The defender of Kyiv’s «Dynamo» Maksym Dyachuk shared his impressions of the start of preparations for the new season.
Maksym Dyachuk— Maksym, congratulations on the start of preparations for the new season. Did you manage to get some rest during the vacation period?
— Yes, of course, a month was more than enough to rest, and now I will prepare for the new season with renewed strength.
— The first training sessions after a long break are quite challenging. How did it go for you, how do you feel, is anything hurting?
— Thank you for your concern. (Smiles). Thank God, everything is fine. I trained during the vacation, had individual training sessions, so it wasn’t too hard, to be honest.
— Before training, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi told the players that they need to forget everything that was achieved last season and start fresh. Do you think the team has even more responsibility now because of the championship status?
— What we did is, of course, very good. But that is behind us, it’s history. Now we have high goals ahead of us. We have raised the bar to a high level, and now we cannot drop below it. We will be judged based on last season, so we need to regain our best condition and enter the season in the best shape.
— Oleksandr Volodymyrovych also emphasized that a difficult but necessary period lies ahead for every football player. Are you ready for hard work at the training camps, when a lot of running will be needed?
— Of course, we are ready, this is our job. In the first half of the training camp, there is usually more running work, and we work minimally with the balls, focusing on physical condition. Every football player must be prepared for this.
— The Club World Championship is currently underway with many giants participating. Are you following its ups and downs, perhaps cheering for someone?
— I want to see how Real Madrid will play now, as I really like Xabi Alonso’s style. So I’m only following them.
— The draw for the second round of the Champions League has also taken place, and the potential opponents of Dynamo have become known. What are your expectations? After all, the Champions League is the level every football player should strive for...
— Every football player indeed has a dream. And since childhood, I dreamed of standing on the field, hearing the Champions League anthem, feeling chills down my spine… So, of course, we will set ourselves the task of reaching the main stage. As for the nearest opponents, we will definitely have theoretical tasks where we will analyze in detail the team we will be playing against and prepare for the confrontation.
