The famous Ukrainian coach, former mentor of Tavriya and Sevastopol, Sergey Puchkov shared his opinions regarding the main stage match of the Europa League between the Italian Roma and Kyiv Dynamo, and spoke about his expectations for the Ukrainian championship match Dynamo — Shakhtar:
Sergey Puchkov— My opinion is as follows: one should not make a choice between the games of the Ukrainian championship and the matches of the Europa League. I understand that the Dynamo players are currently preparing for the main Ukrainian derby — the match against Donetsk Shakhtar. However, the responsibility for the result and the importance of the match against Roma has not been canceled.
During the pause in the championship and a week ago in the next round, the capital team had enough time to prepare for the euro cup game against the Italians. And didn't you know that you would have games in a three-day mode on the fourth? Why look for any options, change the lineup, then bring out the main players trying to change something?
I believe that there was time for recovery, so in Rome, they needed to play with the squad considered combat-ready. Alexander Shovkovsky still released key players. They stood for 45 minutes, and did they lose less strength to try to achieve a positive result?
For me personally, the division of matches by importance — the championship, the Cup, or the Europa League is unacceptable. I do not like such things. There is a main lineup — play, and then recover. You have an excellent opportunity to conduct recovery activities, what or who are you afraid of?
— What do you say about the game itself?
— Who knows how events in this match might have unfolded if it hadn't been for the mistake of the young football player Mikhevko in the heat of the first half. He pulled the jersey of the Roma player, and Dovbik clearly converted the penalty awarded by the referee.
And in the second half of the match, when Dynamo was trying to change the situation, Shovkovsky began to bring in one after another the guys who play in the starting lineup, the question arose: couldn't they have played from the first minutes?
If you believe that the level of the Ukrainian championship is weaker than the Europa League, then put in the matches in the domestic arena those players who are not key, and use the main ones in the eurocup matches. After all, the Europa League matches contribute to Ukraine in the UEFA coefficient table.
— This coming weekend in the UPL, the Ukrainian classic will take place — a match between grandmasters, Kyiv Dynamo and Shakhtar. What are your expectations for the central match of the first round?
— I hope that the meeting of the two main contenders for the championship title will not disappoint the huge number of Ukrainian fans. Dynamo has owed their fans after three defeats in the Europa League, so we should expect an intense game. At the same time, I would be very interested to hear what they would say in the case of a draw or a loss for Dynamo against Shakhtar.
In my packed schedule, I had a similar situation in the Kyrgyz championship with Muras United. I had to play three matches in a row within seven days — on the 17th, 20th, and 24th of October. One of them was in the Super Cup, which we lost. But nothing terrible. I changed the lineup, and in the championship match, we played well and won 2:0. Moreover, in this match, the guys with cards played.
So Dynamo didn't need to do any experiments. This is my personal opinion. Maybe someone thinks otherwise, but this is how I see it.
Andrei Pisarenko
