The former forward of Kyiv "Dynamo" and the Ukraine national team Artem Milevsky shared his memories of his match against Belgium (3:1) and gave a forecast for today\'s second game of the Nations League playoff round.
Artem Milevsky— Artem, at your time during the qualification for the U-21 Euro, you lost to the Belgians at home (2:3) and then beat them away (3:1) with your winning goal. Do you remember those matches?
— Of course, I remember. For me, that goal I scored in the 90+3 minute is one of the most memorable in my career. In Mariupol, we had a full stadium supporting us, but we lost 2:3, all according to the game. Belgium was a very strong team.
For the return match, we went without illusions. We thought it was 70 to 30 percent in favor of Belgium. But the second half turned everything around! We were losing 0:1 after the first half, and then we scored three and moved on.
— What did Mykhailichenko tell you after the first game, how did he set you up for the second match?
— I remember that after the first half of the return match, in the locker room, Mykhailichenko said he got sick: "Guys, you can't do any worse, you can only do better."
In the end, we made a gift to Mykhailichenko, we went out for the second half and played our game. We had moments, but it turned out that Rusya Fomin scored, then — Dimas Chygrynskiy, and at the end, I executed a free kick, and we moved on.
After that victory, I received phone calls from Grigoriy Mikhailovich Surkis and Valentin Belkevich from "Dynamo", may he rest in peace. They said we did well and were watching us. It was very nice to hear that. Emotions were overwhelming.
— A few words about Euro. You reached the final then but lost the decisive match to the Netherlands.
— There are a lot of stories. I remember how Nevmivaka fell into the doping test. Before that, he took a pill for pressure and tested positive before the semifinal. He approached our doctors in shock: "What to do?!". The doctors exchanged glances: "Well, what to do? Go to the room of Aliyev and Milevsky and drink a lot of whiskey, they definitely have something in the stash." Our team was superb!
I remember how we went to the final in Lisbon, and the entire Portuguese village, where we were based, gathered to see us off: "Good luck, guys, we will be cheering for you!". At that time, we became heroes of Portugal. But in the final, unfortunately, we were just a bit short, although moments were there.
— Let’s talk about the national team's upcoming match. What do you think about our team's return match against Belgium?
— We have a good reserve. It's good that it’s 3:1 in our favor. I read a lot that they are currently comparing this match to France (in the first leg of Euro 2014, Ukraine won 2:0, and in the return leg lost 0:3, — ed. by A. P.). But France was much stronger than the current Belgium. I wish the guys only luck and victory. I believe they will succeed. Good luck today!
— What score do you predict?
— I dare to say 1:1.
— Let’s try to predict the starting lineup.
— It's hard to predict, but let’s try. Goalkeeper — Lunin. Right-back — Zinchenko. Center defense — Zabarniy and Matvienko. Left back — Mykolenko. Defensive midfielder — Kalyuzhnyy. Center midfield — Sudakov — Shaparenko. Left — Tsyhankov, right — Yarmolenko. Forward — Yaremchuk.
I want to see Andriy Yarmolenko from the first minutes. The man deserves his debut on the field, showing confident play for Dynamo in recent matches.
Whom would I like to see at the forefront? I always praise Roma Yaremchuk. He reminds me of my prototype forward. But who will play is up to Serhiy Stanislavovych [Rebrov].
— As a Real Madrid fan, what do you think about the competition between Lunin and Courtois at Real, considering that Andriy played more confidently for the national team?
— In this match, Lunin reminded me of his performances for Real in last year’s Champions League when Courtois was injured. Andriy played very confidently, calmly, and collected in goal. This confidence is what he lacked last summer at the Euro in that unfortunate game against Romania (0:3, — ed. by A. P.). Now Lunin is number 1 in the Ukraine national team.
Andriy Piskun
