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Champions' League Group Stage 2, Matchday 1
DYNAMO KIEV 1-2 REAL MADRID
(Morientes '17, Raul '48, Rebrov <pk> '84)
Bayern Munich 1-1 Rosenberg
December 4, 1999
***Rescheduled match of the Ukrainian Championship: Dynamo 6-0 Prykarpattya
(Bialkevich -2, Rebrov -3),
autogoal.
***Ukraine coach Jozsef Szabo has announced his resignation after his side failed to reach the European Championship final round.
Under pressure
"I'm leaving the national team," Szabo said on Ukrainian television.
The 59-year-old coach has been under heavy pressure since hot favourites
Ukraine suffered a shock 3-2 aggregate defeat by Slovenia in a two-leg
playoff last month. Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Valery
Pustovoitenko, who also heads the country's football federation, said Szabo
should "definitely" be sacked. Former Soviet and Dynamo Kyiv
great Oleh Blokhin, who won the European Player of the Year
award in 1975, is seen as the frontrunner to replace Szabo.
***UEFA Cup 3rd Round, 1st leg: Spartak Moscow 2-1 Leeds United.
November 29, 1999
***Rescheduled match of the Ukrainian Championship in Donetsk: Dynamo
0-0 Shahter.
Shahter scored a goal that was mysteriously disallowed -- dangerous
play against the
goalkeeper. I guess if you have money, you can't lose in Ukraine.
Dynamo fielded
mostly its second squad. Preparations are underway for the
December 7 game against
Bayern Munich in Germany.
November 25, 1999
***Hitherto troubled Real Madrid CF overcame harsh weather conditions
to record
an impressive 2-1 away win over Dynamo Kyiv. The Spanish side,
under the
control of new coach Vicente Del Bosque, seized the vital
away three points
thanks to goals from deadly strike partners Raúl Gonzalez
and Fernando
Morientes.
Snow cleared
Before the match, some 1,000 soldiers had to clear 20 centimetres
of fresh snow off the pitch while temperatures had dipped to minus 11 degrees
Celsius. However, despite the difficult conditions both teams managed to
present an impressive variety of offensive attacking football during the
opening stages of the game, which was was very equally contested.
Raul could have given the Spaniards the lead after five minutes, when he
capitalised on poor communication in the Ukranianrearguard to cut inside
the box, but his his close-range attempt was bravely saved by Kyiv keeper
Olexander Shovkovskyi.
Morientes opens the scoring
Then in the 17th minute, Andrii Husin was unlucky to see his
thunderous shot come back off a Real defender, when it seemed destined
to hit the net. However, only seconds later Morientes put Real ahead after
Roberto Carlos found him unmarked in front of the Kyiv goal and the striker
calmly slotted home. The goal prompted the home side to push forward
desperately in search of the equaliser, but the home side, who reached
the semi-finals of the competition last season, mostly looked too disorganised
to put the Real rearguard under serious pressure. Indeed, it seemed that
Dynamo had more trouble adapting to the difficult pitch conditions as their
normal short-passing style of play failed
to attain its normal rhythm. However, Alexander Khatskevich
could have put the Ukraininans ahead against the run of play, when he launched
a terrific 20-metre effort in the 35th minute, but Alberto Bizarri reacted
superbly to deny the prolific striker.
Raúl doubles Real lead
Kyiv's hopes of getting back into the game were given a further
blow three minutes after the restart, when Savio produced a mazy run on
the left wing to set up Raúl who, having spotted Shovkovskyi had
stepped too far out of his goal, cleverly chipped the ball over the keeper's
head from 25 metres straight into the top left corner. The comfortable
lead allowed the visitors to rely on counter-attacks as Dynamo's offensive
efforts gradually lost their momentum. Guti wasted a good opportunity
to put the game beyond the reach of Dynamo in the 75th minute, when he
elegantly chested down a 50-metre pass from Ivan Helguera, but the youngster
forgot to finish the job as his shot went over thecross-bar. And just when
Real Madrid seemed on their way toavenging last year's quarter-final defeat,
the game was given new life as Yuri Dmytrulin was pulled down in the box
and Serhii Rebrov converted from the spot. However, the goal only had cosmetic
significance, as Real Madrid held on for a deserved win.
