Real makes a diagnosis
Real (Madrid) vs. Dynamo (Kyiv): 5:1
After Romania’s Staura roundly defeated Kyiv Dynamo in the first round of the Champions’ League, most Ukrainian soccer fans wanted to view this setback as an unexpected fluke. Sometimes it happens that a team plays not too badly, but that day the rival has some incredible luck and manages to score with practically every kick.
However, Kyiv Dynamo’s subsequent games in the Ukrainian championships are no cause for optimism. The veteran leader of Ukrainian soccer looked totally hopeless at times, even when it faced opponents who are more than humble by comparison. Even on these occasions one wanted to believe that Dynamo’s inadequate performance was caused by lack of concentration, game overload, and other problems, including a game against the strongest soccer club team of the 20 th century, as Madrid’s Real is officially called by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Once you arrive in the Spanish capital, you are instantly immersed in a soccer atmosphere. For more than 100 years soccer has been one of the main manifestations of public life. All urban residents either play soccer or wholeheartedly root for Madrid’s two leading clubs: Real and Atletico. All the newspapers I was able to scan that Tuesday — about 15 — were focused on the subject of Real vs. Dynamo, offering their predictions of team compositions and a bit of Kyiv Dynamo’s history.
The information in sports magazines was exhaustive. Practically every member of the home team was discussed in terms of his ability to perform adequately that evening on the grand Santiago Barnabeu arena. Kyiv Dynamo lacked a large number of major players, who were convalescing from injuries. Our team had its traditional training session on Monday. The coaches and players were laconic: after arriving in Madrid, they said they would try to play their best. What else could they say?
The start-up composition of the Spanish team could not be predicted; coach Capello had too many world-caliber players at his disposal. Nor was it possible to predict Dynamo’s composition. The Kyiv team had never played a single game in this format. Shovkovsky, the goalie, was reinforced by two center forwards, Sablych and Havranchych, with Husiev and Nesmachny securing the flanks. Halfback Yusuf was holding the fort, with the rest of the team forming the strike force, where Milevsky and Belkevych were added after a long intermission. They assisted Correa, Diogo, and Shvatskykh.
The traditional handshake of team captains Raul and Shovkovsky was a reminder that the Spanish bombardier has been scoring in both club and national meets. Even though Raul was not always placed on the Spanish national team in matches against Kyiv Dynamo, he came onto the field looking like a man who knew that he would his job well.
It is hardly worth recounting the game and the goals scored by the Spanish team, not only because most fans watched the match on television, but also because there is nothing much to write about. Madrid’s top soccer club did not have much trouble scoring five goals, and they could have scored more. The fact that Kyiv Dynamo scored one goal and could have scored more doesn’t mean anything. A serious team cannot lose a game by letting a rival score five goals. Also, one had the impression that if Dynamo had scored not one but three goals, Real would have scored eight instead of five.
The way Kyiv Dynamo performed in the Champions League in Madrid is inadmissible. It would be better not to make it into the league. During its match with Dynamo Real’s virtuosos showed just how many problems our team is facing, so much so that we can see that Dynamo is facing a serious crisis, not temporary hardships. This crisis cannot be overcome by the players and coaches. All we can see is a pale shadow of a team that was confidently beating its rivals in July and August, including foreign teams. The impression is that everyone is totally confused and doesn’t know what to do. If so, how is this team going to cope with the rest of the Champions League matches? Will it keep accumulating defeats and setting dubious antirecords?
One thing is certain: Madrid Real has come up with a disheartening but fair diagnosis for Kyiv Dynamo. But neither Real nor any other rivals are going to offer Dynamo any prescriptions. This must be done by the Dynamo Club, so that our players will not suffer an even greater disgrace in Europe.
Some might say that there can be no greater shame than Dynamo losing the first two Champions League games, totaling 2:9 points. Unfortunately, the prospects look even more disheartening. I wish the situation were different.
