The universal player of Kyiv’s Dynamo, Alexander Karavaev, explained his team’s unsuccessful performance in the qualification of European competitions this season and shared expectations for the main stage of the Conference League.
Alexander Karavaev. Photo — A. Popov«Of course, we all want to compete in the Champions League. Especially since many guys from our current squad have never played in this tournament at its main stage. Of course, everyone wants this, but there are many factors.
If you look at Shakhtar, for example. They have made so many acquisitions, and I won’t say they are playing poorly or that they don’t want to or anything — no. It’s just that the whole situation related to the war affects everything, all these travels. Yarmolenko told us how he talked about this with a player from Maccabi when they were on doping. Maccabi also plays European competitions away from home, but they fly to these matches. And when Andrey told him about our two-day or three-day schedule, about how we get there and how we return after matches, the guy just sat in shock, saying it’s impossible to do it like that. But there’s no other way. Well, at this stage, these are our realities, and we need to squeeze the maximum out of this situation.
Also, there’s probably a problem with the championship. There’s no competition as if there were five, six, or seven clubs at roughly the same level that would create pressure. Just like before, when Metalist, Dnipro, Chornomorets, and Donetsk Metallurg were all there; there was always pressure and competition. Or take the Premier League, for example. There, every team can take points from any opponent. Why? Because every match is like the last one. For instance, Mykolenko (Vitaliy Mykolenko, defender of Everton, — ed.) says when you talk to him: „Here a year feels like three, every match is like the last one, you’re just exhausted after every game. Everything is always at maximum because the intensity is huge, and everyone is at a very high level.“
In the current situation we are in, it’s difficult to develop the championship and even hard to invite foreigners. Therefore, we need to somehow set higher goals and approach this emotionally in a different way.
As for our performance in the Conference League, of course, we want to progress from the group. We understand that it will be important, especially considering who our opponents in the first two rounds will be (Crystal Palace, Samsunspor, — ed.). What to expect from Dynamo in the Conference League? A lot of points gained. We will be gaining them,» said Karavaev on the YouTube channel «On-side».