***Interviews after the match: Vicente DEL BOSQUE, Head Coach Real
Madrid CF:
"Under such playing conditions I can call our performance
tonight simply a heroic one. "It was a huge team effort and we rightfully
deserved to win." "That was a real challenge for us, because of the
pitch and weather. We played very well, when it was necessary we attacked
and on the other hand - played in defence. It was a very important game,
because it was the first one. "It is only the first game, but our goal
is to win the group. I hope we will manage it. Asked why he chose
to play Christian Karembeu as a central defender:
"He plays well on every position, besides he is very mobile and
flexible and he played there in the last league match against Real Sociedad.
Valerii LOBANOVSKYI, Head Coach Dynamo Kyiv:
"Obviously the weather conditions affected the match, but
it’s not the reason for our defeat. I think Real had more luck, they had
one and a half chances and they scored two goals. I do not blame my players,
they gave everything to win the game.
Aleksei MIKHAILICHENKO Head Coach Dynamo Kyiv
"We knew we would face very strong rivals: Real and weather.
But I am not complaining at all. All was the same for both teams, but we
were not as flexible as Madrid. This prevented us from showing ours abilities
and team speed. We made a lot of mistakes, unfortunately some of them became
crucial for us. We do not have to make a tragedy. It is still the first
match and we have a lot of time to improve the situation.
Today Dynamo played better in midfield. Was it due to the return
of Khatskevich and Bialkevich?
"Maybe, they helped us a lot, and provide us with more options."
Dynamo usually starts badly, but eventually makes it through. Is
it the same now?
"Our players are eager to win in every particular game, irrespective
of the
tournament. But UEFA Champions League is a prime task of course.
RAÚL GONZALEZ, Scorer Real Madrid CF:
"We tried to avoid mistakes, especially in midfield. Real
deserved this victory
and we controlled all the game. In comparing to last year,
we significantly
improved. We made Dynamo make mistkes and we fruitfully used
them. I am
satisfied with the first match, hoping at the same time we
could perform on the
same high level all the time.
November 23, 1999
November 21, 1999
***Some rescheduled matches of the Ukrainian Championship took place.
Metallist 1-1 Kryvbass; Metallurg Z 0-2 Dynamo Kiev.
Dynamo played half reserve
and half starting squad. Preparations are under way for the
Champions' League match
versus Real on November 24. The game can be seen in the US
on ESPN-Extra (pay per
view) for $5.99 at 1:45 PM Pacific, 4:45 PM Eastern.
November 19, 1999
***Ukraine was eliminated from EURO 2000 contention by underdogs
Slovenia who won
on a 3-2 aggregate.
***Slovenia 1-1 Ukraine (3-2 on aggregate): Miran Pavlin's 74th-minute strike shot surprise side Slovenia into the European Champiompionship final round at the expense of fancied Ukraine. The home side looked to be on track for a play-off victory after Serhii Rebrov crashed home a 65th-minute penalty, but Pavlin's effort gave the Slovenes a deserved 3-2 aggregate victory.
Ukraine fail to create chances
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, but armed with a potentially
crucial away goal, Ukraine knew that a 1-0 victory would be sufficient
to see them advance to the finals. However, they were frustrated in the
first half which they dominated territorally, but the skilful Slovenians
looked dangerous on the break. Just 10 minutes into the game, Zlatko Zahovic
appealed for a penalty after he was tripped by Ukraine defender
Serhii Fedorov, but was cautioned by German referee Bernd Heynemann instead.
However, Ukraine's efforts to take the team to the visitors was severely
handicapped by the weather conditions with snowfall rendering the pitch
an ice rink. Despite holding possession for long periods, the closest Ukraine
came to creating an opening in the first half came when Andrii Shevchenko
played Serguei Skachenko in after 38 minutes, but he fell seeking a penalty
when he would have been better advised to fire in a shot himself. Slovenia,
though, had came close just previously with Zlatko Zahovic artfully orchestrating
their counter-attacks. Pavlin got on the end of Zahovic's cross after 34
minutes, but his goal-bound header was cleared off the line.
Rebrov strikes - Pavlin responds
Ukraine upped the tempo significantly in the second half.
