Tomorrow Kyiv Dynamo will meet with the French soccer club Lance in the second round of the League of Champions group tournament. French scouts attended the recent game between Dynamo and Donetsk. After the game The Day questioned the Lance deputy coach Didie Senaque.
Who came to Kyiv to watch Dynamo play?
Two men, a cameraman, and I. Our task was to tape the match and report orally to the Lance head coach Daniel LeClerc about what we have seen in Kyiv.
And what will be the personal comments?
I would not attract his opinion to the empty bleachers, because I am sure there will be more than enough fans at the game between Dynamo and Lance.
Olympic Stadium traditionally has that level of attendance.
So I was right. As to the game I noticed the following. Despite the fact that Lobanovsky moved second-stringers into the starting line up, it did not damage the team's strategy - the needed result was secured by constant pressure on the opposing team and solid game organization. More concrete, Metallurg was worn down without the ball and after allowing a bunch of hits, failed to recover. I should specifically point out Dynamo’s ability to break an opponent’s solid defense.
You were a well-known soccer player. How long have you been working for the club and what is your job there?
I would like to underline that Lance is my native club, because between 1976 and 1987 I played for its every team, including the junior one. Then I was transferred to Bordeaux for 8 years. Last year I returned to Lance as deputy coach. I do the drafting and carry out studies of the certain teams’ game styles. I spend much time with the team; I often help the players solve the questions they have to the club’s management and vice versa.
Do you think Lance deserved its win in the last French national championship?
Without doubt. Of course, there were many people who did not believe in our club’s possible leadership, especially at the beginning of the tournament. But their number dropped with every game we won. Players, who put everything they had in it and had faith in their coach, were the source of our success.
Then why were so many roster changes made in the off-season?
At the beginning of the new season we lost five players from our starting lineup. And it is not because of the profitable trades, but because most got foreign contracts. It is almost impossible to keep a player invited to play abroad in France because of our taxation specifics. In a word, the roster changes were very expected, and seven rookies joined the club.
Were all of them chosen to play in the starting line-up?
You can say so, if you remember also about the necessity of competitiveness. In any case, three rookies came out in the starting line-up in the game between Lance and Arsenal: half-backs Alex Njarko (transferred from Karlsruhe) and Stephan Dalmat (Shatoru), and forward Pascal Numa (Strassburg). Two others wound up on the substitution list: half-backs Siril Roll (Bastia) and Daniel Morejra (Gengam). Thus it would be no exaggeration to say that the practically new team was formed.
Is this the only reason for an unsuccessful start in the national championship?
It’s the main one. Some combinations have not been mastered, but the optimum roster has been defined and we are sure there is progress to come.
Should we consider optimal the Lance line-up, LeClerc selected to play Arsenal?
Unfortunately, not all players entered the season in good health. Fullback Jean Lashor is recovering after breaking an ankle. Not everything is good with Cameroon half-back Mark-Vivien Foe, who might again need surgical intervention.
Speaking about the Lance roster, we should also consider that four its players are candidates to the French national teams.
Yes, that’s true. Frederic Deu and Toni Verel were invited to the national team and 21 year old Morejra and 19 year old Dalmat were invited to play for the junior team.
How did they accept the results of the lots casting for the group tournament in the League of Champions?
As their due. The E group was estimated strong because of Dynamo being in it.
And this opinion did not change after the defeat in Athens?
I attended this game and saw that Dynamo dominated in many game components. Dynamo is a higher-class team than Panatinaikos, and makes no sense to with this. In the first half the guests suppressed the timid host team and should have scored no less than three goals. But even after 1:0, I was certain they were going to win. But the players believed that too early and their confidence led them to underestimate their opponents. Panatinakos changed its attitude to the game, since they had nothing to lose and got rid of the psychological pressure. I would say the Greeks managed to push Dynamo out of the comfortable armchair it sat in during the first half. But in general the result was not logical.
Where did Lance come up short in the game against Arsenal? Or how did you manage to tie the game?
I will answer both these questions. We managed to tie the game because the players showed those qualities that have been characteristic of Lance for decades. The club’s players are brought up to fight whatever opponent they have and in any situation they fight until the final whistle. That is how we managed to take everything possible out of the game moment at the end of the game. What Lance lacked was the ability to play at such a high level. Both Dynamo and Arsenal have such skills.
According to one Kyiv sports newspaper, Lance forward Toni Verel made it to the first round team. Do you agree with this?
I have not seen all his games, but Verel is the real leader. He is a perfect athlete (he is 187 centimeters tall and weighs 80 kilos. Incidentally, 9 out of 14 players who played against Arsenal are taller than 185 centimeters). He can both lead the team and individually crash the opponents’ defense.
Your variant of the final teams positions in the Group?
Dynamo, Lance, Arsenal, and Panatinaikos. Agree?
Of course! But I wonder what the Greeks and Englishmen think about that?
Well, the opinion is the abstract notion and you may avoid considering it.







