Midfielder of Dynamo Vladislav Kabayev shared his impressions from the foreign training camp, which is coming to an end.
Vladislav Kabayev
— The training camp is practically coming to an end. What’s your mood?
— I think everyone feels how much we want to go home. Although it’s warm here and cold there, we really want to get to Kyiv. We haven’t seen our families for a long time. We’ve also worked a lot during the camp, for more than a month, so we’re finishing our preparation, hoping to do so on a good note. We still have two matches ahead — then we’ll go home.
— Every camp is an opportunity to learn something new. This is far from your first camp, but probably the first one that’s so lengthy. Have you learned anything new during this period?
— Overall, you’re always learning something new — even at 50-60 years old. After all, football is progressing… What I noticed the most for myself is that there was a lot of tactics and modeling. I think Oleksandr Volodymyrovych sees that we have become accustomed to it, and at the same time, we understand that camps in general are not very pleasant, but it is during the camps that the foundation is laid, and you know exactly why you are doing this. So we react normally to it, although it’s somewhat difficult, but this is football, we know we have great tasks ahead of us, and this will bring us benefits.
— There are different running exercises at the camp — initially it was endurance, today it’s speed. How satisfied are you with your performance?
— To be honest, I’m self-critical and a maximalist by nature, so I always want to do better — to run more, score, and assist. Today we ran against the wind, so the results weren’t very good. Perhaps the loads weighed on us, or maybe age is starting to show… I wished for a bit better, but it’s not a big deal. We still have time, we will have a day off upon arriving in Kyiv, and we will stick to the plan that we have.
— The team has been at the camp for more than a month. Is there a day that stood out to you the most?
— To be honest, I’m thinking more about the weekend, because we’ve gotten a bit "full" (smiles). Overall, there was nothing special in the training process. Today, even though there were few emotions, everyone wants to go home, but there were tournaments and competitions. So we had a bit of fun and finished the day in a good mood.
— Often during the camps there were days with two training sessions. What’s the best exercise for you personally — with the ball and without it?
— If you ask any player, probably everyone will say they don’t like working without the ball. Perhaps only Tymchyk and Diachuk enjoy doing some "dirty" work… We love something like a "aquarium," where we play four against four, five against five, or tournaments with three or four teams when you're playing for elimination. Then that competitive spirit awakens… Overall, I like everything football-related with the balls — like, for example, squares, making 15-20 passes in a row, etc. Of course, no one likes to work without the ball, but we understand that such exercises are also necessary.
— Share the secret of how to keep yourself in emotional tone during long camps?
— It’s tough. You try to unwind a bit on your own, for example, going for a walk by the embankment. We even thought about playing golf here, but to be honest, there’s no strength left. Some watch movies, others play on the PlayStation… Right now the Champions League is on, many matches are being played, you can watch them and learn something. You can also read, but the book I brought with me, I’ve only opened two or three times during the whole camp — maybe I should read more (smiles).
— Ahead is the final part of the season. Does the position of Dynamo weigh on the team?
— In fact, it all depends on how a player or coach perceives it — for someone it’s pressure, for someone, on the contrary, it’s inspiring. For myself, I say that we’ve done a lot of work for this, and the further we go, the harder it will be to stay at the top. It’s normal, and every player, when putting on the jersey with the Dynamo diamond, feels this burden of responsibility. But it’s a pleasant burden, after all, you progress with this club. We understand what tasks lie ahead of us, who our competitors are, so it will be interesting. We will give our all on the field to achieve the results we want and what the fans, coaches, and management expect from us.
— You mentioned the Dynamo emblem, and after this season it may change — in the case of winning the championship, a third star will be added…
— Yes, I know about that. I want to make my contribution so that our emblem really changes after the end of the season.
