Dynamo Kyiv forward Matviy Ponomarenko spoke about his career, achievements, and prospects in the capital club.
Matviy Ponomarenko— Matviy, 46 goals in the U-19 national league. It’s a national record! How does the newly minted record holder feel?
— I don’t have any special feelings. It’s just nice that there is such an achievement. But it’s only the beginning; it’s just U-19. If you really think about it, it doesn’t mean much because all these achievements at a youth level need to be confirmed with quality play and results at the adult level. If there are such results there, then we can talk about successes and accomplishments. As of now, it’s just the beginning of my journey. Of course, it’s good that I’m able to score and so on. But these results must be proven to not be a fluke in adult football.
— We’re talking right after the U-19 championship match against Shakhtar, which ended with your victory of 3:2, where you scored two goals, which is a good indicator. How would you assess your performance in this match?
— Of course, if you score two goals, that’s a good indicator. It means, as a striker, I did my job. I’m very pleased that I was able to help the team secure a victory. I will note that the weather conditions were challenging, and the condition of the pitch was not very good. Despite this, we won, so we can be satisfied with our performance in this match.
— The decisive goal against Shakhtar — it’s something beyond the laws of physics. How did it happen?
— If you look at it from the side, the goal is extraordinarily beautiful. If you try to explain it, as my mother wrote to me, God helped us. In the sense that the ball was effectively carried into the net by the wind. Accordingly, if the weather conditions and wind hadn’t been like that, this goal might not have happened. But it’s good that it did, and thanks to this wonderful goal, we won today.
— A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about Vladyslav Vanat as the best scorer of the U-19 championship. Now you are in the spotlight. If your career unfolds like his, will you be satisfied?
— Of course, by God’s will, it will be even better. But if you look at things objectively, Vanat is having a very good career. He is a quality player to be emulated. He’s already playing in a top championship, one of the best in the world. And he’s even scoring goals there. Therefore, God bless him to continue like that. I wouldn’t mind if my career developed in a similar direction. But overall, I aspire for even more, and I will put in maximum effort to realize my potential.
— Who is your role model as a striker? You are a sturdy, powerful player, who in this style do you like the most? I once had a flashback about Nicklas Bendtner in the context of your game, but probably you are not so similar.
— Honestly, I can’t even draw such analogies. Earlier, when Cristiano Ronaldo played in this position, he was the one who appealed to me the most. But now... Maybe Haaland. He chooses his position well and scores a lot. Maybe I like him. But to say that I directly emulate someone or copy their style of play, that’s not the case.
«Lucescu noticed me during my performances with Zorya U-19»
— It’s symbolic that your debut in the UPL was against Shakhtar, on November 3, 2023. This was Mircea Lucescu’s last match at the helm of Dynamo. Did you know you would play before the game, or did it happen in the process?
— No, I didn’t know I would play in this match. It was preceded by our game against Shakhtar in the U-19 championship, where we won 2:0. I was very tired after that game, having played 90 minutes. And then they tell me, «You are in the first team’s lineup for tomorrow’s match.» If I am not mistaken, this was perhaps my first time being in the first team lineup at all.
I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they took me to this match. And then, as the game unfolded, Dynamo was losing, and it was necessary to go on the attack. The coaching staff made the decision to put me on the field. And I am very grateful to Mircea Lucescu for allowing me to debut in such a match. Unfortunately, we lost it, but it’s an incredible experience and strong impressions from debuting at 17 for Dynamo Kyiv’s first team.
— But this is not your first experience being with the first team, since you had training with them, right?
— Of course, when I was with Zorya U-19 during the winter training camps, Lucescu noticed me. And when I was working with Zorya, they invited me additionally to train with Dynamo’s first team during the camps.
— How do you remember the experience of working with Mircea Lucescu in general?
— It’s a wonderful experience, really. I was very pleasantly surprised that they noticed me and took me to train with the first team at such a young age. Well, imagine: I am laying in my room, not suspecting anything, my thoughts with Zorya, and here they tell me: «Come on, get ready, they are expecting you in Dynamo’s first team.» I was shocked. I arrived, everyone greeted me warmly, we talked to the head coach... Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what, but he definitely told me not to worry and that everything would be fine.
