Kyiv Dynamo 1, Madrid Real 2

Dynamo’s most devout admirers were watching this game standing on the stadium grandstand. It was worth watching on one’s feet. Not because it was very frosty outside but because on that day we were bidding farewell to a soccer year that may be repeated nobody knows when. The sensational victory of Dynamo over the same Real in March and the ensuing well- earned draw between the teams of Ukraine and France in Paris allowed us to enter the family of great European soccer nations for a solid year. The finish of the soccer year has implacably proved that we, as one politician said, are neither No. 1 nor No. 2 in this family. Nor are we even Nos. 3 and 4.

Almost nobody expected in a miracle on the eve of the match against Real. Even if the outside temperature had been plus 18 Centigrade, the stadium would hardly have been full. There was no question of ticket scalping, although interest in soccer has begun to revive in Kyiv as Dynamo has been regaining its European fame. One of the bosses of our leading club told the press about the courage with which the Kyivans lost to Lazio. He was quite right. Our boys are capable of displaying courage in the game against any rival, for which we thank them. But to win a match is something else.

Whatever we say, Dynamo had only one European-class star, Andriy Shevchenko. It is he who brought us victory over Real in the spring and whom the Dynamo attack line will be missing for so long to come. The Madrid club’s attack line in turn misses the Balkan duet of forwards Mijatovic and Suker. Also missing on the Kyiv pitch were goalie Ilgner, fullback Hierro, and halfback Redondo, who have formed Real’s central axis of game in the past few seasons. But while the Spanish club’s stars, who have quitted temporarily or for good, have been replaced by players from the national teams of France, Brazil and Holland, Dynamo’s closest reserve is made up of players from the teams of Belarus and Uzbekistan. This underscores yet again the courage of Dynamo, which only could and did offer teamwork and discipline, in execution of coach Valery Lobanovsky’s plan, to counter the virtuosos of world soccer. Moreover, the Spaniards put on the pitch two brilliant flank fullbacks Carlos and Salgado who seem to have inherited the play manner of Kyivans Matviyenko, Troshkin, Lozynsky, Demyanenko, Luzhny and others, i.e., they are able to handle the ball across the whole pitch and then pass it on or score themselves. This is the kind of play that could bring Dynamo success. However, the injured Kosovsky did not play on the left, while the role of Mamedov on the right flank must be a closely-guarded secret of our coaches. In any case, our side failed to launch its customary flank attacks, while an accurate pass was made from the pitch area entrusted to Mamedov, which allowed the Real forward Morientes, looking like the pop star Ricky Martin, to score the first goal for his team. Having surrendered the flanks, our players concentrated their efforts on the center, where a very active game was shown by Husin, Belkevych, Yashkin, and especially Khatskevych, who seemed to have been missing big time soccer, recovering his best shape in Dynamo-2. He was the best Kyivan player on that frosty night.

The Spanish goal was followed by open and cheerful play resembling the recent Kyiv match versus Bayer. The guests played and let our side play. But even the appearance of well-known Madrid loser Campo, who will at least once each match let the ball rebound from a rival’s shooting foot, did not bring the Kyivans luck. After referee Elleray cut short rough play on a slippery and hard pitch by a series of warnings, Seedorf, Savio, Karembeu, Guti, and other Real players vividly showed unquestionable superiority in their ball handling. It is their carefree manner of handling the ball that allowed the guests to pick up, when counterattacking, high collective speed, which Lobanovsky thinks is important. By the same token, every other movement one of our players, when he stopped or tried to dribble the ball, let the rivals defuse the impending threat. This time the Kyivans failed in making long shots on goal and passes to forwards. The guests seemed to know in advance all our actions, and only when the ball bounced in an unexpected direction, the Real defense line showed a gap or two. The wonderful goal of Raul, who lobbed the ball miraculously and even playfully behind Shovkovsky’s back, allowed all the spectators to rid themselves of any unnecessary worry over the result. The persistent and careful running to and fro by Dynamo caused not a ripple in the Real defense. What may have caused a ripple was the mandatory penalty shot: Dynamo has mostly been scoring from the penalty spot in this fall’s international matches. It is not to be excluded that the referee wanted to correct the mistake he had made in the nineteenth minute of the first half, when the ball flew into the Real goal but was disallowed because of a nonexistent offside. Had the referee awarded one more penalty shot, Dynamo would have had a chance to get even, and if he had awarded a third one, they could even have won. Jokes apart, it is possible. Aficionados remember the Kyiv match between Dynamo and Neftchi (Baku) in the spring of 1987, when referee Zhuk awarded three penalties for the Kyivans, who thus came even and then won. This is not yet common practice on the international arena, while our side has been failing for many months to score a non-penalty goal in critical moments.

The defeat at the hands of Real is not a disaster like the one Ukraine suffered in the match against Slovenia. Our boys played well, even very well. But the opponent was stronger. Humiliating as it is, our Dynamo was beaten calmly and without fuss by a European superclub for the second time in this fall. Real repeated what Lazio had done earlier. The next Champions League game versus Bayern in December is unlikely to change anything. Then a long winter will set in, when Dynamo will be additionally manned by players from Russia, Georgia, and other countries of our former boundless fatherland, while Real and Bayern will be marshaling Brazilians, Argentineans, and Uruguayans. This is the prospective reality shown again by the match versus Real.

Vicente del BOSQUE: “It was the hardest match”

The guests’ coach was the first to come for the post-match press conference. To be more exact, this was Vicente del BOSQUE , acting chief coach after John Toshack was dismissed a week ago:

“It was the hardest match in my life. I have never seen soccer played in an outdoor temperature of -11 Centigrade. And I think it is just a miracle that my boys won today.”

“Does this win make Real a favorite in the group, in terms of tournament strategy?”

“This is only the first match. Although we were, of course, trying to win in this game. And we are very happy we did. But, still, I repeat, this is only the first match.”

“Do you think Real president Lorenzo Sanz will need a new coach after this game?”

“We had a very good coach in John Toshack. It so happened that now I lead the team. But the post of coach is transient. So everything is in Sanz’s hands.”

Dynamo coach Oleksiy MYKHAILYCHENKO:

“In my opinion, the team showed itself in its best light despite the result. Yes, the players made some mistakes. But this is inevitable in any match. In general, the team played well.”

“Do you agree that the blame for the first and second goals must be put on the Dynamo goalie Shovkovsky?”

“A goalkeeper always feels guilty when he cedes a goal. But I don’t think he did anything wrong in these instances. Yes, there were some slips and mistakes. But the goalie is as much a player as the others. The point is his mistakes, thanks to his position, are more visible.”

“To make a slow start in a tournament has become a tradition for Dynamo.”

“Of course, we did not intend beforehand to lose the match. I am not adventurous enough to predict a sure victory in Madrid. But in any case we’ll fight to the end.”