Serhii Rebrov's headed just wide after 48 minutes.
The goal came after that sustained spell with a penalty awarded
after Milan AC
striker Shevchenko was hauled down in the box, and the Dynamo Kyiv
striker
Rebrov finished coolly fromthe spot. However, that goal served only
to spur on Ukraine, and Pavlin hit back nine minutes later when his long
range effort deflected off a defender and wrong-footed Ukraine keeper Olexander
Shovkovskyi. Ukraine then threw caution to the wind as they sought the
goal they needed to salvage their qualification hopes. Dabanovic did well
to save from Skachenko after 81 minutes, while Olexander Holovko had a
shot deflected wide a minute later. However, the closest the home side
came to sending the match into extra-time was four minutes from time when
Vladyslav Vashchuk's lobbed effort came back off the crossbar.
Tragedy - Buryak
"It's a tragedy for us," said Ukrainian assistant coach Leanid
Buryak. "It's a real drama in the locker room right now for our entire
team." Slovenia coach Srecko Katanec beamed with pride. "It's a great
victory for our small nation," he said. "And I have never doubted that
we could pull it off. Even when we were down 0-1, I was sure we would
come back."
***While some 3,000 Slovenian fans stood in the snow at two in the
morning on
Thursday to greet their soccer heroes at the airport after
the national side
qualified for their first ever big event, the defeat has sparked
some deep
soul-searching in the Ukraine.
Slovenia celebrates
Slovenia stunned Ukraine by holding their play-off rivals
to a 1-1 draw in Kiev for a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in next year's
European championship finals in the Netherlands and Belgium. Thousands
of fans blocked Ljubljana's streets on Thursday to welcome home Slovenia's
triumphant soccer squad. Supporters gathered in the old part of Slovenia's
capital to toast the team. "I could never ever dream that so many people
in Slovenia would gather to welcome soccer players in our country," said
captain Darko Milanic.
Phenomenal
"This is phenomenal. We never even dared to dream about such
a success. But we deserved it," said coach Srecko Katanec, a former player
who was capped 31 times for the former Yugoslavia. "I remember how difficult
it was to achieve something like this even in the days of the former Yugoslavia,"
he added. "This success means a big obligation for the future." Slovenia,
a former Yugoslav republic until 1991 with a population of only two million,
reached the play-off by completing their qualifying campaign behind Norway.
Slovenian soccer federation president Rudi Zavrl praised Katanec, who has
been coaching the side only since April. "Once again we experienced a winning
spirit which has been in our team since Katanec took over," Zavrl said.
Karlsruher SC's Miran Pavlin scored the 79th minute equaliser after Ukraine
had taken a 1-0 lead 10 minutes earlier with a penalty.
"It was a tough match...the Ukrainians played well and shrewdly
but we overshadowed them with our spirit," he said.
Hopes dashed for Ukraine
In contrast, the defeat has turned into a national tragedy
for the Ukraine.
"Tonight we all feel the bitter taste of lost hopes," a presenter
on a television talk show said after the match. Soccer officials
were just as disheartened. "This is a drama for all of us, but we
have to recognise that the Ukrainian team played really weakly," Valery
Nikonenko, aspokesman for the Ukrainian Football Federation (UFF), told
Reuters. "The erroneous tactics of our coaches are to blame." A senior
UFF representative told Reuters that the match might be the last in the
career of national team coach JoZsef Szabo, blamed for the humiliating
draw. But he and others said that not only Szabo would be under fire.
"It remains to be seen if any of us will stay in the job," said disheartened
assistant coach Leonid Buryak after the game. Valeri Lobanovskyi, the coachof
Dynamo Kiev, whose players make up the core of the domestic squad andwho
is officially the senior coach of all Ukrainian national teams, might be
forced to give explanations. Television showed grim, silent crowds
of tens of thousands fans leaving thehuge Olimpiyskyi Stadium after the
game. "Today I feel like a child who lost his favourite toy," one
policeman at the match told television. The game has also shattered
deep-rooted illusions that Ukraine is a great soccer nation. "We
must understand that this was the end of all our dreams of Ukraine as a
leading European soccer nation," said Nikonenko. "We lost a real
chance to play in the championship and we will have no opportunity to repeat
it in the near future."
***The draw for the Qualifying stages of the World Cup 2002 will
take place on December
7, 1999. Ukraine will find out who its opponents are going
to be and will make a decision
as to the coach of the national team. It is very likely that
Sabo will be fired; his replacement, however, has not been decided.
Among the favorites are Fomenko, Buriak,
and even Blohin. Sabo was blamed by many for Ukraine's failure.
Our nation and
people from Ukraine all over the world mourn Ukraine's elimination.
***Dynamo Kiev plays Real in the first game of the second Champions'
League group
stage at home on Wednesday, Nov 24. Yashkin and Hatskevich
should be back. Real
fired its coach, Toshak, and is currenly without a leader.
November 13, 1999
***A truly amazing goal from substitute Milenko Acimov gave Slovenia
a 2-1
victory over nine-man Ukraine in an eventful European Championship
play-off
clash in Ljubljana. Acimov's 84th-minute lob from near the
halfway line
completed the home side's comeback after falling behind to
a magnificent
Andrii Shevchenko strike, but they know the tie is far from
over, as they have
to defend that slender lead in Kiev on Wednesday in the return.
Zahovic and Shevchenko to the fore
Ukraine will have to reshuffle their troops for that match,
as Dmitri Parfionov and Andrii Husin, who were both dismissed for two yellow
cards, will both be suspended. However, the Ukrainians are sure to be more
advanturous in front of their own fans after a pallid performance in Ljubljana,
highlighted only by the proven skills of Shevchenko. Slovenia's star was
again Zlatko Zahovic, who capped a fine perforamance with his 20th international
goal that cancelled out Shevchenko's opener. He pulled the strings from
his position between midfield and attack, and could well be the figure
to inspire Slovenia in their difficult return.
Slovenia in control untill Shevchenko strikes
Slovenia dominated the possession early on, with the Ukrainians
seemingly content to sit back and play on the break. The lively Zahovic
created the first chance after five minutes. It took three defenders to
stop him after a mazy run, and the the ball broke perfectly for Miran Pavlin,
but his effort deflected narrowly wide. However, Slovenia found it diffficult
to translate that possession into chances, while at the other end
they were finding it increasingly difficult to cope with Shevchenko. Aleksandr
Knavs was booked after 25 minutes as he scythed him down, but there was
nothing anyone could do to stop the Milan AC star after 33 minutes. He
picked up Sergiy Kandaurov's back-heel at the right corner of the penalty
area and curled a brilliant shot past Mladen Dabanovic and into the opposite
top corner.
Slovenia almost hit back
That goal came against the run of play, but Slovenia almost
hit back immediately, but Knav's fierce shot was well saved by Shovkovskyi.
There were further moments of danger for Ukraine before half-time. Darko
Milanic headed over after 42 minutes, while, two minutes later, the vivacious
Zahovic showed some brilliant skill to open up the Ukrainian defence, but
he shot narrowly over from the edge of the penalty area.
Zahovic hits equaliser
Football-wise the second half was hardly spectacle, but there
were many moments of excitement. Slovenia again came close to equalising
within minutes of the restart with Zahovic again the central figure. He
burst through the Ukraine defence, but his shot was brilliantly saved by
Shovkovskyi, and amazingly, Zahovic hit the post with his follow-up. However,
the Olympiakos Piraeus FC striker finally got the goal he deserved after
53 minutes.He seized ona defensive error and headsed for goal before firing
in a snapshot from the edge of the box with his right foot, which flew
straight into the bottom corner for his 20th international goal. Things
went from bad to worse for Ukraine after 61 minutes when Spartak Moscow
midfielder Dmitri Parfionov was sent off after a late tackle earned him
a second caution.
Bolt from the blue
And just as it seemed that the game was heading for a 1-1
draw, Acimov pounced with his bolt from the blue. Spotting Shovkovskyi
off his line, Acimov lobbed the ball from just inside the Ukrainian half,
and his perfectly-flighted effort floated into the top corner before Shovkovskyi
could get back. Things got even worse for Ukraine a minute from time when
Andri Husin was sent off after crashing into Acimov for the second time
in a minute.
***An amazing 50 metre goal by substitute Milenko Acimovic gave outsiders
Slovenia a surprise 2-1 victory over Ukraine in the first leg of their
Euro 2000 play-off on Saturday.