It’s a truly great experience, he’s a legendary coach. Even if you look around the world, he is among the top coaches by the number of titles won! I had an incredible experience and no less incredible impressions from my debut under Mircea Lucescu’s leadership. I am very grateful to him for it.
— On May 1, 2024, you scored your first UPL goal against Veres. To whom did you dedicate that goal?
— I didn’t particularly dedicate it to anyone. There were crazy emotions at that moment, but... It was a huge effort on my part and on the part of my parents, who have always supported me, always took me to training, and believed in me. If we look at it this way, this goal is dedicated to my family. We’ve been working towards this for a long time, and fortunately, it happened.
«For a year and a half I went to wrestling, but I didn’t like it much»
— How did you start playing football anyway? How did it all begin?
— It started somehow from early childhood. My mom used to tell me that when I was three years old, I couldn’t speak properly because of some dental problems, but even then, I was already pronouncing the names of popular football teams. For example, Borussia (Dortmund).
— At three years old? You’re something!
— Yes, my parents say that’s how it was. And we would take a ball, go into the hallway, my dad would stand at one end of the room, and I at the other. And we would keep passing the ball to each other, playing a lot like that. They say that in childhood, I was always looking for the ball. I really wanted to play football. But in my town (Myronivka, Obukhiv district of Kyiv region — ed.), at that time, children weren’t recruited for football at such an early age. So, it was recommended to first enroll in wrestling. There were more types of warm-ups, coordination exercises there. So, in a way, wrestling also helped me. And interestingly, even in the wrestling section, there was room for football.
— How so?
— Very simple. We would have a run outside, and along with it, they would offer us to play football. Since then, I especially loved that sport, to which I connected my life. I attended wrestling for about a year and a half, but I didn’t like it much. And as I went to school, somewhere in the first grade, I walked home with a friend after school, and he said to me: «I joined the local team for football…». I said: «Oh, really? Where? Can I come with you?» He agreed, and I went to practice. My first coach was Mykhailo Volodymyrovych Halych. I liked everything. But no one knew about my visit to this practice.
— Not even your parents?
— Not even my parents. But I came home, told them, I had a very good impression of this training. And I felt happy because there was finally a chance to engage in my favorite activity. My parents really supported me, and since then, everything spun around, and I began to engage in football.
— Great story. And what about the friend you went with to football back then? Does he still play? How did his fate turn out?
— No, he no longer plays; his fate turned out differently. We don’t communicate now. But I am also very grateful to him because at that time, he helped me by suggesting the idea, inviting me to practice, and igniting the spark in me.
— And the experience gained in the wrestling section... Does it help you now in football? For example, when your team is taking a corner kick, and you can use a couple of techniques to win the right position in the penalty area?
— Well, not literally. But if looking at it in terms of coordination or stretching, then the wrestling experience was very helpful. We were well-stretched in wrestling; I could do the splits. Various exercises were given: jumps, somersaults, we even did flips. All of this helps with coordination. So, I am also grateful for this wrestling experience.
— The eternal problem: transition from youth to adult football. Many careers have ended on this note, despite talks about great prospects. What problems do you feel now in transitioning from youth to adult football?
— Of course, it’s very difficult to smoothly transition from youth to adult football. Because it’s a completely different speed, a completely different load, a different understanding of the game. But this can be managed because it’s not for nothing that people in Europe play for the first teams already at 16, 17, or 18. For example, Lamine Yamal, who demonstrates top-level play at 18. I believe that it’s not so much physically difficult, but mentally. Because you play with adults and fear making mistakes. For instance, wrong ball reception... You immediately start thinking about what experienced teammates will say. And this affects the overall mental state, and it’s tough for everyone in this respect. This aspect needs to be well managed to more smoothly perceive such moments and adapt faster to new realities.
And moreover, you feel more pressure because it’s already a professional team, and the public’s expectations are at a new level. The approach is also completely different. If you come, you have to produce results because you weren’t noticed for nothing. In reality, what can hinder you from realizing your potential is only what’s in your head. Physical strength, speed, decision-making on the field — all this improves with experience.
