Former player and coach of Kyiv Dynamo Yozhef Sabo shared his impressions of the Champions League final match between French PSG and Italian "Inter" (5:0), and also touched on some other football topics.
Yozhef Sabo— Yozhefe Yozhefovychu, what do you think about the Champions League final?
— Before the match, I even had a bit of an argument with my friend. I said PSG would win, while he was betting on "Inter". The Parisian club has a fantastic attack—everything is at high speed, they can outplay one-on-one. "Inter" has a rather weak attack; Lautaro Martinez is very weak. But I was surprised to see how awkwardly "Inter" looked in defense. PSG easily outplayed the Italian team and could have scored even more than five goals.
— Before the game, it seemed that PSG and "Inter" — were practically equal teams.
— I don’t think so. "Inter" was generally lucky to make it to the final; "Barcelona" simply had bad luck in the semifinals. The Catalans were supposed to play in the decisive match against PSG.
— Who were you cheering for in the final?
— For PSG. I like the Paris team, and I appreciate that they have young players. Kvaratskhelia is a very good player, everything he does is at speed; he assists, makes runs, and isn’t afraid to go one-on-one. The Georgian has been taught to play football the right way. And in "Inter", mostly old players are running around, even Mkhitaryan is barely walking on the field.
— You headed "Dynamo" when the Kyiv team played in 1994. What do you remember about those matches?
— At home we lost 1:2, and away we lost 0:1. In both matches, George Weah scored against us—a very strong forward. I remember that French journalists asked me why I put libero Vaschuk in, since experienced players should be playing in that position. They were very surprised by my choice. I explained to them that although Vlad is young, he has a very bright mind.
— Do you see any players of Champions League level in today’s UPL?
— Absolutely none! A year ago, I saw such a player in Brazilian when he just returned to "Dynamo" from a loan at "Zoria". I don’t know what’s happened to him now, but the guy has completely lost himself and isn’t showing anything. Braizko has good potential; he sees the field perfectly, can assist, and support, shoot. But all of that has disappeared from him.
— What do you say about the most expensive player in the Ukrainian championship from "Shakhtar"—Heorhiy Sudakov, who is valued at 32 million euros by Transfermarkt?
— Don’t even mention Sudakov. Journalists have hyped him up. I don’t know who will buy him, and if they do, he won’t be a key player there. Football in Europe is completely different, and midfielders must not only attack but also defend. Bondarenko from "Shakhtar" is also a weak player. He receives the ball and immediately passes it. What happens next?
Some young 18-year-old players are currently playing at "Barcelona", and at PSG—19-year-old Due scored a brace in the final. That’s the level of youth, but we have none like that! Yes, this can be partly attributed to the war. We have a problem with youth. Many children were taken abroad by their parents, and they will not return to Ukraine. This is a huge issue for our football.
— Sudakov is being linked with "Napoli". In the Italian league, there are already three Ukrainians playing: Ruslan Malinovskyi ("Genoa"), Viktor Kovalenko ("Empoli") and Artem Dovbik ("Roma").
— Dovbik is showing absolutely nothing at "Roma". He lacks the movements valued in central strikers. Dovbik should open up to the left, to the right, behind, but he constantly walks alongside the central defender. Artem must be able to work at speed and feel where the attack will go. The only thing Dovbik has is his height; he can finish crosses from the wing, as he did at "Girona". Dovbik is a young guy, yet he has already changed so many teams. I think that’s not normal.
— Your former protégé from "Dynamo", Andriy Shevchenko, spent almost his entire career at "Milan". And he won the Champions League in 2003!
— Shevchenko made one very big mistake by listening to his wife and moving to "Chelsea". His wife wanted to live in London, and that’s no secret. At "Milan", Shevchenko played wonderfully, scored a lot, but in England, the football is completely different, which didn’t suit him. Moreover, Berlusconi was in love with Shevchenko, and he could have played at "Milan" until the end of his career, receiving a good salary.
— All our clubs will start from the qualifying rounds of the European cups. How do you assess the chances of "Dynamo", "Shakhtar", "Oleksandriya", and "Polissia" to make it to the group stage?
— Our clubs will find it difficult, especially "Dynamo", because in the Champions League, all teams are of a high level. Getting to the group stage will be almost impossible.
— Are you interested in watching "Polissia" under the leadership of Ruslan Rotan?
— I don’t understand at all why he went there. At "Polissia", he will have to assemble a team from scratch, and there are currently no players in Ukraine who are capable of strengthening it. Probably, Rotan went to "Polissia" for a good salary. I don’t see any other motivation. At "Oleksandriya", he had assembled a decent team, finished second, and should have continued working there. It’s clear that Butkevych wants to win the championship in Ukraine, but it will be difficult for "Polissia" to achieve that.
Andriy Piskun
