The former midfielder of Chornomorets, Viktor Pasulko, shared that at one time he could have transferred to Kyiv’s Dynamo.
— Having earned respect in western Ukraine, from where you come, you then moved to Chornomorets for 4.5 years. Was that a period of your formation?
— Of course. That was just the beginning. I ended up at Chornomorets completely by chance. Valeriy Porkuyan, who worked in the club's scouting department, came to watch a completely different player in Bukovyna. But it turned out that I stood out in that game, and all attention switched to me. And in Odesa, I had to sweat and prove that I was worth something.
It was then that Chornomorets was headed by young Viktor Prokopenko, who also had something to prove. He started trusting the youth, and I seized that opportunity. Although it didn’t happen all at once; I had to play in the reserves first, as I needed to get used to the requirements since the level of the second and higher leagues of the USSR championship was incomparable.
Only later did I strengthen and began to be called up from Chornomorets to the Union national team.
— Spartak - the peak of your career?
— I think so. In the three years I spent at this team, I became a two-time champion of the USSR, won the Cup of the USSR, and participated in the European Championship in 1988. Back then, it wasn’t easy to make it to the national team, especially when it was led by Valeriy Vasilyevich Lobanovsky: 15 players were from Dynamo, and the other five were from the entire Soviet Union.
However, if it weren't for the Chernobyl tragedy, I might have left my mark at Dynamo as well. For several years, they came to Chornomorets to pursue me. Now there’s nothing to regret, one has to accept everything as it is.
— Was it just the tragedy of 1986 that deterred you from Dynamo?
— Yes, because my wife was pregnant with our first child. I was already at the airport, but at the last moment, I returned my ticket. Although, I think that if I had gone to Kyiv, I would have played more matches for the national team, and Dynamo was practically always fighting for top spots in the championship.
— Eventually, in early 1987, you found yourself at Spartak. Therefore, of course, I cannot help but ask you about the rivalry with Dynamo. What comes to mind first?
— First of all, it was the rivalry between the schools of Lobanovsky and Beskov. They were the two strongest coaches in the USSR. However, in my opinion, Lobanovsky was the better one. He was the first to invent pressing, which is now used worldwide.
At one time, I even suffered, if I can say so, because of Lobanovsky. I gave an interview to Yevhen Maiorov on central television and said that Valeriy Lobanovsky was a unique coach for whom I was grateful for the invitation to the national team. Because of that, I ended up on Konstantin Beskov’s blacklist, although I had always been respected by him before.
Regarding the matches themselves, it was certainly a bright chapter in Soviet football history. These matches attracted millions of viewers to television, and there was no place to fall an apple in the stands.
Both Dynamo and Spartak had national team players. We respected each other, communicated, but on the football field, there was sports aggression. It was primarily prestigious to win in such a rivalry.
By the way, I never lost to Dynamo while playing for Spartak (four wins and one draw, including the memorable goal by Zhidkov in 1988, according to "UF").
— Did the leadership pump you up before the games with Dynamo?
— That was unnecessary. We could lose in Yerevan or Vilnius, but the mood against Dynamo was insane, just as it was for the Dynamo players against Spartak. Sometimes the coaches even tried to tone down that mood to prevent the players from overheating, it was that serious.
— Did Spartak players receive additional bonuses for matches against Dynamo?
— There were, but I can’t remember the exact amounts. However, what were the sums back then? Insignificant. I can probably say that there were no special amounts for beating Dynamo. After the championship ended - yes. If we finished in first place, then the bonuses were good, and cars were given.
— What kind of car did you get at Spartak?
— A "Volga". That was my reward for the championship in 1987.
— And what was your salary at Spartak?
— 250 rubles.
— Were the sums higher for players at Dynamo?
— I find it hard to say. But, considering the authority of Valeriy Lobanovsky, I think so. Valeriy Vasilyevich knew how to negotiate bonuses.
— With which Dynamo players did you have good relations?
— With all the national team players - Sasha Zavarov, Oleg Kuznetsov, Vasyka Ratz, with whom I still keep in touch, Ivan Yaremchuk, and I maintain some contact with him, Vitya Chanov, rest his soul. I value all these relationships.
I started when Oleg Blokhin was finishing. It so happened that in my first call-up to the national team, I lived in the same room with Blokhin. For me, he was an idol; I had seen him on TV just yesterday, and today I was living with him in the same room. I didn't know how to behave, whether to address him informally or formally. In short, I was very nervous at first.
— And what did you think of the star?
— A normal guy. Blokhin once really helped me. After the national team's training camp, we were going back to our clubs, and I didn’t have a ticket to Odesa. Can you imagine, he, as a major of the police, a Dynamo player, used his connections and got me that ticket. After my career, we met several times at various anniversaries and enjoyed chatting.
— You mentioned Ivan Yaremchuk. Where is he now, and what is he doing?
— When the war started, Ivan went to Germany to his friend. However, he lives far from me, about 200 kilometers from Cologne. We talk sometimes; he says it’s very boring there.
— It is well known that Yaremchuk was a gambling person.
— I even lent him money for casinos. He lost everything that could be lost. We stayed in touch, and I tried to pull him out of this pit. I wanted to bring him to Kazakhstan as my assistant, but unfortunately, it didn't work out.
Serhiy Dem'yanchuk
", 'Viktor PasulkoUkrainian football.