On Saturday, November 23, in the match of the 14th round of the Ukrainian championship, Kyiv “Dynamo” defeated Odesa “Chornomorets” with a score of 3:1. The match took place in Kyiv at the “Dynamo” stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi. We present to you the post-match press conference of the head coach of the capital team, Oleksandr Shovkovsky.
— I congratulate the “Dynamo” fans on the victory! Undoubtedly, the weather conditions make their adjustments. Yesterday and the day before yesterday, it was impossible to conduct a full training session, as the football field was not sufficiently prepared. All the people we had at our disposal were engaged in work on the field of the “Dynamo” stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi, so that it would be ready for today’s game. And I want to thank them for their hard work. Although, of course, the field today was not as fast as we expected. It is important for us that the ball moves as quickly as possible.
— Explain the tactical scheme with three central defenders that you used today. Is this a one-time experiment?
— We prepare for each game separately and want to have several options at our disposal on how to act on the field. One of them is the scheme with three central defenders. We have played this way before. And we are constantly working on this. And we will continue to work. Our team has a certain identity, and we will be working on different options.
Oleksandr Shovkovsky. Photo — Yu. Yuriev— Today was the debut of Roman Salenko for the first team of “Dynamo”. How ready is he already to play at this level?
— He has been training with us earlier during the breaks for the national team matches. I see that he is more or less ready to strengthen our team and play. He will continue to gain playing practice in the matches of “Dynamo U-19”, in the UEFA Youth League, but we will also involve him. Now he will be preparing for matches with us.
— Today “Dynamo” scored the 100th match with you as the head coach of the team. What does this mean to you?
— For me, it means nothing. What matters to me is the winning game. And how many goals we scored... We could have achieved such a figure much earlier. And I would be glad if it happened. But even when I was a football player, I never looked at statistics. Maybe someday I will look at it. But now... Well, it is what it is.
Post-match press conference of the head coach of “Chornomorets” Oleksandr Babich
Oleksandr POPOV from the “Dynamo” stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi
