Dynamo move into second spot
 Dynamo now move above Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Group A, but still need to
 defeat runaway group winners S.S Lazio in their final match next week to be
 sure of a place in the last 16. That would be another amazing achievement for
 last season's competition semi-finalists, after they only took one point from
 their first three matches. Maribor need to defeat Bayer 3-0 in their final match
 to have any chance even of reaching the UEFA Third Round as the
 third-placed team in the group.

 Rebrov opens scoring
 Rebrov had put the Ukrainians ahead with a 37th minute goal but Stipe Balajic
 cancelled it out with a close-range shot for the Slovenian side five minutes after the
 break.  Maribor's hopes of holding Kyiv to a draw were then dashed in the 84th minute
 when Spanish referee Juan Antonio Fernandez Marin awarded a penalty to visitors.

***Interviews:
Aleksei MIKHAILICHENKO, Dynamo Kyiv Assistant coach:
 "You have to understand that we are always able to win. Tonight, however, it
 was not so easy, because Maribor put us under immense pressure. We made
 some mistakes and one of them led to Maribor's goal. We will not change our
 preparations for the next game but the player's concentration must be
 improved. We only made one substitution during the game while Maribor made
 three changes, and this shows that we are in very good form".

 Bojan PRASNIKAR,  NK Maribor Head Coach:
 "I am very satisfied with our game. Our players reacted positively after
 Dynamo's goal and managed to equalise five minutes into the second half. I
 couldn't have expected a better result. We had a lot of chances to score, but
 we did not use them. I think that we were almost as good as Dynamo. We
 have learned our lesson from these Champions League games. However, I
 have to add that result could have been different if the referee had chosen not
 to give a penalty kick against us."

***October 15, 1999
                                         DYNAMO 4-2 BAYER
     (4' Kosovsky, '12 Kirsten, '36 Shatskih, '49 Neuville, '61 Holovko, '89 Vaschuk)
   October 19, 1999
***Dynamo Kyiv revived their hopes of advancing from UEFA Champions League
 Group A by defeating German side Bayer 04 Leverkusen in a six-goal thriller at
 the Olimpiyskyi stadium. The result gives the Ukrainian champions four points
 from four outings and leaves them in a a three-team battle for second place
 following S.S. Lazio's defeat of NK Maribor in the other match in the group.
 Lazio have ten points, while Leverkusen have five points and Maribor three,
 with two matches remaining.

 Bayer play catch-up...
 The home side - who were without coach Valeryi Lobanovskyi as he was confined to bed in the Hospital for the Ministry of Internal Affairs - needed only four minutes to open the scoring when Serhii Rebrov cut in from the right wing to find Vitalii Kossovskyi, and the midfielder made no mistake as he slotted the ball past Adam Matysek from five metres. Dynamo then fashioned a second scoring opportunity, but Maksim Shatskikh was unable to reach Olexandr Holovko's pass following a neat move involving Ramiz Mamedov and Alexei Guerassimenko. But Dynamo were to pay dearly in the 12th minute from Leverkusen's first clear chance on Olexandr Shovkovskyi's goal.  The Germans were awarded a free-kick, and though Emerson's initial header is parried by the backtracking Shovkovskyi, the ball falls kindly for the inrushing Ulf Kirsten, who makes no mistake from seven metres. Having silenced the home faithful, the visitors created two opportunities to take the lead. The first came following a Kakha Kaladze error in the Dynamo defence, but the linesman raised the flag for offside before the Germans could manage a telling blow. Then Kirsten attempted a bicycle kick from Stefan Beinlich's free
following a foul by Mamedov, only for the ball to sail over the bar. Dynamo responded with several chances of their own, mainly through Shatskikh, but he first failed to reach the ball from Andrii Husin's pass, and then the Uzbek striker rushed his shot from 20 metres when he had the opportunity to race in on Matysek's goal. In what was fast becoming a Shatskikh versus the Leverkusen defence show, the Dynamo stiker shot straight at Matysek from Kaladze's pass, before finally finding the target in the 36th minute when he sprung the German offside trap before coolly dribbling past Matysek to restore Dynamo's slender lead. Earlier, confusion in the Ukrainian defence almost gifted the Germans their
second goal when Jens Nowotny broke through, but the ball rebounded off Shovkovskyi's chest from Holovko's attempted clearance. But Oliver Neuville was gifted Levekusen's equaliser in the 49th minute when he walked unchallenged into the Dynamo penalty area before firing low past Shovkovskyi.

 ...only to fall short
 Dynamo continued to live dangerously in defence before showing their clinical edge in fromt of goal wrapping up the match with two further goals as Leverkusen spurned the opportunities that came their way.  First, Husin was brought down 30 metres from goals in the 61st minute. And from the resulting free-kick, Artem Iachkin swerved his shot over the wall only for the ball to hit the inside of the Matysek's left-hand post, but as the Leverkusen stopper attempted to regain his composure, Holovko buried the ball into the empty net with a header from four metres.  Husin then went close to extending Dynamo's lead before the home side conceded a penalty, but Beinlich's left-footed effort was saved by Shovkovskyi as the Ukrainian international dived to his right to gather the ball. It was a miss that Leverkusen would regret, although Shovkovskyi had to get down to his left smartly to deny Bernd Schnieder's 12 metre drive, before Vladyslav Vaschuk put the game beyond doubt as he dived at the far post to head home Iachkin's perfect cross from the left wing in the last minute. The Ukrainians even had a chance in stoppage time to add a fifth, butValiantsin Bialkevich's shot - with only Matysek to beat - went agonisingly wide of the target.

***September 22, 1999
                        Lazio 2-1 Dynamo Kiev
***UEFA Super Cup winners S.S. Lazio staged a terrific comeback as they struck back from being 1-0 behind to score twice in the space of two minutes and record a dramatic 2-1 against Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv at Rome's Olimpico stadium in their UEFA Champions League Group A encounter.

 Surprise lead
Serhii Rebrov gave the visitors a surprise lead in the 67th minute on a spot-kick effort after Sinisa Mihajlovic was judged to have fouled Serhii Konovalov, who had come on as a second half substitute. Until that moment Lazio had enjoyed most of the possesion without being able to create any clear-cut chances.  However, within seconds the Italians drew level when Mihajlovic, who had hit the crossbar with an early free-kick, bulldozed down the left flank and Paulo Negro showed perfect timing as he rose above his marker to head home at the
left-hand post. A dismal evening was capped for the visitors in the 69th minute as Croatian striker Alen Boksic, who has recently returned from a long-term injury absence, produced a similar set-up, but this time it was Marcelo Salas who was at the end of the cross as he chested the ball down and pounced a half-volley past a helpless Andrii Shovkovskyi in the Dynamo goal.

 Lively second half
The result gave just reflection of a match which only came to life after the break. The Ukrainians were limited to a couple of long-range efforts from Rebrov while Boksic, Pavel Nedved and veteran striker Roberto Mancini tested the Ukrainian defence occasionally in the first half. The victory moves Lazio to top level in Group A along with Bayer 04 Leverkusen who won away against NK Maribor.

***Lazio scored twice in two minutes to fight back from a goal down and beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in their European Champions League group A match on Wednesday. Sergiy Rebrov had given the visitors a surprise lead from the penalty spot on 67 minutes after Sinisa Mihajlovic was judged to have fouled second half substitute Serhiy Konovalov. But defender Paolo Negro headed home a Mihajlovic cross after 69 minutes to bring the Rome side level. Then Croat striker Alen Boksic surged down the left and found Marcelo Salas unmarked at the back post. The Chilean striker pulled the ball down with his chest and fired it past goalkeeper Olexander Shovkovsky for Lazio's

***September 14, 1999
                             Dynamo Kiev 0-1 Maribor (Slovenia)
***Dynamo Kiev, last season's European Cup semifinalists, suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Maribor Teatanic in their opening Champions League
group A match on Wednesday.  Ante Simudza scored the 74th minute winner when he went
one-on-one with Dynamo keeper Olexander Shovkovsky and beat him
with a low shot from close range.   Second half substitute Oleg Venglinsky missed an excellent chance for a late equaliser with a point-blank header.  The Ukrainian champions saw their last chance disappear when Maribor goalkeeper Marko Simeunovic saved from Serhiy Rebrov's header in the 89th minute.

***DYNAMO QUALIFIES FOR THE FIRST GROUP
     STAGE OF THE CHAMPIONS' LEAUGE!!!
AUGUST 26, 1999
***Collated draw for the UEFA Champions League soccer competition made on Thursday:

Group A                                                     Group B
Lazio (Italy)                                           Barcelona (Spain)           
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)             Fiorentina (Italy)             
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)                 Arsenal (England)
Maribor Teatanic (Slovenia)            AIK Stockholm (Sweeden)

Group C                                            Group D
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)             Manchester United (England)
Feyenoord (Netherlands)                       Olympique Marseille (France)
Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway)           Croatia Zagreb (Croatia)
Boavista (Portugal)                                 Sturm Graz (Austria)

Group E                                         Group F
Real Madrid (Spain)                                 Bayern Munich (Germany)
Porto (Portugal)                                         PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Olympiakos Piraeus (Greece)                  Valencia (Spain)
Molde (Norway)                                        Rangers (Scotland)

Group G                                         Group H
Spartak Moscow (Russia)                   AC Milan (Italy)
Girondins Bordeaux (France)                    Chelsea (England)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)                Galatasaray (Turkey)
Willem II Tilburg (Netherlands)                Hertha Berlin (Germany)

AUGUST 25, 1999
***                         DYNAMO KIEV 2-2 AALBORG DENMARK
                                (Gusin '74, Shatskih '90+;   Oper '9, Garde '47)
                              DYNAMO KIEV WINS 4-3 ON AGGREGATE!!!

***Selected scores        If you would like to see ALL the Eurocup scores on my page,
mention this in my guestbook (at top of this page).

***A last minute equaliser from Maxim Shatskikh lifted Dynamo Kiev into the Champions
League competition with a dramatic 4-3 aggregate win over AaB Aalborg of Denmark on Wednesday.  Kiev, who reached the semifinals of the competition last season, faced a shock exit when they trailed 2-0 early in the second half, but they hit back to force a 2-2 draw on the night and squeeze into the Champions League.  Shatskikh, acquired by Dynamo in mid-summer for the departed Andriy Shevchenko, scored well into injury time to level the
second leg after the Ukraine champions, who enjoyed a 2-1 advantage from the away leg two weeks ago, trailed 0-2 two minutes into the second half. But they came storming back in the last 20 minutes.  Andriy Gusin's 74th minute header from a cross by fellow Ukraine international Vitaly Kosovsky made it 1-2 before Shatskikh saved the day for the home side, taking advantage of a poor clearance by the Aalborg defense, to score in off the right-hand post.
Estonian international Andreas Oper gave Aalborg a 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the match, rounding Dynamo keeper Olexander Shovkovsky after a perfect through pass from Allan
Garde.  The pair combined again in the 47th minute, this time Garde benefiting from a fine cross by Oper. The Danes totally dominated the full-strength Kiev side for much of the first 60 minutes but began to tire in the later stages and had to be content with a consolation place in the UEFA Cup.

***A last-minute goal by striker Maksim Shatskikh gave last season's competition semi-finalists Dynamo Kyiv a dramatic and fortunate 2-2 home draw against unsung Danes Aalborg BK to see them through to the First Group-Match Stage of the UEFA Champions League.  The game seemed destined  for extra-time, when Shatskikh, acquired in the close season as a replacement for the departed Andrii Shevchenko, crashed a volley into the top right hand corner following a goalmouth scramble to deny the Danes a sensational upset.

 Excellent Aalborg opening Aalborg BK enjoyed a brilliant opening to the game, when  Estonian ace Andres Oper put the visitors ahead after only 10 minutes when he capitalised on a defensive blunder in the Ukrainian defence to slot the ball home past a helpless Andrii Shovkovskyi. The goal naturally buoyed the visitors and Aalborg continued to disrupt the Dynamo short-passing game leaving the hosts no room in midfield. The Danes even came close to doubling their lead, when Allan Gaarde latched on to a superb pass from Brian Priske in the 29th minute. Despite their problems in midfield, the Dynamo players gradually regained their attacking composure and Sergei Rebrov could have brought the Ukrainians back on terms, when he twisted and turned past three defenders at the edge of the penalty area only to see his crisp finsh miss the left post by inches.

Danes on Gaarde
 The second half started in similar fashion as the first, and Allan Gaarde gave the visitors a  sensational 2-0 lead within a minute of the restart as Oper once more turned provider for Gaarde, who fired home from close-range. With a possible ticket to UEFA Champions League in sight, the Danes put in a brilliant performance in midfield and they could even have gone three up, when Andrii Husin allowed Lars Thomsen to break free inside the penalty area, but
his weak effort was easily saved by Shovkovskyi.

Dramatic Dynamo response
 Things were starting to look bleak for the favorized Ukrainians, but Husin soon made up for his defensive errors when he reduced the deficit with an emphatic scissors kick. Then Shatskikh's dramatic equaliser ensured Dynamo of yet another UEFA Champions League participation.

***Spartak Moscow defeated Partizan in Yugoslavia, 3-1, and advanced (5-1 on aggregate) to the group stage of the Champions' League.  Unfortunately, the Moscovites were the only former USSR team in addition to Dynamo Kiev to advance.  Skonto Riga and Zimbru Moldova could
not overcome their opponents and will now play in the UEFA Cup.  Congratulations to Spartak!

***Aug 11, 1999  AALBORG (Denmark) 1-2 DYNAMO (Kiev)
                                    (Franck Strandli 54)                    (Rebrov 12, Shatskih 39)
***Third round first leg results of the Champions' League

***Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv recorded an expected 2-1 away victory against
Danish minnows Aalborg BK in the first leg of their for the UEFA Champions League
Third Qualifying Round tie.

Kyiv take early start
Last year's semi-finalist's dominated the early action and deservedly opened their account in the 12th minute, when star striker Serhii Rebrov bustled his way through the Danish defence to slot the ball past a helpless Jimmy Nielsen.  However, Aalborg were nearly claimed equaliser only seconds later when Alexander Holovko was only inches from handing the Danes an own goal, when he failed to read his own goalkeeper's intentions However, he hustled back to clear the ball off the goalline. Two minutes later, the ball was again cleared off the Ukrainian line, as Danish player of the match Thomas Gaarde had a brilliant header saved by Yurii Dmytrulin.

Dynamo make it two
The Scandinavians kept pushing forward in search of an equaliser, but the experienced Ukrainians promptly punished Aalborg's offensive intentions in the 39th minute, as Maksim Shatskikh powered past Jozo Matovac to fire home past Nielsen.  The Danes started the game in a defensive 4-5-1 formation, but Swedish coach Hans Backe was compelled to change tactics for the second half, as Søren Frederiksen and the Estonian international Andres Oper came to boost the Aalborg attack, which paid off nine minutes after the restart, when Oper put Franck Strandli on a one-on-one with the Ukrainian goalkeeper and the Norwegian striker kept his cool to cut the deficit. The remainder of the game belonged to the Danes, as they orchestrated attack after attack on the Kyiv goal. Oper came closest to restoring parity, as he launched a 25 metre stinging drive only to see Shovkovskyi dive well to tip the ball past the left  post. Another lightning attack saw Gaarde crash a shot against the post and the Danes just couldn't make the breakthrough as Henrik Rasmussen in overtime saw his brave attempt tipped over the bar by Shovkovsky.
 

***Aug 4, 1999   ZALGIRIS VILNIUS 0-1 DYNAMO KIEV (0-3 on aggregate)
                                                (Rebrov 35)  Attendance 4,000
***Results of the second  leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions' League
***Dynamo Kiev did not leave anything to chance and recorded a comfortable victory
over former Soviet rivals Zalgiris Vilnius en route to advancing to the thrid qualifying
round of the Champions' League.  The game started out slowly as Dynamo dictated
a suitable tempo against an apparently nervous home side.  There were few dangerous
moments as neither team was able to show coherent soccer.  Toward the middle of the
half, however, Dynamo grabbed the initiative and scored after a series of attacks.
Yashkin swerved a corner kick volley into the penalty area where the omnipresent
Sergey Rebrov jumped over three defenders and headed the ball home for the winning
goal and the only goal of the game.  As the second half started, Zalgiris realized that
there was nothing left to lose.  The home team went into attacking mode and even
managed a few shots on goal, both of which were rather easily taken by the Kiev goalie
Alexander Shovkovskiy.  Both teams became fatigued fifteen minutes from time and
the game got considerably slower.  In the last five minutes, feeling desperation, Zalgiris
began to foul vehemently and even managed to injure one Dynamo player.  Kiev advanced
to the third round.
 

 ***Aug 2, 1999                   The new Champions' League Format:
 Europe's most prestigious club tournament has changed its format
 for 1999-2000.  There will be three preliminary qualifying rounds 
 played between July 14 and August 25. 

 The 14 winners from the second round will join 18 teams into the
 third qualifying round.  Sixteen winners from the preliminary
 rounds join the 16 automatic main draw entrants.

 Germany, England, Italy, Spain, France and Netherlands place the
 top two finishers from their respective leagues among the 16 
 automatic entrants while Portugal, Czech Republic, Greece and 
 Norway are represented by their respective champions.

 The first round of the main draw will feature eight groups of four 
 teams.  Each team will play the other teams in its groups at home 
 and away.  Dates are Sept. 14-15, Sept. 21-22, Sept. 28-29, Oct.
 19-20, Oct. 26-27 and Nov. 2-3.

 The top two teams in each group will advance to the next round, 
 while the third-place teams will drop into the expanded UEFA Cup 
 competition.

 The second phase of the main draw competition will consist of 
 four groups of four teams.  Each team will again play home and
 road matches against the other teams.  Dates are Nov. 23-24, 
 Dec. 7-8, Feb 29-Mar 1, Mar 7-8, Mar 14-15, Mar 21-22.  The 
 top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

 Quarterfinals: April 4/5 and April 18/19
 Draw: March 24

 Semifinals: May 2/3 and May 9/10

 Final: May 24
***July 28, 1999     2nd round of the Champions' League Qualifying Results
***                               DYNAMO KIEV  2-0  ZALGIRIS VILNIUS
                                 (Maxim Shatskih 37, 77   Att: 14500) 
***Uzbekistan international front-runner Maksim Shatskikh – signed by Dynamo
 Kyiv earlier this month as a replacement for Italy-bound Andrii Shevchenko –
 made an immediate impact for his new club with both goals as the Ukrainians
 beat Lithuanian rivals FK Zalgiris 2-0 in Wednesday's UEFA Champions
 League Second Qualifying Round, first-leg clash in Kyiv.

 Curious transfer
 Shatskikh struck after 37 and 78 minutes to give
 last season's UEFA Champions League
 semi-finalists a comfortable cushion to take into
 the second leg in a week's time. 
 It was a fairy-tale start to Shatskikh's European
 career with Dynamo, who signed him from Russian
 outfit Baltika Kaliningrad in curious circumstances.

 Spartak's offer refused – at Moscow airport!
 "We had to snatch him from Spartak Moscow," said
 Dinamo president Grigory Surkis. "The Moscow
 club attempted to stop him at Moscow airport, and offered him a
 contract, which he refused to sign."
 Shatskikh scored eight goals in 20 appearances for Baltika. 
 "We saw him play for Baltika, and knew he would be an ideal replacement for
 Shevchenko," said Surkis. "He has everything – pace, superb skill and a great
 attitude."

 Kyiv slow to settle
 On the field, Kyiv found themselves unable to dominate in the early
 stages, as Zalgiris threatened with a series of pacy counter-attacks.
 When the Ukrainians did create an opening, Serguei Kormiltsev fired
 over from inside the box. However, Dinamo began to take full control
 as the half-hour approached, and Kakha Kaladze saw an effort blocked
 by a possee of defenders on the goalline.
 The goal which had been threatening for Kyiv finally arrived eight
 minutes from the break. Artem Iachkin fired over a cross, and Shatskikh
 – booked a few minutes earlier – scored with a fine header.

 One-way traffic
 Kyiv continued to pour forward in a one-sided start to the second half,
 and Zalgiris began having difficulty crossing the halfway line. Visiting
 goalkeeper Audrius Dilys – playing with a bandaged head after making
 one brave first-half save at the feet of Serhii Rebrov - continued to
 thwart the home strikers, and foiled Rebrov again with a smart save
 near the hour.

 Fine individual goal
 It took Zalgiris 77 minutes to put a shot on target – Olexander
 Shovkovskyi saving easily from Stesko – but the Lithuanians found
 themselves two down to a splendid individual effort a minute later.
 Alexei Guerassimenko hoisted a long ball into the box, Shatskikh took
 the ball down, beat a defender and fired home to leave Kyiv looking
 comfortable for the second leg. 

***On Wednesday, July 28, Dynamo begins another Champions' League campaign.  This time, the road to the finals is even more gruelling than last season, with Dynamo having to overcome 16 matches to even reach the final eight.  There will be two group stages, but the good news is that the top two teams now advance from each group, giving each club more room for error and compensating somewhat for the unfairness of the draw.  But before the group stage, Dynamo must beat Zalgiris and Aalkberg.  The Zalgiris matchup will be the tougher of the two, as Kiev assistant coach Alexey Mihailechnko postulated.  Here is a team that makes few mistakes; it is somewhat reminiscent of Sparta Praga, a team Dynamo barely defeated last year on the way  to the League's semifinals.  The first match was held in Kiev.  After allowing a goal in the first  five minutes, Kiev never recovered and was faced with having to win on the road if the team were to advance.  But penetrating the Praga defense was no easy task.  After 88 minutes of futile attempts it seemed as though Dynamo would be faced with the harsh reality.  But after a fortunate deflection as a result of constant pressure, Shevchnko scored, tying the series and sending the game into overtime.  In the overtime period, each team could have scored, but  none did, so the penalty kicks had to be the deciding factor.  Rising to the occasion, the Kiev goalkeeper blocked three kicks and the team burst into tears of triumph after Yuriy Dmitrulin scored the winning goal.  What happened in the group stage and after, we all know.  The question is, can Dynamo repeat, or even surpass last season's performance?  With key injuries and two key players (Shevchenko and Luzhny) gone, the team needs time to come together. That is why these early  games with Zalgiris are so important.  If Dynamo can win, the team will only get better.  Good luck, Dynamo, and remember, we believe in you!!!
***Games Dynamo Kiev played last season in the Champions' League plus the Zalgiris series:

 Date          Home               Away                                      Referee
 04.08.1999 FK Zalgiris - Dynamo Kyiv
 28.07.1999 Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 FK Zalgiris                         POLL Graham 
 21.04.1999 FC Bayern München 1-0 Dynamo Kyiv          MELO PEREIRA Vitor Manuel 
 07.04.1999 Dynamo Kyiv 3-3 FC Bayern München          NIELSEN Kim Milton 
 17.03.1999 Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 Real Madrid CF                 FRISK Anders 
 03.03.1999 Real Madrid CF 1-1 Dynamo Kyiv                 BRASCHI Stefano 
 09.12.1998 RC Lens 1-3 Dynamo Kyiv                             MICHEL Lubos 
 25.11.1998 Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 Panathinaikos FC               KRUG Hellmut 
 04.11.1998 Dynamo Kyiv 3-1 Arsenal FC                         CECCARINI Piero 
 21.10.1998 Arsenal FC 1-1 Dynamo Kyiv                         WOJCIK Ryszard 
 30.09.1998 Dynamo Kyiv 1-1 RC Lens                              BENKÖ Günter 
 16.09.1998 Panathinaikos FC 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv                MELO PEREIRA Vitor Manuel 
 26.08.1998 AC Sparta Praha 0-1 Dynamo Kyiv (pen 1-3)   VEISSIERE Gilles 
 12.08.1998 Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 AC Sparta Praha                  HEYNEMANN Bernd 
 29.07.1998 Barry Town AFC 1-2 Dynamo Kyiv                  PREGIA Bujar 
 15.07.1998 Dynamo Kyiv 8-0 Barry Town AFC

  ***Dynamo Kiev full squad:
  1 Olexander SHOVKOVSKYI   2 Olexander KIRIUKHIN    3 Alexei GUERASSIMENKO
  4 Olexander HOLOVKO   5 Vladyslav VASCHUK   6 Yurii DMYTRULIN    7 Kakha KALADZE
  8 Valiantsin BIALKEVICH   9 Vitalii KOSSOVSKYI   10 Oleh VENHLINSKYI  11 Serhii REBROV
  12 Viacheslav KERNOZENKO  13 Vsevolod ROMANENKO 14 Andrii HUSIN
  15 Artem IACHKIN  16 Maksim SHATSKIKH  17 Serhii FEDOROV  18 Vassyl KARDASH
  19 Serguei KORMILTSEV   20 Serguei SEREBRENNIKOV  21 Volodymyr YEZERSKIY
  22 Serhii KONOVALOV   23 Olexander RADCHENKO
  24 Olexander KOSSYRIN   25 Yuriy TSELYKH  26 Andrii NESMACHNYI

***Today marks the start of another year of the most prestigious European Competition--the 
    Champion's League--and first qualifying round matches will be played today.  A long way
    lies ahead for the teams of the European continent in the battle for the prestigious trophy.
    The two luckiest teams will reach the final, which will take place on May 24, 2000.  Here is 
    the breakdown:
    *316 days
    *235 matches
    *71 teams
    *8 rounds
    There are going to be 21,150 minutes of soccer in all.  In other words, if one wants to see all
    the matches, it should take almost 15 days.

***Last season's semi-finalists Dynamo Kiev will have to overcome a team from Lithuania or
    Armenia if they are to advance to the first Group Stage of the UEFA Champion's League.
    Dynamo face the winners of the FK Zalgiris vs FC Tsement First Qualifying round match on
    July 28 and August 4.  Kyiv President Grigory Surkis was confident that his side--even if has
    been harmed somewhat by the loss of Andri Shevchenko and Oleg Luzhnyi--would advance
    to the group stage.  "We have the ability to qualify against either opponenet.  We know 
    about them from when we were in the former USSR league. Zalgiris were then strong repre-
    sentatives from the Baltic countries.  At present, we do not know so much about their recent
    performances, but we still believe we have enough ability to win."