Former Kyiv Dynamo striker Oleh Salenko shared his emotions after his former team’s crushing defeat to Turkey’s Samsunspor (0:3) in yesterday’s match of the 2nd round of the Conference League main stage.
— After such a result and game — complete emptiness, and nothing more, — noted Salenko. – I could never even imagine that we would live to see a mediocre Turkish team crush Kyiv Dynamo. I’m no longer playing for Dynamo, but I’m very ashamed in front of the fans.
— Before the match, were you hoping for a better outcome?
— Yes, there was a faint hope that they would still fight for the result. I understood that we wouldn’t see elegant football, but you can fight, run, give your all on the field... But you know how it all ended...
— Even after such a defeat from Samsunspor, is there no Dynamo player about whom you can say: he did everything he could?
— Unfortunately, no. That’s the tragedy. There’s nothing special in Samsunspor’s game. Playing against such teams means having a great opportunity to show yourself, demonstrate your technique, tactical thinking, score goals at last... I scored against Turkish teams, and in our time, we confidently beat them.
— Two rounds of the Conference League have taken place, and Dynamo has zero points. What can the «white-blue» hope for in the current European campaign?
— From a tournament point of view — for nothing... It’s necessary to change the head coach and coaching staff. I think Yuriy Kalitvintsev would put the team in order.
Moreover, now it’s necessary to build a new team — with young players. This has already happened in Dynamo’s history. It’s clear that there’s a war in the country, that it’s not easy to keep the club’s young talents. However, this must be done, we must try to keep the players from the Dynamo U-19 team in Dynamo. Many guys from the previous squad have already been lost, they’re leaving for other clubs, going abroad. But I believe that they are the future of Kyiv Dynamo, which should be performing in the Champions League, not the Conference League. And for this, time and patience are needed.
Oleh Semenchenko