Yesterday, August 21, Dynamo lost in the first playoff match of the Europa League to Tel Aviv’s Maccabi with a score of 1:3. Former midfielder of the "white-blues" Artem Yashkin shared his thoughts on the reasons for this defeat.
— Artem, as painful as it is to say, but Dynamo once again looked helpless on the European stage. Why is that?
— They'll say again that there were a lot of travels, no proper recovery. In principle, that's true, but I saw that the level of Maccabi's players, who also travel a lot around Europe, is not higher than that of Dynamo, and the Kyivans should have closed this game. They started somewhat timidly, but when aggression and speed came into play, the opponent faltered. Then the team stopped again. Besides, the referee, in my opinion, unfairly sent off VYvcharenko, thus breaking the game. And then, playing with one man down, we could not maintain the draw, starting to do some incomprehensible things.
— Last season, Dynamo also lost a lot in European competitions, but there was a struggle, and it was clear there was some effort from the players. Now that is missing.
— It's hard for me to say why this is the case. But indeed, achieving results without counter-pressing, without aggression is unrealistic.
— It seemed that the match with Maccabi once again demonstrated that Diynamovtsi are deteriorating.
— That’s right. We just need to find the reasons for these failures. I cannot judge because I am not inside the team, but the fact that the game is not improving and the quality of actions is low is a fact. I can only assume that the team lacks motivation. We will be in the Conference League, that’s already good. Maybe someone hasn’t conveyed to the players that they need to play in the Champions League, not in the third-tier European tournament.
— You played under the guidance of Lobanovsky, so I wanted to ask: how many players from this team would have survived under Valery Vasilyevich?
— With such desire and dynamics, I think none. This does not apply to Yarmolenko, who at 35 was the most charged for the fight. As has been the case lately.
— Is there a place for the version that due to the war, players have relaxed, playing, essentially, without home fans?
— Of course, when you have the support of 50,000, it feels completely different on the field. But still, I would name the main problem as the large number of travels. This affects all our clubs that play in Europe.
— But why doesn’t Shakhtar receive as much criticism, demonstrating more or less quality football?
— Where? In the first game against Besiktas? I haven’t seen anything like that in others.
— But they were not punching bags?
— Where were they meant to be punching bags? In the game against Panathinaikos? Come on. Paphos looked much stronger than the Greek team. What football does Shakhtar play? Their defense looks a bit more reliable, but up front, everything is thanks to the individual actions of a few Brazilians.
— However, can Dynamo, with its history, lose without character to teams like Paphos or Maccabi?
— No, of course not. I’ll say more: Maccabi is lower in level than Paphos. We didn’t pressure the Israelis, and you could see their defense was weak, and that was shown in the 20 minutes of the second half of the first half. Often, when losing the ball, the Dynamos stopped, walked back home... I could hardly watch this match. If it hadn’t been for your call, I would have gone to bed after the first half.
— Did hope shine in you after Dynamo equalized, considering how the Kyivans scored their goal?
— I will say this. One quick attack, with the right openings, and the ball is in the net. It’s that simple.
— Maybe it’s all about the head coach?
— I’m not defending Shovkovsky, but there is an analytical department, doctors who know how long the players can hold out if they press for five minutes three times a half. If that doesn’t work out, then we can again talk about constant travels. Based on that, the game plan is developed. However, if a player has character, he needs to step on his own throat and show a worthy game. What happened in the match against Maccabi was embarrassing to watch.
— Many specialists say there was a miscalculation in pre-season preparation. Do you agree?
— It’s hard for me to say. Maybe they played all preparation in a square, or maybe they over-trained, but the fact remains: the team looks very poor.
— There’s an opinion that some players feel irreplaceable. Vanat last season looked much better.
— If we take this forward specifically, he played excellently in the UPL. Moreover, in the second half when there were no significant travels and fatigue.
— Defense is a separate topic?
— There could be a whole book written on this. Take Karavaev, who gave such a pass to the opponent that some midfielders wouldn’t even give to their attackers. And you watch the actions of the central defenders and cry. The team’s game depends on the defense. When the defense is solid, the midfielders are more focused on creating. And if you are always afraid, knowing that there is a hole in the center of the defense, everyone is working looking back. Mikhailenko was also continually falling back as the fifth defender.
— Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
— I don’t want to say any hopeful words, but there is a return match, and if the footballers have at least a bit of dignity, they must pull themselves together. To truly learn lessons from defeat, not just to say these words and then for everything to repeat itself. If Dynamo wants to perform in the Europa League, they need to give all for this game.
— In a week, will you believe in a miracle?
— There will be no miracle if the Kyivans manage to show all their best qualities. Maccabi is capable of taking on even such Dynamo. At least with such a plan that was in the first game, the team will definitely not play like that. Perhaps there will be rotation, and a bet will be placed on a quick goal. And how everything will turn out, we’ll see.
Sergiy Dem'yanchuk