Sergey Mizin: "That goal of Shevchenko against Russia - God's help"

On October 9, 1999, a soccer match of the last round of the European Championship qualifying round between the hosts and the Ukrainian national team took place in Moscow. The final draw - 1:1 helped the Ukrainians to continue their fight for a ticket, while the Russians were forced to withdraw from the race. Former Ukrainian national team midfielder Serhiy Mizin recalled the events of that match.

- I would not be original if I said that the excitement was incredible, because in case of victory the hosts would win a direct pass to the final part of the Euro. In order to avoid conflicts and for security reasons, it was decided that we would stay in the apartments of the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. It seemed that we were not talking about the qualification round, but the final match of the continental championship.

- When the hosts took the lead in the 76th minute, were you worried that things might end sadly?

- No, the mood remained as high as possible. I continued to play in the supporting midfield zone, and right after the missed goal, coach József Szabo made substitutions to add intensity to our attack. This was beneficial, the territorial advantage was already on our side. In the 86th minute, the Russians broke the rules in a fight with me on the left flank of the midfield, and we were awarded a penalty kick. It was 35 meters to the hosts' goal....

- In those teams, whose ranks you defended, all the standard positions were performed by you.

- The situation was different in the national team. This right was assigned to Andriy Shevchenko. I immediately ran to close, as they say, the far post, with the expectation to finish the ball, if the goalkeeper had kicked it.

- Then clarify, in that game episode Shevchenko shot on goal or made a targeted pass?

- I know that there was a lot of discussion on this topic. I think that Shevchenko's goal is God's help. In Kyiv, before leaving for Moscow, all the players of the national team visited the church, prayed, asked the Lord for support.

- After the final whistle there were no excesses?

- We stayed in the locker room for a long time, because Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoitenko came to congratulate us. Again we spent the night on the territory of the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow, and the next day we went to the airport, where a charter was waiting for us. Of course, of those seven matches that I played for the national team, this one, 25 years ago, is the most memorable. I am sure that for the whole Ukraine. Because on a foreign field we demonstrated steadfastness, skill and achieved the desired draw, which was equal to victory.

Andriy Pisarenko