Head coach of "Dynamo U-19" Ihor Kostiuk shared his impressions after the victory in the away match against Odessa’s "Chornomorets U-19" with a score of 6:1, which allowed the Dynamo players to become champions for the second consecutive time ahead of schedule, one round before the end of the youth championship.
Ihor Kostiuk (photo: fcdynamo.com)— Of course, it is always pleasant to become champions. I hope that this season the first team will become champions as well, for this the boys need to win tomorrow too. First and foremost, we work for the development of our players, of course, we motivate them to win in every match and to progress. You saw how we passed the second round — not losing a single point, although before the winter break we were five points behind our competitors. In the direct encounters with "Shakhtar," we lost in the first round, and in the second, we won and, I believe, were stronger in terms of play. Overall, we passed the second half of the season evenly.
The spirit of winners that we instill in our players in every match is needed and should help them progress in the future. I always tell the footballers that motivation should be long-term, not just for one game, and then for another — not. Because at this age (16-20 years), players do not always make it into the starting lineup. Their patience, effort, competition — this is their progress moving forward. Currently, they will have to compete with adult players who have been playing in the Premier League for some time. Therefore, this long-term motivation in the fight for a place in the starting lineup should help them.
—Your protégés have already scored 104 goals and conceded only 11, is such effectiveness — a unique case?
— This is the result of game discipline, which helps the footballers. We do not play one or two matches, but every match throughout the championship, so discipline, structure, and positioning on the football field must allow the players to score a lot. So far, the U-19 is a level of youth football, but then there will be adults, where mistakes are punished.
—You mentioned that in the second part of the season the team did not lose a single point, did the preparation in the winter training camps have such a positive impact?
— We remembered where we lost points — at the beginning of the season in Rivne with "Veres," when during the match we led 1:0, but then after the camps, we had many sick players, and the lack of a balanced squad was noticeable. Also, we drew 0:0 away with "Kolos" and lost to "Shakhtar" despite our full advantage. In the fall, we played matches in the UEFA Youth League, traveled to other countries, which perhaps also had an impact.
—Was it easier for you to win the title last season or to defend it this season?
— We joked with the players that they have already gotten used to becoming champions, so the emotions are not so bright, but you can hear how they celebrate. I repeat, before the winter break, we were five points behind "Shakhtar." To go through the second round without losing a single point and become champions early, one round before the end of the youth championship — for this, the boys deserve respect. Well done for showing up motivated and properly adjusted for every game.
—From the perspective of personnel potential, next season will be significantly different from the current one. Is it already known who will definitely leave and who will join the team? How do you plan to prepare during the offseason?
— We have one more game left to play. We have already drawn up a training schedule and the players who will stay with us will go with the first team for training camps and move on. So everything is on schedule.
