- Olexandr, considering the number of appearances you’ve made for Dynamo, can you say the transfer was painless for you?
- It was quite obvious at once that everything would be fine, I wasn’t even nervous. Dynamo have great atmosphere in the team. Everyone helped me when I just came. Besides, I was acquainted with many Dynamo players.
- Was there a game this season you feel ashamed for?
- Sure. That’s the first game against Brugge (0:1), our failures in domestic league, for example, against Olimpik (1:1), Desna (1:2) and Karpaty (1:1).
- When you joined Dynamo you said you want to win the UPL. Have you given up on this goal this season?
- Of course we haven’t. We’ll fight until there’re chances. No matter what, we must always do our best to win for our numerous supporters.
- Have your duties changed since Olexiy Mykhailychenko took charge of the team?
- Actually they haven’t. I must participate both in attacking and defensive actions.
- Do you feel you’re a halfback or a defender?
- I already feel more comfortable being a defender. Still if I perform as a halfback, I feel okay too.
- Can you name a player it was extremely difficult to oppose?
- Of course that’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s a world class player. It was also difficult to oppose Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
- There were games, when you had to switch wings. Does it matter to you which wing you perform in?
- Actually that happens all the time for different reasons: to confuse opponents, to replace a teammate. That makes no significant difference to me.
- Ukraine national team have qualified for Euro-2020. Did you expect the qualifying campaign would be so much a success?
- I think if you don’t count on success, you shouldn’t take the field. We believed in our team. Our confidence increased after every decent game. No we aren’t afraid of any opponent.
- Did triumph in the nations League last year give players extra confidence?
- Sure. When you manage to reach a goal, you want to do it all the time.
- What do you need to do to avoid Eoro-2016 scenario this time?
- Coaches will tell us that. We’ll analyze each opponent. I can only say that Euro-2016 Ukraine and current Ukraine are totally different teams.
- Serhiy Sydorchuk has mentioned that you can become a top level coach. Are interested in that?
- I am, as I can’t imagine my life without football. It feels great to know our captain says that kind of stuff about me. But I realize how difficult this job is.
Yuriy Vyshnevskyi, FC Dynamo Kyiv magazine (#5, October-November 2019)