With six minutes remaining Acimovic, just inside the Ukraine half,
intercepted a clearance from Ukraine keeper Olexander Shovkovsky and banged
the ball all the way back into the net as the keeper scrambled back to
his goal from near the touchline. AC Milan striker Andrei Shevchenko had
put hot favourites Ukraine ahead in the 33rd minute but Zlatko Zahovic
equalised 20 minutes later. Ukraine ended the match with nine men as Dmitry
Parfenov was harshly sent off for a second bookable offence on the hour
and Andriy Gusin followed him in the last minute. "I have never scored
a goal like that before and I still
can't believe I did it," said Red Star Belgrade midfielder Acimovic,
a half time substitute for Saso Udovic. "But I am confident and I believe
that we can reach the European championship finals." Shevchenko gave Ukraine
a deserved lead when he cut in from
the right and fired home a superb left foot shot high in to the
corner. Zahovic warmed some 10,000 freezing supporters in the 53rd
minute when he equalised with a low shot after Vytaly Kossovsky allowed
a throw-in to roll under his foot into the path of Slovenia's leading striker.
It was his 20th goal in 41 internationals. Slovenia were on the offensive
from then on, particularly after the first red card, and got their reward
with Acimovic's
incredible effort. Ukraine, who finished behind world champions
France in their
qualifying group, were hot favourites and will still fancy their
chances of progressing.
"Slovenia absolutely deserved the victory, but I am not going to
comment on the second goal, it is something that rarely happens," Ukraine
coach Josef Szabo said. "We did not play as we can due to many injuries
and we hope for the better show in Kiev, the match we can hardly wait for,"
he added. Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec remained cautious: "I am very
well aware of how narrow a victory this is," he said. "This is only
the first half and despite playing very well today we must keep our feet
firmly on the ground until Wednesday.
November 5, 1999
***Here are the results of the draw for the Champions' League that
took place
today in Geneva. Group C: Dynamo Kiev, Real Madrid, Bayern
Munchen, Rosenborg.
This group is passable, albeit difficult. As a reminder, Kiev
faced Real and Bayern
in their campaign last season. They defeated Madrid convincingly
but lost to Bayern on
aggregate. Despite having a two-goal lead in the first leg
of the semifinal in Kiev,
Dynamo allowed the Germans to tie in the closing minutes, forcing
Dynamo to seek
a victory on the road (unsuccessfully). Rosenborg is a team
that plays in style similar
to that of Dynamo, relying on teamwork and counter attacks.
Dynamo's opponents agree
on the fac that Kiev will be a difficult team to beat. Only
two of the six group games will
take place this year: Dynamo will face Real at home at the end of
November and will
play Bayern in Germany in December.
November 2, 1999
***Dynamo Kyiv qualified for the UEFA Champions League Second Group-Match
Phase despite losing 1-0 at home to S.S. Lazio in their final Group A tie.
Last season's semi-finalists Dynamo finished level on seven points with
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who could only manage a 0-0 home draw with Slovenian
champions NK Maribor.
Early pressure pays off
Sven-Göran Eriksson's skilful side took the game to Dynamo
from the kick-off, and Simone Inzaghi had an early opportunity, but his
header was cleared behind for a corner. The Italian striker had another
chance in the sixth minute, but rather than taking on Kakha Kaladze, Inzaghi
mistakenly backheeled the ball and lost possession. The home side - initially
content to counter-attack - mounted their first raid of note in the eighth
minute when Vitalii Kossovskyi's cross was headed goalwards by Serhii Rebrov,
but Marco Ballotta easily collected the ball in the Lazio goal. Kossovskyi
then had a shot blocked by a Lazio defender before the Romans took the
lead in the 18th minute when Kyiv defender Ramiz Mamedov accidently put
the ball into his own net following a goalmouth struggle with Dario Marcolin.
