- Andriy, how many training camps have you already had with the main squad? Is Marbella the perfect place for preseason work?
- I don’t follow statistics, but we come here really often, so there’s nothing new in living conditions. Actually location for training camps is up to coaching staff. That’s not really important for players as we don’t have rest here. We are in for hard work no matter where it takes place. We just need god weather and pitches.
- What can you say about your opponents in sparring? Is it better to get ready for the season playing against good teams?
- Of course it is, but the thing is we use the firs training camp to work on certain tactical schemes. Exercise load is very serious, so it’s not a proper time to play against serious opponents. Our main task is to work on mutual understanding.
- Still Dynamo faced one serious opponent at the first training camp – Champions League knock-out stage participants FC Basel-1893. How come you eventually lost leading by two goals at first?
- We focus on our play, but not final score. We do our best and coaches are satisfied with our work. That’s why defeat against Basel isn’t a big deal.
- Serhiy Rebrov has mentioned that players had certain task for each sparring. What does he mean?
- We mostly played for 45 minutes each. Our tasks remain practically unchanged. We must create a lot of scoring chances, control the ball. We should also apply constant pressure, so it’s vital to work on physical conditions.
- Some sparring-partners, such as Benfica Luanda and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, opposed Dynamo the way the majority of UPL teams do. Do you still have problems with overcoming mass defense?
- It was quite surprising as usually all teams play attacking football in sparrings, but abovementioned clubs were focused on defense. Still such experience is useful for us as many UPL opponents really feature this way, especially in Kyiv.
- Have you already watched any EA Guingamp matches?
- We haven’t but we follow results they demonstrate. I know that recently they defeated PSG. I think we’ll start getting ready for the game against this team about a week before the first leg. We’ll point out their strengths and weaknesses.
- When Oleh Blokhin was in charge of the team you were mostly considered to be a halfback, but now they usually characterize you as forward. What can you say about your position at the moment?
- Of course I’d like to play more for attack than for defense, but in modern football one must be able to do both. That’s why I think I’m a halfback. Coaches want me to help defenders.
- Still you’ve become the best striker of Ukraine in 2014. Does it mean you score more under the charge of Serhiy Rebrov?
- Of course such statistics gladdens me. I work hard at training session and I’ll keep doing my best to score a lot.
- Has game plan based on ball control become Dynamo style? Have players got used to it?
- I think every coach has his style. Serhiy Rebrov and his assistants prefer ball control. Players also like that. We try to follow coaching staff advice as they really help us to create scoring chances.
- What are Dynamo horizons in domestic league, national cup and Europa League this season in your opinion?
- We must focus on each game in particular and demonstrate great dedication. They say that five-point gap between Dynamo and Shakhtar means a lot, but it doesn’t so far. Our key task is to preserve the play we demonstrated before the winter break and to introduce some innovations.If we live the same dream we’ll achieve a lot.
Ihor Bondarenko
* photo by A. Lukatskyi
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