Famous Ukrainian coach Myron Markevych congratulated former Kyiv “Dynamo” forward Artem Milevskyi on his birthday and shared many interesting details about the jubilarian.
Myron Markevych. Photo: Getty Images— Myron Bohdanovych, what do you remember from your time working with Milevskyi on the Ukrainian national team?
— I have good memories of Milevskyi, I can’t say anything bad about him, only good. He was one of the team leaders and behaved very positively.
Artem was a high-level footballer, although competition in the national team was strong at that time: Shevchenko, Voronin, Seleznov, Devich, Zozulya. There were players to play in attack. A serious team!
— In friendly matches, you often fielded Milevskyi and Shevchenko in attack.
— I let everyone play at that time, including young Zozulya, Yarmolenko, Fedetskyi. I invited them to the national team; they were just starting out then.
— Who did Milevskyi befriend in the national team apart from Aliyev?
— He is a very positive guy. He has a character that allows him to find common ground with everyone. The atmosphere in the national team at that time was almost perfect.
— Can you recall any individual discussion you had with Milevskyi where you set expectations for him on the pitch?
— I can’t remember a specific conversation, but I can say that Artem gave his all on the pitch. This is a key indicator of a footballer for me; in that case, you can overlook some mistakes. I had no questions about Milevskyi during matches. There were no issues with him in everyday life either.
— But it didn’t work out for him with Blokhin at “Dynamo”.
— I don’t know what happened there; that’s not my question. Everything worked out for me with Milevskyi.
— What were Milevskyi's strengths and weaknesses as a footballer?
— His strengths were his body work, technique, and ability to score. Artem lacked speed, but he compensated for it with other qualities. I believe Milevskyi left a significant mark on Ukrainian football.
— There are rumors that Artem is two years older than his actual age.
— People come up with such stuff. I looked at him as a footballer; I wasn’t interested in how old he was.
— Milevskyi and Aliyev often broke the rules at “Dynamo”; did they have problems with that in the national team?
— In the national team, they didn’t allow themselves anything excessive. I remember after the victory over Lithuania, Shevchenko asked, “Can we go and sit with the guys for a bit?” — “No problem.” I see nothing wrong with the guys relaxing a little. No one crossed any lines. A glass of beer after the game is necessary, but only if it doesn’t lead to vodka afterward. At “Metalist”, I also allowed footballers to have a glass of wine after the game. We kept an eye on everything, and no one allowed themselves anything excessive.
— The legendary “panenka” from Milevskyi at the 2006 World Cup under Blokhin. If you had been the coach then, would you have said anything to Artem after such a bold penalty execution in an important match?
— If he is confident in his abilities, then what is there to say. At “Metalist”, Devich missed a “panenka” in a match against “Olympiacos”, but then scored the decisive goal and we moved on. After a victory, there’s no need to talk about such moments.
— As the head of “Metalist”, you repeatedly played against “Dynamo” with Milevskyi in the squad. Can you recall that period?
— I gave special instructions to the defenders, especially Berezovchuk and Papa Guye, on how to play against Artem. Milevskyi was a problem for us. I emphasized that he plays very well with his body and could provoke situations. We asked our defenders to be very careful against Artem in their penalty area. He could play against defenses and earned a lot of penalties.
We often managed to neutralize Milevskyi; we defeated “Dynamo” more than once. The personal markers at “Metalist” were quite good. Our matches against “Dynamo” definitely left an impression on the fans.
— Milevskyi told me that he really wanted to move to Fiorentina, and an offer from the “violets” did come in, but he wasn’t let go. Do you think Artem could have succeeded in Serie A?
— It’s a pity he didn’t move there. At that time, Italian football was at a very high level. I think he could have succeeded in Serie A; Artem had a high level of play. Our players had performed well in Italy before him, so he could have done well too.
— What do you see for Milevskyi in the future, perhaps as a coach or official?
— I think he would make a very good scout. He understands football well. Could he find a striker for “Dynamo”? I think he could.
— Your wishes for Artem.
— First of all, I wish him health; that is the most important thing for him right now. I also wish Artem to find a job that suits him. I hope Artem will bring a lot of benefit to our football.
Andriy Piskun
