The scorer of Dynamo’s third goal in the Ukrainian Cup final against Chernihiv winger Andriy Yarmolenko shared his emotions on UPL-TV.
– Winning is great, lifting the Cup is great. So I congratulate all Dynamo supporters on the victory and I congratulate Chernihiv’s fans on a great final. They did a fantastic job. And we also did a fantastic job because we brought this tournament to its logical conclusion – I believe we deservedly won this competition.
– There was a lot of talks about you and Chernihiv. We noticed that you and Chernihiv’s coach went over to the opposing team’s supporters. What did you talk about?
– Nothing special, really. I went to thank Chernihiv fans who came to support their team. Their head coach asked me to come over to them. To be honest, I wanted to do it myself anyway but doing it together with the head coach was more symbolic. Football is, first and foremost, a game for fans. Without them, without this atmosphere there wouldn’t be all these emotions.
– When you scored, supporters’ sections of both teams were celebrating…
– That’s a good thing (smiles). Although I didn’t celebrate because otherwise they simply wouldn’t let me back into Chernihiv afterwards. And since I love my city I couldn’t celebrate because they would probably be waiting for me at the entrance (laughs).
– Have you spoken to your father yet?
– Not yet. I think after the game, once we get back, we’ll call each other. You understand that when I said we weren’t speaking because he would support Chernihiv, it was all jokes. I love my father, we have a great relationship and we can joke about anything.
– Before the match we spoke with the head coach of the national team. He said: “As long as Yarmolenko is playing football, he is a player for the Ukraine national team.” Dynamo’s president also told us to ask Yarmolenko how much longer Andriy will keep playing football. So we have to ask…
– I can’t tell you anything yet. I want to finish this championship, sit down and talk with my wife, and make a decision for myself. I want to do that after all the emotions have settled.
– Before the match, you were walking around the pitch together with Karavaiev and Dubinchak. What were you talking about?
– Kara and I simply have a ritual. We started doing it back during the COVID-era Euro 2020. We walked around every stadium where we played. The first time we did it we won, and after that we kept doing it before every match. Then, when we started playing together at Dynamo, we continued this ritual before every game.
– Today you surpassed Andriy Shevchenko in the list of the Ukrainian Cup’s all-time top scorers. What did he tell you during the award ceremony?
– Nothing special. He congratulated me on the victory and said that I did well.
– Did guys let you hold the Bulava?
– Yes, I held it. The Cup is very beautiful but it’s heavy – I needed guys’ help.