Having opened the scoring, Lazio then allowed Dynamo to attempt to control
the tempo of the match, and having forced a series of throws in the Lazio
half as well as some corners, the hosts, spurred on by the 65,000 crowd,
almost equalised in the in the 24th minute but Lazio second string keeper
Marco Ballotta made a fine save from Andrii Husin's point blank header
as the Ukrainian international missed one of his three first half chances
to level. Shortly before the interval, with the tactics now completely
different from the opening exchanges, Lazio break from defence and are
almost rewarded with their second goal when Inzahgi, with only Shovkovskyi
to beat, was unable to lob the ball over the Dynamo 'keeper.
Lucky escape
Lazio continued to defend in an efficient manner, picking
off chances when they arose, and Diego Simeone was almost rewarded in the
50th minute when he fired an early second half salvo, but Shovkovskyi smothered
the ball, and then Dynamo responded with a goalscoring chance of their
own but substitute Maksim Shatskikh fails to beat Ballotta. Valiantsin
Bialkevich then opted to go alone with teammates looking for the ball inside
the penalty area, and Ballotta again gathered comfortably shortly after
the hour to maintain Lazio's lead. One further chance fell to Inzaghi before
the end when he went clear on goal, but Shovkovskyi made a key save, as
the Ukrainians pinned their hopes on a Maribor draw in Leverkusen. Fortunately
for Valerii Lobanovskyi's team, the Slovenians delivered, allowing the
Ukrainian champions to go through to the last 16 due to their better record
in head-to-head contests with the Germans in this season's competition
(1-1 away draw at Leverkusen in September and a 4-2 defeat of the Germans
in Kyiv last month).
***Interviews: Alexei MIKHAILICHENKO, Dynamo Kyiv assistant
coach:
"We only hoped for ourselves in this match. The great responsibility
of this prevented us from performing at our best level, but still, I would
like to thank all the players and wish them good luck in the upcoming matches.
Unfortunately, some of our players could not play on the level I had expected,
and we failed often in the final stage of attack with the final pass often
going astray. "I think we can divide our displays in the UEFA Champions
League in three parts. The first: a very unlucky start. The second: matches
with Bayer Leverkusen. And the third: playing versus Lazio. To tell the
truth, I think we a draw would have been a fairer outcome for such a game
as we had this evening. "I think all players could have played better today,
and I think Iachkin would help us even more. Regarding changing Fedorov
for Shatskikh, we had to improve our attack. Two players could not make
an appropriate pressure in attack and that's why we added Shatskikh."
Sven Errikson, Lazio Head Coach: "Dynamo Kyiv played well today and they are top-level, experienced players. Though, even through their defeat, Dynamo qualify for the next round. To me it did not matter who qualified for the next round with us, because I am not a fan of Dynamo or Leverkusen.
Now the Bayer 0-0 Maribor game interviews: Rudi VÖLLER, Bayer 04 Leverkusen team manager: "We knew it was going to be very difficult. Maribor play with a very compact defence." Editor's note: You don't say!
Bojan PRAŠNIKAR, NK Maribor head coach:
"We tried to give Bayer as little space as possible...tactically
we played very well. Our time in the UEFA Champions League has been a great
educating experience."
***Last match of Day 14 of the Ukrainian Championship: Shahter 0-1 Chernomorets!!!
October 31, 1999
***Portugal scored a stunning footballing victory off the field on
Tuesday when it
won the contest to host the 2004 European Championship finals. Portugal
upset neighbours Spain, long considered to be the hot favourites to host
the event, and also saw off a joint-bid from Austria and Hungary. Eusebio,
Portugal's most famous player who has worked as an ambassador for the bid
since 1997, cheered as if he had scored a winning goal with the rest of
the Portuguese delegation as UEFA President Lennart Johansson announced
their victory. "It is absolutely fantastic," he said afterwards, "I have
worked hard for this for 18 months and there were three great bids involved.
"But I always had a feeling we could do it. I feel like I did when Benfica
won the European Cup in 1962 and I scored twice. Portugal is a small country
-- but everyone loves football." The Portuguese bid was based on the simple
slogan "We Love Football" and Gilberto Madail, the president of the Portuguese
Football Federation could hardly contain his joy afterwards.
"This is the greatest day of my life" he said. "We have done everything
we could conceivably do to show that a country like Portugal is capable
of organising a competition like the Euro 2004 championships. "By this
decision UEFA have turned over a new page in European soccer history."