— By the way, about pressure. Many Dynamo fans expect that after Vanat’s departure, you will be the one to challenge Eduardo Guerrero. Are you mentally prepared for this? There have been some critical reviews of your game in Dynamo’s first team; has that shaken your belief in yourself?
— No, no, I perceive it quite normally. I understand what the coaches and club management want from me. I believe that I can handle all of this, and I’m ready for it. If I have the chance, I will compete, strive for the right to become the main striker. But if we are talking about the mental aspect of this issue, then yes, I am ready for this competition.
— Many Dynamo players, before making it to the first team, gained experience in other clubs, playing there on loan. If you have such an option, what will you choose: to continue fighting for a place in Dynamo’s starting lineup, or game practice in another club on loan?
— As of now, I cannot give a clear answer to this question. We don’t know how the situation will develop in the future. But if we project the current state of affairs into the future, maybe it makes sense to go on loan, gain experience and playing practice, and then, in six months or a year, become stronger and return to Dynamo to fight for a place in the starting lineup here.
«Synchuk’s disqualification? It was a circus»
— Another topic I’d like to touch on is the U-20 World Cup, where you played as part of Ukraine’s youth national team. How would you rate our team’s performance overall? Could it have progressed beyond the 1/8 final? Especially since the Spanish team didn’t send their strongest possible lineup to the tournament.
— Certainly, we could have gone further. We have a great team, excellent players. Unfortunately, 1/8 was our end in this tournament. We were indeed unlucky because a key player in our team for this tournament, Hennadiy Synchuk, couldn’t play in the match against Spain. I think not letting him play was some sort of circus. He didn’t do anything criminal but had to miss the game. We found out about it an hour and a half to two before the game. Naturally, it was a moral problem for the team.
If we analyze in general, our performance was good, we got out of the group. Regardless of the Spanish lineup, they are always a top team with the best footballers in the Old World. We all know that the best academy in the world is Barcelona’s La Masia. It’s probably not for nothing that the Spanish team is Europe’s champion.
— Chile is a mountainous country. How did you adapt to the climate there?
— Honestly, I thought it would be much harder for us in that regard. That’s why we flew to Chile a week or even two in advance, to account for the acclimatization process and play a control match. Because everyone thought it would be more challenging for us considering the geography. But we arrived, trained, played the match, and everything was fine. There wasn’t an issue of lacking oxygen or anything else. The climate was normal. It’s not Bolivia, where they play at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level. Now there would be difficult. But in Chile, even though it’s mountainous, we breathed normally, and the team didn’t face any climate-related problems.
— You scored against Paraguay. This match can definitely be counted as a plus for both you and the team. Was it the best performance by you in the tournament?
— I think it was definitely one of the best matches our team played in the World Cup. Because it was the third game, we had already adapted to the field, the stadiums, the pressure of achieving results had diminished, as we knew we were advancing to the playoffs. But still, it was necessary to play, and we did it for our enjoyment. Perhaps that’s why the game turned out so well. We almost didn’t let Paraguay create anything, so we achieved a positive result in this match.
— Your partner or competitor in attack was Oleksandr Pishchur. He is 204 centimeters tall. Were there people in training who could win an aerial duel against him?
— No, there weren’t. Except for Sasha, our team didn’t have any giants.
— You already have certain successes in your football career. At 19, you’ve already played for Dynamo’s first team, even scored, and traveled to the youth World Cup. To whom and why would you like to say «Thank you!» for your football career?
— First of all, to my parents, who believed in me and gave me this chance. We had some issues, but they drove me to Dynamo, to training... We didn’t live in Kyiv then, but in Myronivka, Kyiv region. And that’s 100 kilometers from Kyiv. No matter what, I and my career always came first. Few people can believe in their child so much and throw everything into investing in its future. I am grateful for this support and belief in me. I try to give my all and prove that they didn’t do it for nothing.
And also, special thanks to my first coach. It is these people, the first coaches, who notice talent. So, I give a big thank you to Halych Mykhailo Volodymyrovych for believing in me, giving me this chance, and providing contacts with Dynamo’s coaches for my trial. A huge thanks to all these people!
Danylo Vereitin
