Ex-Dnipro goalkeeper Mykola Medin recalled his former team’s battle with Kyiv’s Dynamo for the gold medals in the 1992/93 Ukrainian championship.
From the very start of that season, Dnipro took the lead, but closer to the end of the championship, the Kyiv team managed to pull ahead. Three rounds before the end of the championship, the teams met in a direct encounter in Dnipropetrovsk. At that moment, Dynamo was ahead by 2 points. The victory in the match went to the hosts, thus leveling with Dynamo in points. By the end of the championship, the situation did not change, and the capital team became the champion thanks to a better goal difference (59−14 against 51−20).
Mykola Medin— Now, do you feel more pride for achieving such a high place or dissatisfaction because the championship that season was so close?
— Honestly, I admit, I still feel mixed emotions. We could have been first, really wanted to win the championship, so there’s this kind of thorn in the heart. At the same time, we all understood that with the regulation changes, we wouldn’t be allowed to do this. Dynamo couldn’t afford to lose a second championship in a row. They did everything to take first place.
And we probably lacked the experience both in football and management because the team was undergoing reconstruction at that time: experienced players were leaving, and more young guys were playing. There was instability, although we were the strongest in the championship both in potential and gameplay.
— But over the course of the tournament, everything was in your hands. You lost the advantage after three draws and a defeat by Metalist, which many say was an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate...
— Yes, that’s the kind of experience we lacked in a long-distance battle. We didn’t get our points. If we had done what we were supposed to, we would have been uncontested champions. But the situation turned out differently.
— Before the famous match with Dynamo, did you still hope for anything in the tournament plan, or did you understand that even if you won the last two rounds, it would be impossible to surpass Kyiv?
— For us, winning was a matter of honor. When we were heading to the stadium, we saw how many people were going there — both by transport and on foot. It was the first time I saw «Meteor» so packed! The tension was incredible, and we felt the desire to give our all, to achieve a result. It was really important, and we weren’t thinking about what would happen later. We hoped Dynamo would lose somewhere, but we understood that with the goal difference... (Smiles). We understood where and why there were such big scorelines (in the second half, Dynamo won 7 matches with large scores, with a total goal difference of 32:2, while in the first half there was only one such result — ed. note).
But they weren’t better in gameplay. I think there should have been a golden match. But, I repeat, Dynamo couldn’t afford not to win the second championship.
— What was the reason for the failure in the next championship — 4th place with a huge gap from Dynamo, which became the champion again?
— At the beginning of the season, we went through the European competitions, felt that we could do a lot. I wouldn’t say it made us complacent, but then the games somehow went in such a way that, despite good play, goals came hard. Plus, the financial situation wobbled, offers for players started coming. The situation became a bit shaky, and the championship didn’t go well.
Vadym Takhterin
