A graduate of Kyiv "Dynamo", midfielder Andriy Bohdanov recalled his time at the capital club.
Andriy Bohdanov— You are a graduate of "Dynamo", but, as they say, at a young age you turned down a contract with the first team because you did not see prospects for playing for them. Is that true?
— Yes, that is true.
— How did the club react to such a decision?
— At that time, I was playing for "Dynamo-3" in the Second League, so I do not think they were too upset by my departure. Although, they offered a two-year contract.
— Why then did you choose Kyiv "Arsenal"?
— First of all, Kyiv is my home, and at 18, when I still lived with my parents, it was convenient to stay in this city. Secondly, Yuriy Mykhailovych Bakalov, who at that time was coaching the Arsenal reserves, assured me in a personal conversation that if I worked hard, the first team would be open to me.
— How did your return to "Dynamo" happen?
— At that moment, the head coach of "Dynamo" Yuriy Syomin called me. He really wanted to see me in the team, and that is how this transfer happened. In the summer of 2012, my contract with "Arsenal" ended, and I moved to "Dynamo".
— Did "Arsenal" try to keep you?
— We talked about that long before my negotiations with "Dynamo", but "Arsenal" only made me an offer in June before the contract ended. However, by then I had already agreed with "Dynamo".
— So "Arsenal" took their time thinking?
— Well, they thought for a long time. I do not know what moments were there.
— Under Syomin’s management, you did not play much, as he was dismissed at the beginning of the season after a loss to "Shakhtar" (1:4) in the round of 16 of the Ukrainian Cup.
— He was fired mid-season, and no one understood why. We completed the task of qualifying for the Champions League, and in the championship, we were going neck and neck with "Shakhtar". Well, we lost to the “miners” in the Cup at the "Donbas Arena".
— Do you think that was a hasty decision?
— I think so.
— It was said that the president of "Dynamo" Ihor Surkis was pushed to such a sharp move by Syomin's decision after the game with "Shakhtar" to fly home to Moscow for the weekend instead of staying with the team.
— I do not even remember anyone in the team particularly paying attention to that.
— Then "Dynamo" was led by Oleg Blokhin. Were you present at his first meeting with the team, where Artem Milevskyi came in a bathrobe?
— I was. But nothing special happened there. Well, he came in a bathrobe. The press exaggerated and squeezed the maximum out of the situation.
— What did you think at that time?
— He simply did not manage to change in time. We were already sitting in the locker room before training, and they told us: "Go upstairs, you will meet the coach." Someone came to training a bit earlier and was already in uniform. Tyoma came a bit later and decided he would change later.
— Do you not think that this situation could have caused Blokhin's further prejudiced attitude towards Milevskyi?
— Not at all.
— How did your relationship with Blokhin develop?
— I will answer in one word: "Nothing." I do not want to say anything. We can look at "Dynamo's" standings in the UPL under Blokhin - for the first time in history, third place and for the first time in history, fourth place. After Blokhin, Serhiy Rebrov came and won gold. What is there to talk about? So let's leave it at that.
— At that time "Dynamo" really had a star-studded team. Who stood out the most in your position?
— I would say that at that time Miguel Veloso fit well into the team and played successfully, as did Denys Harmash.
— What made Veloso stand out among others?
— Veloso is a more technical player on the ball. He brought something new to "Dynamo" and played as a "six". A very good midfielder, but without ball recovery, I would say.
— Did you need to have some "dogs" alongside him to do the dirty work?
— Yes. Harmash performed a great deal of work.
— Why did you return to "Arsenal" on loan in winter?
— I decided to leave myself because I was 23 years old, and I wanted to play. I asked for a loan. I could have stayed but chose to play football.
— After returning to "Dynamo", you immediately moved to "Metalist". Did they terminate your contract?
— No, "Metalist" bought me out.
— How much did they pay for you?
— About two million dollars.
Dmytro Venkov