AUGUST
8, 1999
***There
have been allegations that many Ukrainian soccer teams are run by the mafia
and receive
most of their money from illegal sources. Grigory Surkis, for example,
buys
gasoline in Russia, where it is relatively cheap, and then sells it in
Ukraine for a
huge
profit. A normal individual would have to pay taxes on these transactions,
but
Surkis
has an agreement with the Ukrainian government that allows him to avoid
taxes
as long
as he invests a large part of the profits in Dynamo Kiev. Also, Shahter's
president
was killed
in a game about five or six years ago for refusing to cooperate with the
mafia.
Such
information, of which there is, undoubtedly, much more than we know, puts
a huge
stain
on Ukrainian soccer.
AUGUST
6, 1999
***For
6 months the Shevchenko intrigue was on the minds of soccer fans in the
former
USSR.
Grigory Surkis stirred the water, as usual; Valeriy Lobonovskiy was quiet;
the
journalists
were going through the motions of being confused. But in December
of
last
year Europe found out that the decision about the sale of Shevchenko was
already
made,
and the transfer sum - $25 million - already determined. It was said
that Milan,
one of
the many conteders for Shevchenko, won the heart of the Ukrainian with
a $60,000
weekly
salary. Had Dynamo not made it out of the group stage of the Champions'
League,
Shevchenko
would have been in Milan at the end of January.
But Lobonovskiy went another way. Kiev reached the semifinal, and
the sale of the
forward
was announced only in the beginning of July. Just a month later Andrey
walked on
to the
Paris field to play his former club's nemesis - Bayern Munich. He
came out to prove
the evident
- there would be no miracle. The language spoken (in the tactical
sense) by
Alberto
Dzakkeroni, like Italian, cannot be learned in a year. "He was burning
with desire to
score,
and that is why he was constantly making mistakes in his solo raids.
Everything is
just
starting; he just needs to calm down" - that is how the Italian Gazetta
dello Sport characterized Shevchenko's play.
"The Ukrainian did not read any of the attacking schemes, so that explains
his attempts to
realize
individual moves," - say the witnesses of the debut. These moves
are familiar to us
from
Valeriy Lobanovskiy's team. Being in an envious athletic shape, the
Kiev Ronaldo was
ready
to make a run from the middle of the field, waiting for a moment to get
Rebrov's precise
pass
and go one-on-one with the hapless goalie. He usually scored, and
then ran towards
the stands
under the accompaniment of the public's ovation.
There are many masters of the ''precise'' pass in Milan, as well.
It can be made by the Croatian playmaker Boban, one of the best defenders
in the world - Maldini, the laureate
of the
golden ball in the EURO 96 - Liberian Weah, the experienced Albertini,
a left flank
player
- the Argentinian Gulelminpietro, the right halfback from Denmark - Helveg
- everyone
a player
of his respective national team. The problem is that in the Italian
Serie A there is
neither
Shakter nor Kryvbass whose feeble defenses Shevchenko easily passed.
In the Paris game against Bayern we again saw Bierhoff heading the ball
out of his penalty
area,
Weah taking the ball away from a forward (Janker), the sprinty Ba, whose
soul raced
forward,
but whose mind commanded the feet to return, helping out the defenders
- the thought it took Dzakkeroni a whole year to dril into him. Only
Andrey viewed the whole thing
from
the central circle.
One more principal of Dzakkeroni's trident is the immaculate communication
and universality of the three forwards. Bierhoff's golden head at
center, Weah and Shevchenko on the flanks - this is what the coach has
in mind for next season. Milan's play in Paris proves that the harmony
is still far ahead. It is like Shevchenko doesn't see Weah or Bierhoff
- and the couple of times he went one on one with the goalie, he tricked
himself and was not able to score.
The fact
that Shevchenko was allowed to kick the penalty earned by Bierhoff after
Andrey's
move
should be seen as a friendly sign in the locker room, not as a mirror of
his achievements.
"Andrey is a real champion. His purchase is a great achievement of
the club - Vieri cost Inter twice
as much. Shevchenko is forward with speed, having perfect control
of tackle and passing technique. And, most importantly, he has fathomless
ability to get better," - says
Dzakkeroni
in an interview. But he warns immediately: ''In order to see him
in better shape,
we will
have to wait. Six months - and he'll take off."
