Former Kyiv Dynamo striker Oleg Salenko commented on the defeat to Cypriot Paphos (0:2) in the second leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League.
Oleg Salenko— Mr. Oleg, it’s clear that with such a performance, Dynamo has nothing to do in the Champions League. However, it gives the impression that the team plays worse and worse in European competitions with each match.
— It’s disappointing, but that’s our low level. We played very poorly in defense. The flanks were collapsing, the central defenders played as if they were on their own—one didn’t know what to do, the other forgot about his responsibilities. The goalkeeper also made a mistake at the beginning of the match. The midfield also had a weak performance. That’s why we have such a result.
— It seems that any mistake for Dynamo becomes fatal. Because the team creates absolutely nothing in attack; over two matches with Paphos, the dangerous moments near the opponent’s goal can be counted on one hand.
— Everyone understands that something is off in the team. When there’s such a big imbalance, the coach is naturally to blame. He needs to be asked how this could happen.
— Did you miscalculate in the preparation process for the season?
— The club did everything for them. Training camps in Austria, they’re playing in Lublin—there’s no need to travel far. I believe they had everything fine with their preparation. My son was with the first team, so I know. The problem, in my opinion, is that Oleksandr Shovkovskyi was trying various lineups in case of matches in the Champions League and in the Ukrainian championship.
This is a mistake. Because it turned out that one runs in one direction, the other— in another. And we need to have a core group of twelve to thirteen players. And build an equal reserve around it. We are consisting of one match with one lineup and another match with a different lineup. Ihor Surkis needs to think about changing the coach while there’s still time. I don’t know what he thinks about strengthening the coaching staff, but we need a specialist to build a new team.
— Shovkovskyi stated after the exit from the Champions League qualification that the team lacks reinforcements.
— What reinforcements? There were 35 players in the training camp. I remember that Yozhef Sabo said something similar when Dynamo failed everything. When a coach says this, it means he couldn’t create a viable team. All the players in Dynamo are of good quality. They’re being taken on loans for a reason.
— With such a performance as against Paphos, they can get eliminated from the Europa League as well.
— I think Dynamo will face Maccabi. The Israeli champions have some decent legionnaires in their squad, many players are called up to the national team, which has recently shown significant improvement and played in League A of the Nations League, managing to defeat Belgium. The opponents will be on equal terms since due to the war, Israel also plays its home matches on neutral fields.
In order to overcome Maccabi, Dynamo needs to form a collective, add dynamics and creativity. The guys need to fight for each other. This was not visible in the game against Paphos.
— Dynamo always fights against Shakhtar, but with Paphos, which is hardly stronger than the miners, they surrendered their place in the Champions League practically without resistance.
— Let’s wait a bit and see what conclusions Dynamo’s management will make after the exit from the Champions League qualification. Because if this continues, soon we won’t have even four teams in European cups. Dynamo doesn’t currently look like a solid unit, as it did in the spring.
— Serhiy Palkin set Shakhtar the goal of winning the Europa League. Have you heard about this?
— After the match with Karpaty, which Shakhtar drew, though they should have lost, anything can be said. Now Dynamo can come out with such a statement too. Saying is one thing; doing is harder. I also thought yesterday that Dynamo would pass Paphos, but it turned out the opposite. Let’s wait for Thursday and see how Shakhtar will win against Panathinaikos.
— If we look at the game, the Greeks don’t seem to have impressed Arda Turan at all.
— Panathinaikos is a well-balanced, experienced team. On paper, Shakhtar should beat them, but on the field, everything might turn out differently. In the first game, they didn’t concede, and their chances of advancing to the last round of qualification remain equal.
Hennadiy Chekhovskyi
