Former player of "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1" Serhiy Kravchenko shared his thoughts on the disappearance of both these clubs.
Serhiy Kravchenko during his performances for «Dnipro-1». Photo — scdnipro1.com.ua— I crossed paths with Andriy Anatoliyovych Rusol at "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1". What kind of person and leader is he?
— Initially, Andriy played, then he took on leadership roles. Normal relations, I can't say anything special. We went through the journey in "Dnipro-1" from the Second League to the UPL together.
— Is Andriy Rusol, compared to Andriy Stetsenko, a step forward or backward in sports management?
— It's a bit of a provocative question, hard to say; I had normal working relations and communication with everyone.
— If we continue the topic of Rusol, do you see his share of responsibility in the disappearance of "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1"?
— I think not. You know who the main culprit is. From what I saw, Rusol loves Dnipro as a city. He loved "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1" as his continuation. He did everything possible for football to exist, I'm confident of that. And now, where will young guys play? There is a base, there is a wonderful stadium. The city is legendary, but there is no club.
Andriy Anatoliyovych did everything possible in his position to ensure football existed in the city, and that the team representing the city, whether "Dnipro" or "Dnipro-1", played in the higher league. In recent years I wasn't close to him, but I don't think anything has changed. He did everything he could to keep these two clubs alive.
— How were you invited to "Dnipro-1"?
— Before that, I had an injury in winter, then surgery and recovery. Summer came, and SC "Dnipro-1" was created as a professional club. Dmytro Mykhailenko and Andriy Rusol offered me to join.
The situation was the same as when I didn’t leave "Dnipro" earlier. If there were interesting offers, I wouldn’t likely have stayed in a second league club, but I was after surgery. And where would I go immediately to UPL, considering my age? There were no offers. On one hand, the second league—what's there to do? On the other: a task, a good coach, one of the best in Ukraine at that time, for sure. Add to that my own base, the birth of my children, my being at home, good fields, and the stadium. So I decided to go down the path with "Dnipro-1". And again, I believe I made the right decision, because I played, enjoyed myself, we went through the second and first leagues in one breath, and we made it to UPL, where I also got to play.
— What do "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1" mean to you personally?
— The most important thing is that I spent the longest period of my professional career with these teams. I always played for Dnipro and devoted a total of 12 years to this city, so this is quite an important stage for me as a footballer. Moreover, my children were born in this city, so not only the team but the city itself is important to me as a person.
— Did you believe in the "Dnipro-1" project?
— At that time, of course, I believed. And what Kolomoyskyi did with "Dnipro" and "Dnipro-1" can happen to other clubs as well. All our clubs are private. Tomorrow the president might say he doesn’t want to invest—goodbye! Just that in Igor Valeriyovych’s case, this percentage of volatility is much higher.
All these debts, the destruction of a club with a long history—this is indeed terrible, but we can do nothing. It has already happened. For me, "Dnipro-1" was a continuation of "Dnipro". Everyone who believed in this project hoped that over time, the same Dnipro would return, based on "Dnipro-1". But it happened as it happened…
These are his money, desire, and arguments. I believe that certain levers should exist, but on the other hand—these are his funds; what can you do about it? It shouldn’t be done this way, of course, with such a club, a history, with people who worked and cared for the club, but what can we, ordinary people, decide?
— What was the attitude towards other legends of "Dnipro", who then worked in "Dnipro-1"?
— The funniest thing is that many so-called "patriots of "Dnipro" at first said this is not a team, and then worked in "Dnipro-1" and had a normal relationship with them. And I, who remained with the Dnipro team in the "foul" Second League, was a traitor.
At that time, it was said that FC "Dnipro" is a club with a long history, and SC "Dnipro-1" is nothing. How is it nothing? In those 7 years, there were European cups, a fight for the championship. This is also history, albeit not very large.
In fact, many people worked and had connections with "Dnipro-1", but I continued to embrace some, while others were traitors. Selia communicates with ultras normally, even though he worked in "Dnipro-1" in recent years, and before that, showed something for Kolos and was a "patriot". Yet I stayed in the Second and First leagues, helping the youth—and I am the traitor. Funny!
The thing is that everyone understood immediately why "Dnipro-1" was created and that there was no other way to keep football in the city, but at the time it was fashionable to present oneself as a "patriot of "Dnipro"." I too am a patriot of "Dnipro", I loved this club and its history, but it happened as it happened.
— Now there is actually no football in "Dnipro", has anyone benefited from this?
— Right now, there really is nothing. What prospects do young kids training in "Dnipro" have? What do they dream about? To play in "Kryvbas"? I’m very sad because I sometimes come in on weekends and realize there is no football in the city. At least the first or second league? Absolutely nothing, it’s a disaster! The stadium is one of the best in Ukraine, all the conditions—base, fields, everything is great. The only thing is—there is no team.
Igor Lysenko
