The captain of Kyiv’s “Dynamo” Vitaliy Buyalsky spoke about the journey to the 30th championship, the biggest challenges in last season’s travels, the main hopes for the new Ukrainian championship, and the third championship star.
Vitaliy Buyalsky (photo: fcdynamo.com)— Vitaliy, how did your vacation go?
— I had a good rest. At first, I was in Kyiv, and then I visited my parents in Vinnytsia region. That’s how my vacation went.
— Did you manage to take a break from football?
— Yes, I had enough time. I rested at home for about 10-12 days, and then gradually started training on my own.
— Last season, you spent a lot of time on the road. Did you count how many hours you traveled?
— I can’t say how many hours we traveled last season — we didn’t count. But I clearly remember that our longest trip was for the match against “Aris” in Thessaloniki. We left Kyiv, started the stopwatch, and when we arrived in Greece, 23.5 hours had passed. (On August 10, 2023, in the third qualifying round of the Conference League — ed.).
— Let’s return to last season. Which trip stood out for you the most in a negative sense, and which — in a positive one?
— If we consider the European cups, the most negativity, probably, came after the game against “Ferencváros”. We went there with a strong desire to win, to return home with positive emotions. But it turned out how it turned out. The positives, without a doubt, came after the matches against “Partizan” and “Rangers”.
— In your opinion, why did “Dynamo” look better in the Champions League qualifying matches than later in the Europa League matches?
— Perhaps, back then we had a higher concentration. Maybe everyone was more focused, and then slightly relaxed. Somewhere things didn’t go well, and the team lost confidence in its abilities.
— What was the most successful game for you last season?
— I don’t know. Perhaps, that question is not quite for me.
— Your statistics last season — 7 goals and 8 assists. Do you consider your contribution to the championship title significant?
— Every player who is in the team and trains with us contributes to our common victory. It doesn’t matter if he scored or assisted — he works together with us and helps everyone become better. That is also a significant contribution. Therefore, everyone in our team did everything they could for us to become champions.
— Oleksandr Shovkovskyi says that he never appoints a player to take penalties. Who on the field decides who will take the penalty?
— The one who is confident that he will score takes the penalty.
— What is Vitaliy Buyalsky’s dream?
— To make a dream come true, perhaps, it’s better not to talk about it. There is one common dream in our country — and everyone knows it well. So we will dream together only about it.
— What are you expecting from the new season?
— I expect to play at the highest possible level in all tournaments without exception.
— If you had to choose between winning the championship, playing in the World Cup with the national team, and playing in the group stage of the Champions League, what would be your priority in the season?
— Champions League.
Oleksandr Petrov
