Dynamo head coach Ihor Kostiuk shared his expectations ahead of the first match of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round against Universitatea Cluj.
– Tomorrow Dynamo officially begins the new season. What is your overall mood?
– What kind of mood can we talk about when, for the third consecutive day, the aggressor has been shelling our country, and the capital in particular? Terrorists are killing civilians and destroying our homes. We must speak about this. This is our reality now. We are grateful to our soldiers who are defending Ukraine, and we appreciate their heroism.
– Are there any squad losses ahead of the match?
– Unfortunately, we lost several players during the training camp. Osypenko and Zakharchenko underwent surgery, and Popov is also unavailable. Lonwijk has a minor injury. Kabaiev and Tymchyk are recovering from previous injuries. They will not be able to help us tomorrow. Despite these losses, the team continues its preparations. I think you will see everything on the pitch tomorrow.
– What can you say about your upcoming opponent?
– It is a good, well-balanced team that deserves respect. We know they finished second in the league. They are coached by an Italian specialist, under whom they have started to make progress. We know Universitatea’s style of play and tactical schemes very well, as well as how each player performs. But I believe in my team. Everything will depend only on us.
– One of Dynamo’s summer signings was striker Pierre Mungenge. Tell us about your impressions of working with him during the training process.
– We spoke with Pierre when he came to Kyiv for his medical examination. He liked the fact that there are many young players in the team who came from the U19 squad. For him, the coach’s trust in young players is important. That played a significant role in his decision to join Dynamo.
At the moment, he is training individually and has not yet worked with the team.
– There were reports that Mungenge agreed to join Dynamo because there was no shelling in Kyiv during his visit. Is there a risk that he or other foreign players may be afraid to come to Kyiv because of the events of the past few days?
– When signing a contract, the players understand these risks. We also understand these risks. This issue is discussed with the footballers during the contract signing, and they understand it very well.
– During the training camp, Dynamo played a friendly match against another Romanian club, Rapid. Was that the final rehearsal before the match against Universitatea?
– During the training camp, we played against teams with different styles and tactical approaches. I believe that the friendly against Rapid also gave us the necessary information to build our game against Universitatea.
– In the Romanian league, Universitatea scored 9 of their 61 goals with shots from outside the penalty area. How can you counter that?
– By keeping possession of the ball more.
