Dynamo President Ihor Surkis shared his impressions of the Ukrainian football ‘Clásico’ against Shakhtar (0:0), which took place in Lviv, in an interview with UPL TV.
– It was a real Clásico. It was a very good game. We hoped to win, just as Shakhtar did. Today, I saw a team, I saw players who performed very intelligently from a tactical point of view.
Shakhtar are a very strong team with highly qualified players in their squad. Therefore, when we gained a numerical advantage, I expected us to win after all. But football is football – we could even have lost when the opposition player found himself one-on-one with our goalkeeper. So we will keep fighting.
– Macej Kędziorek can be considered an interesting candidate, as he had no experience working at a club of this level. Before the game, there was a lot of talk that this match could be decisive for him to some extent. How do you assess his work? Will he remain with the team for the winter training camp?
– I look at how Kędziorek works. Turan, as they say, had not exactly won gold medals everywhere either. He came to a good team with qualified players. In our case, the majority of the players are Ukrainian. Kędziorek is doing his job, but he did not have the time to do what is normally done during training camps. The team is not yet physically ready to play at the highest level. This was evident even when we started playing with a numerical advantage. But I hope that there will now be a two-week break and that he will be able to make up for lost time. At this moment, I trust him.
– Before the match, we spoke about Kędziorek. He brought his own coaching staff, people he knows well, and the team atmosphere and climate have improved. Can we say that the Dynamo president's level of confidence in the head coach is at its maximum?
– I have full confidence in him. In recent years, I have not seen such an atmosphere in the dressing room as the one we have today, even after a game that we did not win. Today, we drew 0:0. We will keep fighting, and I hope everything works out for him.
– Have you noticed that, following Kędziorek's appointment, the team's foreign players have finally started smiling?
– There is something to that, because he trusts the players. You saw that the team showed character today. I hope it will continue to play the way a Dynamo Kyiv team should play. First and foremost, that means discipline on the football pitch, which was lacking before. And, of course, character. That is very important.
At the same time, do not forget that Shakhtar play at Champions League level and compete on equal terms with Inter and Sporting. And that is what we must strive for. We do not have the opportunity to sign 12–13 Brazilian players. And those players from Europe whom we might have wanted to invite did not agree to come here. Therefore, we hope that the war will end with a just peace and that we will be able to hold such derbies in packed stadiums, with Dynamo Kyiv becoming a completely different team. I promise you that.
– I would also like to ask about Mungenge, who joined from PSG. There has been a lot written about him in the Ukrainian media, and today he played in the Clásico. How do you assess the team's latest signings – Mounguengue, Prado and Bah?
– These are young players who need to settle into the squad. They need time to adapt. We do not have many players of this kind. You rightly mentioned that the foreign players have started smiling. Mounguengue is a young lad, he is 18 years old. We also have Ponomarenko, and he will have to compete with him. Today, he came onto the pitch and did not spoil anything. We have to count on these players. I understand that everything will be fine with him.
– Another question about Andriy Yarmolenko...
– I watched the game with him, and even I do not get as nervous as he does.
– So he is not ready to end his playing career just yet?
– I can say that he will definitely remain within the structure of Dynamo Kyiv. He will perform the same role that Dario Srna has at Shakhtar. But Yarmolenko has not finished playing football yet.
– So, in terms of his playing ability, he will continue?
– I hope he will continue playing until the end of the season. If Yarmolenko had come onto the pitch today, I think we would have won.
– So Yarmolenko's presence in the dressing room is important for the team?
– Extremely important. I cannot even say that there could be anything more important than Yarmolenko in the dressing room.
– A legend?
– A legend!
– There is now a break for the national teams. What emotions do you feel when looking at the UPL standings – confidence, calmness or concern?
– I feel concerned before every game. But we hope that everything will be fine. We are living in difficult times, under martial law, but nothing has changed for us – we continue to finance the club and bring in foreign players who are willing to come to Ukraine. Believe me, we have already had so many situations when a contract was practically signed, and then the player's mother would call and say that he must not come to Ukraine and that she would not let him go. Therefore, the most important thing is for this terrible war to end. Then everything will be fine.
