynamo. The atmosphere inside the team is encouraging. Everyone wants to play. I want this generation to leave a mark in the history of Dynamo. We should definitely get the third champion's star on the emblem. Everyone in the club is energized to achieve this result. Everyone should go to bed and wake up with this dream.
All Dynamo structures work for the first team and achievement of this result. And Igor Mykhailovich Surkis, Grigory Mykhailovich Surkis and their partners on their part do everything to make the club function as it was before the war despite the current situation.
But we must not forget our realities. There is a war in the country, and the Ukrainian championship is being held - it is nonsense, if you think about it. So we should appreciate what we have and not forget what the reality is. And who forgets - go to the cemetery and look. You will find it hard to talk there from the number of graves of young guys you will see.
So first of all we all empathize for our country. And the fact that Ukraine is a soccer power, so it is not a secret. In the times of the USSR, half of the players in the national team of any age category were Ukrainians.
Alexander POPOV
