The former Dynamo forward Viktor Leonenko expressed his opinion on the results of Polissya in the current season.
Viktor Leonenko— Viktor Yevhenovych, what is happening with Polissya? The team has money and players, but there are no results: the winless streak in UPL has lasted for five matches.
— The answer is simple. In Polissya, the coaches are funny. I find it hard to even call Ashur a PE teacher. I have a lot of respect for Butkevych, but he is constantly being deceived, “shoving” incomprehensible people into the club. This applies not only to Butkevych but also to most presidents, even abroad, looking at incomprehensible transfers and high salaries. I want to meet Butkevych in person and explain to him what and how. They are seriously deceiving him! He is investing a lot of money in the club, but there are no results.
In our clubs, mostly bootlickers work, who “kiss up” to presidents. That's exactly why I don't want to get involved there. They simply won’t take me because I will tell the president the truth to his face, just like Maksimov. That’s why he gets thrown out of clubs, then taken back. But I am very glad that he is working again and everything is going well for him. He is my friend and a good coach.
— Who would you recommend to Butkevych as the head coach of Polissya?
— I have three candidates. They are Khatskevych, Bezsmertny, and Zavarov. These are people who will help solve the issues with results. They have a name in football, and the players will respect them. And another important point is that they are all our own, Ukrainians. I also consider Khatskevych one of ours; he has been living in Ukraine for a very long time.
I think Butkevych should pay attention to these people, and not do like Rinat Leonidovych [Akmetov] and take anyone for the sake of image. We need to hire our own, and everything will work out; we have enough qualified coaches.
— Do you think your candidates have exhausted themselves as coaches? Zavarov hasn't coached for a long time, and Khatskevych hasn't been successful lately in Poland or Cyprus.
— Where did you get the idea that they have exhausted themselves? They just don’t have work right now. Khatskevych only took charge of a Polish club because he was getting a passport, and he needed to be in Europe for that time. Don’t forget that he brought a bunch of Ukrainians to Zagłębie, and you only write about the fact that he fought with fans.
I don’t intend to defend my friend. He went there because he had nothing to do and missed football. I agree that he “got into trouble.” It happens. But that doesn’t mean he is a weak coach. If the players respect you, everything will work out.
— Who do you consider to be the number 1 Ukrainian coach right now?
— For me, it is important when a coach makes stars out of semi-footballers. Right now, there are no stars in Ukraine, so there is no number 1 coach either, and there won't be one in the coming years, although I hope to be wrong. The first place in the table does not play a role for me.
Let me give you an example. The top scorer of Dynamo, Vanat, is not needed by Rebrov in the national team — he doesn’t even come on as a substitute. At the same time, Yaremchuk is not needed by Olympiacos. And Dovbyk has some problems. Such are our strikers.
Andriy PISKUN
