Former defender of the Ukrainian national team Serhiy Diryavka shared what he remembered from the matches between «Dynamo» and «Shakhtar» in the 3rd round of the Conference League against the Bosnian «Zrinjski» (6:0) and the Icelandic «Breidablik» (2:0) respectively.
Serhiy Diryavka— The level of the opponents allowed the coaches Oleksandr Shovkovskyi and Arda Turan to experiment. After two Classic matches, Shakhtar decided to conduct a massive rotation in the lineup. Players who didn’t have enough match practice in the UPL got a chance to showcase themselves. Dynamo allowed players to play not in their «native» positions. In particular, stopper Taras Mikhavko operated on the left flank of the defense.
— And what impression did he make?
— A pleasant one. The Dynamo player confirmed that he can be used in this position as well. Such versatility of the young player cannot but please. I agree, «Zrinjski» is an average team, but still Mikhavko acted confidently in support, when making the first pass and when connecting to the attack. It’s hard to say if this redeployment of Taras will be permanent, but it’s one of the options to relieve pressure on the flanks of Dynamo’s defense.
— Can this ease with which Ukrainian clubs dominated in the next round of the Conference League be useful for them in the UPL?
— It will certainly add confidence. However, these are different tournaments, and in my opinion, the next opponents of the «miners» («Poltava») and Dynamo (LNZ) are stronger than in these CLC matches. Here, maximum motivation is needed: the city teams are fighting for survival, and LNZ is fighting for the podium. Draw your conclusions.
— In the next round of the Conference League, the opponents of our representatives — «Shamrock Rovers» and «Omonia» — also rank lower. If it’s our day again in the third strongest European tournament, how will the chances of «Shakhtar» and «Dynamo» to advance to the next round increase?
— Firstly, I don’t like making predictions. Secondly, rankings don’t play football, it’s a very unpredictable sport. A lot will depend on the psychological state of the players, personnel losses, and readiness. Although it won’t be original to say that the chances will increase drastically. Especially for Dynamo, whom many experts predicted to play the role of losers.
Andriy Pysharenko
