Dynamo winger Vladyslav Kabaiev spoke about returning to training after several days off and the start of preparations for the team’s upcoming matches.
– Vladyslav, the three-week break in the championship has begun. The team had several days off. How did you recharge, and how did this period go for you?
– My family went to Odesa, so I’m currently alone in Kyiv. We had several days off – four days. I rested for two days, while on the other two I came to the training base and worked because I feel that I’m lacking a certain level of quality on the football pitch.
This is almost the first time we’ve had such a long international break. We have a friendly match against Zorya planned, as well as a mini-training camp at the base. We’re preparing in a good mood, with a positive attitude. I’ve missed the ball a little, I’ve missed the guys, and today we finally got together at the base in good spirits.
– An important period of the season has come to an end, and there is time to think and reflect on everything that has happened. Have you thought about the opening stage of the season?
– A lot has already been said about the start of the season. I analysed it for myself a long time ago, watched the matches again and drew certain conclusions for myself, but I’ll keep them to myself.
– Does such a long break work in the team’s favour, or do you want to return to official matches as soon as possible?
– It’s difficult to say because this is the first time. I don’t see anything wrong with it. Of course, it’s much better to have one or two games a week than to train so much without official matches. But there’s nothing wrong with it; we’ll get used to such a break as well.
– A fairly difficult period is coming up – Karpaty, Polissia, and two matches against Shakhtar. Is the team already thinking about these games, or are you currently focused on the training process?
– I think every player and coach has these matches in mind, but we haven’t discussed them yet because there is still quite a lot of time before the games. Of course, we understand that Karpaty are in good form, Polissia are in good form, and then there’s Shakhtar. We all understand what the fans expect from us and what we expect from ourselves. Only the games will show how things will go. I’ve already said that if we go into the matches with the same fire in our eyes as we did against LNZ, then everything is in our hands, our feet and our heads. I think everything will be fine.
– Many of your teammates have gone to the national team. Have you discussed the national team’s upcoming matches with them?
– We spend so much time together that sometimes we also need to take a break from each other (smiles). I’ve seen photos from the national team camp and I watch the vlog about the national team, so I basically know what a friendly atmosphere they have there. Tomorrow we’ll watch the match against Hungary and support our team.
– What are your expectations for these extremely important matches?
– There is always a lot of criticism directed at the national team because of the high expectations. I understand the reason for it. I believe in the guys, and I know there are great talents among them. I believe in the head coach. Tomorrow we’ll be cheering for them. I hope that after the match, we will all have positive emotions.
