“Lucescu can only be compared to Lobanovsky”

President of Kiev “Dynamo” Igor Surkis He summed up the victorious home match with Ferencváros (1: 0), which led the Ukrainian team to the 1/16 finals of the Europa League, and also commented on rumors of a possible strengthening and answered other pressing questions about the life of the team.

– I’m in a very good mood. Congratulations to everyone who supported Dynamo Kiev with a good result and reaching the European Spring. The game is forgotten, the result remains, said Igor Mikhailovich on the air of the Bombardir channel. – In this game, the main thing was the result. You could be charming, play great, but lose. But it was kind of the end: in those games, the result is important.

– Igor Mikhailovich, can we expect a staff increase in the winter offseason?

– We still have to decide where we will hold training camps in relation to the coronavirus. Understand where the combat will be. I need to meet with the head coach and understand what positions he wants to strengthen, what are the candidates and the possibility of acquiring these players. Now I’m not talking about money, but about those who would really strengthen the team, and not just because of the number of legionaries who would be worse than our guys. Therefore, I think this conversation is premature before the end of the season. There is a bit of waiting to be done, so let the fans be patient a bit longer. And we will announce our plans for the off-season.

– How did you react to the information in the Romanian press that Mircea Lucescu could leave the team in winter?

– This is especially shaken. I don’t react to that. Lucescu works and, most importantly, wants to work. It works 24 hours a day. He is the coach who I think has made great strides with the same players. We won the Super Bowl, we entered Eurospring. And most importantly, the team played in the Champions League. In the championship we are still in first place, there is a fight for leadership. Everything will be decided, of course, in spring. But there is also a factor that football without spectators is not the type of football that we are used to seeing … Maybe, if the fans were in the stands, then the quality of the game would be better. In the match against Ferencváros, the spectators would definitely not interfere with us, they would push the team forward.

– Was there a moment in the game against Ferencváros that made you seriously worry?

– I didn’t have that. There was a time when the Ferencvaros players fell into our goal in the second half, and there was still time. The course of the game made it clear to me why we played carefully. Ferencváros had to score, but they didn’t open, they kept the ball, sometimes even for the simple act of holding. There were no dangers. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play counterattack football more clearly. But they scored the ball and won. With which I congratulate our fans and all those who cared about the team.

– Do you feel that Shakhtar has already worried?

– We look at our team, and if Shakhtar is worried or not, I don’t know. But I think when Lucescu arrived, they initially understood that this was the coach who would create competition. Anyway, there will no longer be a difference of 23 points, which was last season.

– Who advised you to nominate Mircea Lucescu?

– This idea appeared, in principle, a long time ago. When you want to appoint a head coach, you consider many candidates. The idea with Mister was always there, but it was not clear if he would want to, if he would go. He is a highly experienced coach, a professional through and through. I will tell you that he can only be compared to Valery Vasilyevich Lobanovsky, who worked like this.

– What impressed you most about Lucescu during the period of your work at the Dynamo?

– At his age, only a great professional can talk about football 24 hours a day. Leave your family in Romania and move to the base, even though we offered them a flat. No, he says he wants to live at the base to fully know the team, the players, be closer to them. He is a great professional. It is the most important thing.

We want to be in Europe, we fight for Europe, we shout what we need in the EU, but we argue, excuse me, as “firsts”. If we take the same Mourinho, he worked at Manchester United, at Chelsea, now he is the boss of Tottenham. In the game against Chelsea, he did everything he could to beat them. These are professional coaches, they want to work. And the lord accepted this difficult challenge. But he accepted it because he was a professional. After all, he did not come to us directly from Shakhtar. Lucescu worked in other clubs for another four years and then was unemployed for two years. How not to take advantage of this? Also, the coronavirus has started, you can’t meet anyone, fly somewhere and normally make reinforcements. And he came in and said he would work with these guys and he didn’t need anyone. Know the potential of the team.

It never happened that someone came and said: “Toma Lucescu”. There was such an idea. And thank goodness everyone who participated in this was right.

– At the same time, they sustained the hatred that the club received at their home after the appointment …

– There is a group of people who scream, make noise, burn. I understand if they bring any benefit to the team. And the “benefit” is just that every year the club pays crazy fines for them. Yes, they have their own opinion. I agree that you need to hear your ultras. But wait, give the person a chance to work, judge by the result.

If we strive to live in Europe, we must think in a European way and not like medieval people. The professional now directs the Dynamo Kiev and gives a certain result. What is the most important thing in football? Outcome. And the talk that we don’t care which coach, even if we’re in 10th place … I saw they were yelling when Khatskevich and others were the coach. “Fizruks” and so on … Was it? I didn’t think of anything.

I am ready to find a common language, to speak. I want the fans to support the team, especially people who are so active in the sectors. We need them because they give a very strong load. The team feels responsible. But when 20,000 fans gathered for the game against Juventus, the players also began to think differently. They usually came to thank the ultras sector for their support, and then applauded the entire stadium. Because they work on the soccer field and in the training process, and when they come and boo, what support is there?

As long as I am president of the club, I will do my best for the result. I want everyone to learn this. Investing health, soul, money, I will do my best to have only one result. The result is at the forefront.

– How true is the information that Dynamo is interested in Shahab and Dragovic?

– We did not enter into negotiations with any of these players.