Former footballer of Kyiv's "Dynamo" and Donetsk's "Shakhtar" Oleksandr Sopko shared how Valeriy Lobanovskyi was remembered by him.
— Can you tell a story about Lobanovskyi, maybe not football-related?
— Lobanovskyi always had a stern look, which created a certain distance between him and those around him. He didn't try to curry favor with the players to gain cheap authority. Valeriy Vasylovych had a specific sense of humor, but he was not a joker like Lemeshko or Prokopenko — he was a person of a completely different format. He embodied the image of a stern father, a superior whom everyone had to believe.
His ability to persuade was so strong that, even having your own opinion, you unconditionally believed him. Communicating with him, you succumbed to his influence, confidence, and decisiveness.
— Did he influence the players with his charisma?
— Of course. Even great footballers who tried to engage him in discussion were suppressed by his influence, using his charisma. If someone had their own opinion, Lobanovskyi could change it to the opposite, proving that he was the only one right. He never accepted other opinions, even when they might be correct.
However, time showed that when his beliefs were mistaken, Lobanovskyi could subsequently use someone else’s recommendations, passing them off as his own decisions. Now I understand that, as a coach, he left no room for any discussions, as everyone in the team could express their opinion. He made it clear that he was the head coach, responsible for the result, so he should be listened to. In doing so, Lobanovskyi made the emergence of another charismatic coach in "Dynamo" impossible.
— Did he address the footballers in the formal "you" form?
— In the informal "you". And we, of course, addressed him in the formal "you".
— Did Lobanovskyi have some disciplinary code?
— There were fines for violating the sports regime, but they were not as scary as the threat of being dropped from the main squad and being sent to the reserve team. That was the most serious punishment. Some footballers were forgiven by Lobanovskyi for violating the sports regime; he turned a blind eye to it and only had talks, as he saw the necessity of their presence in the team. For example, he tolerated Berezhnyi’s antics for a long time. With others, he wouldn’t have bothered that much. And he had compassion for Sasha, believing that he would get better, gain wisdom, and become who he needed to be.
— Did you participate in the cross that Lobanovskyi held right after the New Year?
— Of course. Every year on January 2, Lobanovskyi arranged a 12-kilometer run for us. On one hand, it allowed us to assess who and how rested during the New Year, and on the other — to test the willpower of his charges. He always ran alongside the footballers. Interestingly, when he was a player, he never liked these runs, but once he became a coach, he changed his mind.
Lobanovskyi set the pace himself, always running ahead. We ran in the area of Koncha-Zaspa. There are nice paths among the forest. Winter, the snow is lying. Everyone was already tired, those who lagged behind started complaining: why are we running on these hills? We reached a good pace in one direction. Everyone was swearing, spitting, barely breathing. There, a bus was waiting for us. We could drink some water, and if anyone needed — see a doctor.
And then Valeriy Vasylovych started bleeding from his nose. Everyone thought: well, that’s it, now Lobanovskyi will sit in the bus, and we will go back at a calm pace. But no! Lobanovskyi wiped his nose with a handkerchief, stood for a few minutes, and said: "Well, let’s run back!" And again he pulled us along with him. That’s where the will, character, and desire to show how to overcome difficulties lay. Those who were running behind and expressed dissatisfaction immediately fell silent and quietly reached the end.
— Was the training camp in "Dynamo" under Lobanovskyi a difficult trial for a player?
— The training process under Lobanovskyi was extremely difficult. I remember, in 1978 he introduced a new program for us. Three days of three training sessions, then one day we rested, then again three days of training in the same mode. Everyone was so morally exhausted that on that day we just wanted to lie down.
Seeing such a depressed mood, Lobanovskyi decided to relieve us psychologically. He said: "Today we will have a Cooper test for the service staff and coaches, and the footballers will be the judges and fans." Even bus drivers participated in that cross.
In the team, there was a masseur, a sports master, a former marathon runner Ivan Zhutnyk. He offered Lobanovskyi a bet that he would lap him. Valeriy Vasylovych supported: "You won’t lap me." They started running, and Zhutnyk immediately picked up such a pace that literally in a few minutes he was ahead of everyone by about 200 meters, including Lobanovskyi. Of course, we all cheered for the masseur, supported him, shouting: "Ivan, go for it!" We really wanted Lobanovskyi to feel how hard it was to run after a marathon runner. Ivan tried, but nothing could help him. In 12 minutes of running, Lobanovskyi only lost about 250 meters to him and won the bet.
Valeriy Vasylovych was stubborn, and if he set a goal for himself, he did everything not to lose.
— Which exercise in Lobanovskyi’s training was the hardest for you?
— Training in squares of 6×6, 7×7 on half a field. One team keeps the ball with two or more touches with two neutral players, the other — tries to take it away. Moreover, Lobanovskyi himself also appoints who plays with whom. The duration of one series is 5-6 minutes.
Lobanovskyi told me: "You play with Kolotov." Throughout the session, Kolotov didn’t stop even for a moment. He moved continuously. He would pass the ball 30-40 meters — and immediately rush forward. He would play with a partner there and run in another direction. When my team intercepted the ball and passed it to me, Kolotov was right there. He forced a struggle, took the ball, and I was running after him again.
In these exercises, the difference between beginner players and experienced masters was felt. You began to understand how important it was to move faster, think, and act collectively. In general, the training process principle under Lobanovskyi was based on competition and confrontations. All exercises of his simulated game situations. There were always one-on-one game exercises, competition between the attacker and the defender, and he periodically changed these pairs.
In every exercise, there was a struggle for who was faster, higher, stronger. The stronger ones quickly moved into the main squad. This also applied to general physical training, tests, relays. Lobanovskyi built running exercises so that there would always be a winner, one who pulled everyone along. And everyone followed him.
Oleksandr Petrov