The former midfielder of Dynamo, Anderlecht, and the Ukraine national team, and now a player for Ordabasy, Yevgeny Makarenko gave a long interview to Kazakh journalists.
— Yevgeny, Ordabasy has started its first training camp after the break. How is the mood?
— We are working in Abu Dhabi. This is my first experience of off-season training in the Emirates. The conditions here are good, so together with the new coaching staff, we expect a productive process. This camp will be intense in terms of physical load, which is evident from the first sessions. And for the youth who have come here, there is a chance to show themselves in the best light.
— Last season, three Ukrainians played for Ordabasy: besides you, there was Igor Plastun and Artem Besedin. Do you regret being left alone?
— I am a professional. My job is to train and play. Although, of course, when there are compatriots on the team, especially since I played with Besedin back in Kyiv Dynamo, and I have been communicating with Plastun since our time in Belgium, it adds peace and confidence. In this regard, I was comfortable last season.
Now many new footballers have joined Ordabasy, so we will establish communication with these guys since we have to do one job.
— You are far from home. What is your favorite pastime in Shymkent?
— Psychologically, it is not easy to live far from home. The thing is that my family is in Spain, and I miss communication with my loved ones, whom I have only visited during the vacation.
As for your question, I really love fishing. I often engage in this in my free time. I can go alone, and sometimes with the guys from the club. It distracts me a lot from everyday life, and I recharge my energy. But mostly it’s home, work, rest.
— Is the team in Ordabasy united?
— Yes. We fought almost until the last moment for the championship title in the championship. A team that lacks unity is unlikely to achieve such results. Yes, there are always minor disagreements within the collective, and that’s normal, but still, overall, we were doing well; the guys treated each other with respect.
— What is the reason for the certain drop at the end of the season? Three consecutive defeats (to Tobol, Zhenis, and Kairat) dashed the dream of winning gold medals again.
— How banal it may sound, but we lacked, to some extent, game discipline and concentration. We are to blame for not winning the championship since we made mistakes we had no right to make.
— What was the goal for Ordabasy before the start of the championship?
— Initially, the task was to be in the top three, but when the club's management changed during the season, the plans were adjusted to set the goal of becoming champions. At the height of the battles, our head coach was also changed. And, be that as it may, such changes, when new people come into such positions, bring a certain stress for the players. All this may have affected the final results somewhere. But, as I said, we were not far from the desired...
— Who is currently the leader of Ordabasy?
— It is currently difficult to say since serious staff changes are certainly awaiting the team. In 2025, we are writing a new history. I think this question can be answered after a few months of the official season.
— And Askat Tagybergen?
— Of course, he is a pillar of Kazakh football. It is enough to say that he has over fifty matches for the Kazakhstan national team. His role in Ordabasy is hard to overestimate. But there is one “but”: the head coach told us that everything needs to start from scratch. All the merits from last year are forgotten.
— Have you already talked one-on-one with Andrey Martin?
— No. The coach is still getting to know the team as a whole. I think there will still be time for this during the camp.
— Have there been discussions about the goals for the upcoming season?
— Every self-respecting footballer should set the maximum goals for themselves—to fight for a positive result in every game. And if we talk globally, I believe that Ordabasy is a club from a big city, with great fans who deserve to see their team at the top of the tournament table. I believe that we have to fight for the championship anyway, especially since this is all familiar territory for Ordabasy.
What the management will say, we will know soon when they come to us for the camp. But, again, I can say with a high degree of probability that the tasks will be maximum. And, of course, I want to perform well in the Conference League.
— Many believe that last season's Kazakhstan championship was the most intriguing in its history. Do you agree?
— I find it difficult to judge about the entire history since I have only played here for two seasons so far. But the fact that the intrigue was strong in 2024 is a fact. All teams dropped points, and the one that made fewer mistakes became the champion.
— Did Kairat rightly win the gold medals?
— The Almaty team started the season not powerfully, but they were constantly in the top three or five teams. And at the final stretch, in key matches, they were the most stable, which allowed them to take first place.
— You have experience playing for strong European clubs like Dynamo and Anderlecht. How does Ordabasy compare to them?
— I believe that this is a somewhat incorrect comparison. The personnel potential of a team is determined by the club's budget, which is many times larger in Dynamo and Anderlecht than in Ordabasy. The Kyiv and Brussels teams are regular participants in the group stages of the European cups.
Of course, due to the war in Ukraine, Dynamo has somewhat declined, as the club is now represented only by local trainees. But when I was in Dynamo, reaching the group stage of the Europa League was considered a failure for us. The main task then was the group stage of the Champions League. Ordabasy finds it difficult to dream about that now, but striving and developing in that direction is necessary.
— But can Ordabasy reach the group stage of the Conference League?
— Everything will depend on the composition, on what level of play we can achieve. There are many nuances that affect the final result. In football, there are no small details. The matches in this tournament will show everything.
— Until when is your contract with Ordabasy?
— Until the end of the 2025 championship.
— You are 33 years old. Do you have enough health and desire to not think about ending your career?
— Thank God. The years are flying by, but I feel like I'm 25 (smiles). Young, healthy, and ambitious. Of course, if you look at the statistics, then maybe my performance is not what it was eight to ten years ago. However, the number in the passport says nothing.
There are plenty of examples where footballers performed at a good level until they were 40. Now there are a million options to monitor your nutrition and recovery properly, so it’s all individual. I try to stay in shape.
Sergey Demyanchuk