Famous Ukrainian forward Ivan Sharii shared his expectations for the second match of Dynamo against Maccabi in the playoff round of the Europa League qualification.
— 1:3 in the first game is not a total defeat, believes the expert. — "Dynamo" will still resist a bit. Although it is clear that the score is not very comfortable. Nevertheless, we need to play and strive for a convincing victory. I think if everything goes well in the match, the Dynamo players will be able to win.
— Was the defeat to Maccabi in the first match a surprise for you?
— Of course! Well, let’s say they played 1:1 or some other draw, but like this… However, as they say, "we will see" since nothing is lost yet.
— In such cases, thoughts are always about the quick goal.
— Yes, that’s for sure. If the Dynamo players score one or two goals quickly, it will undoubtedly be an important factor. Although… You understand, this is football — anything can happen. The opponents also play football, and we often see that they demonstrate quite quality play. But let’s hope that "Dynamo" will score a few goals, and then we’ll see.
— What can help Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s team achieve the desired result in today’s match?
— It is clear that given the result of the first meeting, in the return match, they need to attack, create more chances. 1:3 is not 3:1. Therefore, they need to play the kind of football that leads to goals. And "Dynamo" is definitely forced to score in this situation.
— Lately, there has been a lot of talk around "Dynamo." In an attempt to find the reason for the failures, some people see a deterioration of the microclimate in the team, linking it to an alleged conflict between Oleksandr Shovkovskyi and Andrii Yarmolenko. What do you think about this?
— Frankly speaking, I can’t even say what was there — a conflict or not. Shovkovskyi and Yarmolenko are two friends, teammates, who played together at "Dynamo" and the Ukrainian national team for several years. Now the first is the head coach, and the second is a player under his guidance. It might have happened that Yarmolenko left a training session. Well, he just left — so what? Is it really some kind of special tragedy? There’s nothing terrible about it, in my opinion. Just work moments.
— Recently, information emerged that Dynamo striker Vladyslav Vanat is to be acquired by Spanish Girona…
— Then let them buy him! That’s normal. If there is such interest, let "Dynamo" sell.
— The issue is different. Won’t "Dynamo" thus become toothless in attack?
— No. I don’t see anything terrible. Someone else can play instead of Vanat. There’s Salenko Jr., who looks quite good.
— Recently, the Dynamo coaching staff was joined by Pole Matsei Kendyorek, who will work as an analysis coach and be responsible for set pieces. How do you think this might be a reasonable step in this situation?
— An analyst is an analyst. It can be anyone — be it a Polish, Georgian, or Chinese specialist who will count how many times who touched the ball during the game. But how they play, what’s the point of the analyst?! It turns out that if they win, the analyst is good. And if they lose? You know, I don’t even know how to regard the presence of analysts in the team. I can say one thing: there weren’t any before. And there was football. People played, they won.
Andrii Pysarenko