RUSSIAN IZVESTIA
AUGUST
2, 1999
***The
Ukrainian National Team has not yet secured its place in the final
stage of EURO 2000, but already
took care of the housing question in Benilux, Belgium. In case of
making it to the
European
forum the Ukrainians will stay in a hotel at Anseremm, situated in a cosy
corner of
so called
"Belgian Switzerland." And there is another piece of news that has
an iffy character.
The debut
of a Russian intertnational Artem Yaskin in Joseph Sabo's team might take
place as
early
as August 18, when the national team plays Bulgaria in a friendly.
Yaskin currently plays for Dynamo
Kiev and is getting ready to get the Ukrainian Citizenship.
***There
was an interview with Dynamo goalscorer Rebrov in which he expressed his
willingness to
leave if a good offer is given to him. He mentioned that he has played
for Dynamo for 8 years
already and apparently is getting impatient. This is understandable,
since Serhiy is a player
of top caliber and certainly deserves to be paid more, but it has got to
be frustrating for the fans when top players view Dynamo as a stepping
stone to a better financial future in other European clubs. Many
fans, especially those of the older generation, wish to return to
the Soviet
soccer past where money, in most cases, didn't matter, and players wanted
to win just
because they wanted to win, not because of the money. One might recall
the team of 86
which had so much enthusiasm, and was generously rewarded for it--they
won the Cup
Winner's
Cup. Or, you might reminisce about Zvezda which, consisting of unknown
players
with
a whole lot of potential and desire to win, won first place in the soviet
championship..
Such
victories are great, but no longer possible; it's all about money now.
Face it, if Dynamo
didn't have Surkis, who basically brings A LOT of money into the organisation,
it would sell
or have
to sell its best players and would be something like the toothless Dynamo
of the
early
nineties. From year to year, it lost in the European Champion's League,
especially to
Barcelona.
But as soon as the money starts pouring in, things go well, as they did
for Dynamo
in 1997.
With the return of the great one, Valeriy Lobonovskiy, and the ability
to keeps its
most
ambitious players, Dynamo avenged the evil Barcelona and advanced to the
quarter-
finals
before bowing out to a far better Juventus team. But Kiev didn't
give up--they retained
all but
one of their top players and got to the semifinals in 98-99, where they
could have just
as easily
won as they had lost. But what if Surkis wasn't the manager,
what would have
happened
then? Would Dynamo have surprised the world? Ukraine truly
has one of the most
talanted
sets of players in the world. But the problem is, they don't want
to stay in Ukraine,
not for
long. Maybe part of the problem is the thefts that go on inside the
league, or
sales,
to be exact. Anyone remember where Rebrov came from? Shaktar
Donetsk. Could
you imagine
what would have happened if he still played in Donetsk? Dynamo would
have
had some
serious competition. But since Kiev is the richest team, they have
got to have the
best
players, and where a better place to get them than other Ukrainian teams?
This is
great
for Dynamo, but it really hurts the league. Maybe that's a part of
the reason why it is so
weak--maybe
that's why Dynamo has to play in the second qualifying round of the Champion's
League.
I don't mean to blame Dynamo--this was just an example of what is going
on in the
whole
world today. Last year, after Arsenal was defeated by Dynamo in the
group stage,
Arsenal's
head coach remarked that there are no good English players left--they've
all gone
abroad.
Maybe this is why the level of the 1998 World Cup was so poor. Players
came
from
all over the globe, having played with players from other countries more
than thier
countrymen!
Maybe there is no point in having good national soccer schools--why bother
when
you can just buy players from other countries? The point is that
Ukraine is one of the
few countries
left that actually has a great school. So don't sell your top players--that
might
be your
advise, right? But guess what--the players get to decide. They
have to want to stay.
I don't
know how to make them want that, but I know one thing--if they do decide
to stay,
Ukraine
will become on of the best, if not THE best, teams in the world!!!
***Today,
on the 14 of July, 1999, Ukraine celbrates 105 years of soccer in the country.
On this
day 105
years ago in the Stiviiskiy Park in Lvov, the first match on ethnic soil
took place.
The match
followed the rules of that epoch and was between Sokol Lvov and Sokol Krakov.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!