Former Dynamo midfielder Vitaliy Kosovskyi shared his impressions from the match of his former team against Latvian RFS in the 8th round of the Europa League group stage.
Vitaliy Kosovskyi (photo: H. Chekhovskyi)— Mr. Vitaliy, Dynamo finally achieved a victory in the Europa League. You should be happy, but the game turned out to be such that one could fall asleep. Could it be that only the magnetic storms affected me?
— I also didn’t really like the game. Dynamo traditionally controlled the ball, trying to get players into advantageous positions for finishing attacks. Sometimes it worked, but there was no final strike.
— What do you think this is connected to, given that the first goal-scoring chance was created by the Kyiv team only in the added time of the first half, despite the fact that their ball possession sometimes reached 83 percent?
— Everyone wants every attack to end with a threat to the opponent's goal. RFS concentrated a lot of forces in defense, which was not easy to break through. Perhaps the Dynamo coach instructed them to take control of the ball. The Kyiv team managed to do that, but control differs from possession. If we keep the ball, we need to bring the attack to a logical conclusion. To do this, penetrating attacks must be made. Flank players must constantly create pressure, invade free spaces, and make passes. Players must understand their responsibilities. This is fundamental, without which it is difficult to achieve a positive result.
— In the last Europa League match, Dynamo could not count on six players. How do you think the absence of Brazhko, Shaparenko, Buyalskyi, Karavaiev, Popov, and Dubinchak affected the game?
— The team has enough players. The other thing is that the players who go onto the field more often are relied upon more, and they probably have a better understanding in everything. I mean intelligence, execution skills, quick understanding, decision making, etc. And if the team goes out in an unusual lineup that is changed or not half, this causes certain limitations for it.
But, as they say, there are no irreplaceable people. Football players know this, and those who do not often start need to be motivated, find the right words so that they can manifest themselves, prove that they deserve to be on the team. Then they will go out to win and achieve their goals.
— Dynamo had problems not only with the final strike but also with the final pass. Vanat, for example, was constantly offside. What does this indicate?
— It indicates that the opponent studied the striker's game well and acts well in this component. RFS usually operates from defense, so they performed this element of defense excellently. The other thing is why the Kyiv striker constantly fell into this trap. Perhaps his concentration let him down in certain moments. I don’t want to speak negatively, but there was some misunderstanding of why you keep getting into those positions. The striker forgets himself and does something wrong. This leads to a breakdown of the attack and loss of the ball.
These moments, and those we discussed above, can and must be corrected. Childish mistakes should not happen at this level. Moreover, if they occur constantly.
— On the left flank, which you covered for a time, against RFS acted Vivcharenko, Kabayev, and Rubchynskyi was moving in. They tried to constantly create pressure upfront, but they struggled with the final pass.
— It’s not so easy to make an accurate pass, hit the ball precisely on the head. The pressure on the goal must be constant, and after the third or fourth time, the pass will become effective. From the left flank, as from the right. However, one pass will not be enough; three or four attacking players should be running for it. That’s how Dynamo scored the winning goal. Six players were involved in the goal-scoring attack, who were inside the opponent's penalty area. The seventh was just outside the box and could shoot if the ball bounced back.
— Shots from medium and long distances — is a sensitive topic.
— I’m sure the coaches talk about this. Because shots from outside the box are an effective tool that needs to be used. If you don't shoot, you won’t score. This time, Brazhko, who has a powerful shot, was not playing, but there are other players. Because of the lack of shots, the moments are scarce.
— You played in the most successful Dynamo of 1998/1999, reaching the semifinals of the Champions League. Currently, the capital club is lagging behind in the Europa League and can’t even make it into the top-24 of the tournament. Has the level of Dynamo dropped so much?
— Times are completely different now; a lot has changed. It would be incorrect to say that players were better in our time. There is a war in the country, and many players have left. There is a shortage of performers not only in Dynamo but also in Shakhtar, which has greater opportunities in the transfer market. We need to live, work, and believe that Dynamo will become champions, that the guys will become more experienced and advance to a higher, more qualitative level next European season.
— It will be difficult for Dynamo to lose the 10-point lead over Shakhtar.
— Let’s not guess. If they fulfill their task, they will climb a level higher. New goals will emerge. And so, gradually, they will restore their position on the European stage. So with other clubs too. We all want Ukraine to have 5-6 teams in the Champions League and Europa League, as before.
Hennadiy Chekhovskyi
