- Has Ukraine’s triumph in Montenegro improved your mood after the failure in Ukrainian Premier League?
- Such wins are always encouraging. Still we must realize that we have very important games ahead.
- Mykhailo Fomenko mentioned that Dynamo and Dnipro players were in bad psychological conditions after the end of UPL season…
- The season was really unlucky for us, but we weren’t walking around with sad faces as we joined the national team. Dynamo, Shakhtar, Dnipro and Metalist players forget about rivalry when they play for Ukraine.
- Will national players have extra time for rest?
- We’ll join Dynamo on June 19 in Austria while other players start the preparation for the next season on June 14.
CHAIN REACION
- What did you feel after the finish of the season in UPL? Vexation, anger of sadness?
- We were angry with ourselves. I think we have players of very high level so we have no right to finish third.
- Dynamo started this season under one head coach and finished under another. Were last summer training camps the main reason for bad quality of play?
- I don’t think it’s right to state that only Yuriy Semin is the one to blame. As for me, training camps you have mentioned were absolutely usual. I think we had psychological problems after defeats against Shakhtar and PSG. After one defeat you risk losing again. It’s a chain reaction.
FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
- Never the less it seemed that the dead-drop started not in September, but in August as Dynamo lost against FC Vorskla Poltava. You also lost against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Kyiv. One more goal would have been enough for German side to outplay your team…
- After the away win 3:1 we were sure that we would have no problems in Kyiv so we started playing defensively. After the first goal Germans scored we pushed the panic button.
- What was the most emotional Blokhin’s speech after a game?
- I think it is the information for internal use only. Every head coach lauds players and yells at them sometimes.
WORST HALF
- Semin’s resignation, Blokhin’s illness…How did these events influence the team?
- We all worried about Oleh Blokhin very much. As for head coach’s resignation…it’s a usual process in football.
- It was rather clear after the first part of the season that Shakhtar Donetsk would win the UPL, but how did it happen that Dynamo didn’t manage to secure the Champions league spot? What happened in Kharkiv as you faced FC Metalist?
- Metalist are a very good team who demonstrate impressive play. As for us, I think the first half of the game in Kharkiv was the worst one for us last season. We had goal-scoring opportunities, but we didn’t use them.
- Did players pay fine for the third place in UPL?
- I don’t think it’s right to tell about that, but I can say that we deserved punishment. Third place is not for us.
ORGANIZING PRIORITIES
- Blokhin stated that after the final game of the season Ihor Surkis told players: “You can do whatever you want during vacation”.
- Of course players are also people so during vacation they can relax a bit. Still international players had to postpone fun. It wasn’t a problem for us to organize priorities.
TWO MINUTES OF SILENCE
- Do you already feel as Dynamo and national team leader?
- I don’t think that I’m ready to be a leader as I still have much to work at.
- Your wife has given birth to your first child. Before that you used to say that the best way for you to fall asleep is to read a book. Does it work now as you have baby at home?
- (Smiling). Well, now a pillow and two minutes of silence is all I need to fall asleep.
- There are a lot of rumors as for your possible transfer to one of European top clubs…
- If I get some favorable offer I’ll discuss it with Dynamo president Ihor Surkis.
RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AS FOREING
- Do you speak any foreign languages?
- Well, I speak Russian…I also study English as it’s one of the most widely spread languages in the world.
* photo by V. Rasner
