Dynamo legend Leonid Buryak commented on the exit of the Kyiv team U-19 from the UEFA Youth League, compared Cristiano Ronaldo with Oleg Blokhin, and also spoke about other important topics in Ukrainian and world football.
Leonid Buryak. Photo — V. Rasner— Leonid Yosypovych, how do you comment on the match «Dynamo U-19» in the UEFA Youth League? The Kyiv team played 3:3 against «Atalanta» in regular time and lost to the Italians on penalties.
— I think the result in this match does not reflect the game. «Dynamo» lacked experience and a bit of luck. And penalty shootouts are a lottery. «Dynamo U-19» has a good team that will prepare for the second half of the season. There is still time. But I think they prepared well for the continuation of the season.
— Matviy Ponomarenko scored 8 goals in this UEFA Youth League. What do you say about this football player?
— Ponomarenko is in the squad, he is training. Salenko, Ponomarenko are players who are involved in training with the main team of «Dynamo». I think everything is in their, as they say, legs. They are in the squad, they are being watched and there is hope for them.
— Still, «Shakhtar» and «Dynamo» will compete for this trophy of the Ukrainian U-19 championship?
— Of course! These are more or less complete teams. Serious work has been done. The youth teams of «Shakhtar» and «Dynamo» will also compete for the trophy, just like the first teams. Although there are many ambitious competitors and contenders! But we will see what comes of it. All teams are going their own way. The preparatory path is quite difficult. The art of the coach is how to prepare and train the team for official matches. But we will see what the results will be. A little time is left before the start of the second half of the season.
— On February 5, Cristiano Ronaldo turned 40! The Portuguese still intends to delight us with his game! As a legend of Ukrainian and European football, what do you say about Ronaldo?
— Thank God he is alive and healthy and still playing! I wish him a long career in football. This is a person who has scored a lot and done a lot for football. Let him play! If he enjoys it and if he has the strength, let him play. And then he should break the records that have yet to be broken!
— Do you think you and Oleg Blokhin could play until 40-42 years old under current conditions for football players?
— It was a slightly different time before. When a person starts playing football and when they finish playing football, an insane faith and love from the coach for them is needed. The coach must forgive everything, he must see the ideal player in this person!
— Do you think that among Ukrainian football players only Blokhin could be compared to Ronaldo in terms of skill level?
— Blokhin is a true goalscorer! He scored a lot! And in any case, Blokhin is the number one benchmark for Ukraine!
— What do you say about the first match of the Champions League playoff «Man City» — «Real» (2:3)?
— It was a good game. But I think «Real» will take advantage of this winning result. Although now it is harder to play at home than away. I will say that the Madrid team has improved a bit. Ancelotti made adjustments to the game, they sorted it out with the squad. Currently, a slightly different group of players is playing for «Real». They have somewhat rejuvenated. But it is worth noting that it was a very good game at «Etihad».
— So do you think «Real» will use this advantage and go further?
— I think so. But in the home game, they will probably apply a different tactic and it will be a different football considering the result that exists.
— What do you say about Georgiy Bushchan's start in Saudi Arabia?
— Bushchan is a qualified goalkeeper! He is the goalkeeper of the national team. I am confident that everything will be fine for Georgiy in Saudi Arabia.
— There is a lot of talk about Maksym Taloverov right now! «Plymouth» sensationally defeated «Liverpool» in the FA Cup with him in the lineup. What do you say about the Ukrainian?
— I watched this match against «Liverpool». God willing, it continues like this. We need to invite all the best football players we have to the national team of Ukraine. And it does not matter what league the footballer plays in. If he represents the interests of the national team coaches, he should play in the national team. But it is worth noting that currently there are many good football players playing in this position for the national team of Ukraine!
Dmytro Kotkov
