Former striker of Kyiv’s “Dynamo” Artem Besedin commented in an interview with iDnes.cz on his transfer to the Czech “Lishen,” which is currently competing in the second tier division of his country.
Artem Besedin— I came here with a clear goal: to score as many goals as possible and help “Lishen” reach the elite division of the Czech Republic by the end of the current season. I’m not worried that the second Czech league is tough. One must fight for victory everywhere.
Of course, the fact that “Lishen” has a new owner played a large role. But, perhaps, what impressed me the most was the interest from the club itself. The head coach of “Lishen,” Milan Valachovic, contacted me and said that this offer was not from a small club on the outskirts of Brno, but from a project with a new owner, a very ambitious person, whose single goal for the club is to develop and move forward. It is important for every footballer to feel the interest from the new club. For me, the most important thing in this approach was humanity.
The human approach of the coach, when he called me personally, was strong, and it inclined me to accept the offer. I felt a real, strong interest, so I didn’t consider other offers any longer, although they were coming from different countries.
— You arrived at “Lishen” as a free agent. Why did your cooperation with Kazakh “Ordabasy” end?
— I had a contract for a year and a half until the end of autumn, its term expired, and a new contract was not considered, so I went home. But I can’t say anything bad about “Ordabasy.” Everything was very good there; two years ago, we managed to win the national championship. The atmosphere there was also pleasant. But after the contract expired, we just parted ways.
— You achieved the most success at Kyiv “Dynamo,” playing 143 matches for that team. However, due to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian teams still have to seek refuge abroad for home matches in European competitions. Is this the reason why you were not drawn back home?
— I received several offers. Ukrainian clubs, of course, know about me, and some of them contacted me. A part of me longed to go home, but I remember how I experienced some of that terrible time when the war started in Ukraine. I have small children, and I don’t want to subject my family to these trials again. That’s why I preferred to consider offers from abroad.
— How do you assess the continuing heroism of your nation in defense of their homeland?
— Every rationally thinking person realizes this clearly. We experienced it ourselves when we hid our children in shelters from missiles. Without light, without water, in winter. It was terrible. It’s one thing to see it on television and quite another to experience it first-hand. In my own house, in my own country. What the Russian aggressor is doing is simply awful.
— Are you not afraid that “Lishen” will spend not only the last half a year of this season in the second division?
— When I am asked if I’m afraid of anything, I reply that I have never been afraid of anything in my life, and throughout my career, I’ve had to overcome many obstacles. Therefore, I’m not at all worried about what league this is. I want to use my experience playing at all levels to help “Lishen.”
— We are currently communicating through a Ukrainian translator. Will you practice Czech or English in “Lishen”?
— I understand English and am working on it. And, of course, since Ukrainian and Czech are related languages, I can understand a lot. When the coach says something quickly on the field, I usually have an idea of what he wants to convey to us. Moreover, discussions about football are, to a certain extent, universal.
— In the past, you played for the Ukrainian national team. Do you have a chance to return to the national team from the second Czech division?
— Of course, the path to the Ukrainian national team is not easy, even from the top league in Kazakhstan, where I played last. Our national team mainly consists of players from the five top leagues in the world; the quality of the Ukrainian national team now is indeed incredible. But I need to start somewhere, and that’s why I’m here. Maybe in the future, I will have a chance to wear the national team jersey again.
— What do you do when you have free time?
— I like to play classic tennis, but I also enjoy padel tennis — it’s something between squash and tennis where you play not only over the net but also partially against the wall. It’s quite popular in Spain. I have yet to find out who plays such a game in “Lishen,” but I think there will be tennis players here.
Translation and stylistic adaptation — Dynamo.kiev.ua, when using the material hyperlink is required!
