A long time ago Dynamo Kyiv fans could list their favorite soccer team’s international wins. In time these stories turned into legends, with lots of “details” -mostly the fruit of eager imaginations - added to Dynamo’s list of accomplishments. Unfortunately, Dynamo scored its last victory in the UEFA Champions League almost three years ago. Since then, Ukraine’s premiere soccer team has suffered seven fiascos in the main continental club tournament. Dynamo’s failures provide enough material for a collection of spectacular victories for its rivals. What can be done when there are no other results and few prospects for victory?
The UK’s champion soccer team, Manchester United, is the latest successful rival of Dynamo Kyiv. Before the game the Dynamo players did their best to forget the days when the Kyiv players played as equals against the champions of England, days that have become part of soccer folklore. The Dynamo team came onto the field already beaten after hearing the names of their rival team members. How can one not recall Lobanovsky, who could persuade even the most mediocre soccer players that they were no worse than the world’s best players and capable of beating them all?
In the first 18 minutes of the game Dynamo made so many blunders that Manchester United had no problems scoring two goals. Dynamo’s Pape Diakate, the team’s guest star since the summer, succeeded in turning what was once a powerful Dynamo defense area into a hospitable territory for attacks from their opponents, who could do what they pleased.
It’s not worth describing the circumstances in which Manchester United beat Dynamo Kyiv 4:2. In fact, the British team could have scored another four goals, maybe more. Dynamo’s goals were a futile response - like mosquito bites - to the British team. Instead, it would be better to describe how this latest Dynamo failure differed from the two preceding ones.
In the game against Roma, held on Italy’s home turf, Dynamo Kyiv played as though they were paralyzed and unable to launch any counterattack. That was when the Ukrainian team revealed its inability to play on this level. Its colorless performance time ended in a 0:2 loss and forced the Dynamo Soccer Club to dismiss Coach Demianenko, who was replaced by the battle-hardened Jozsef Szabo (the coach of Dynamo Kyiv four times previously). The new-old coach could do nothing in the home game against Lisbon Sporting, a mediocre team by European standards. Dynamo lost again, 1:2. The Kyiv team also showed a combative spirit that would have changed the score, given different circumstances.
The game against Manchester United, objectively the strongest team in this year’s Champions League, was proof that even Szabo has no arguments to use against a truly top-notch soccer team. Dynamo’s reshuffled team made more goofs in the field than at any time during group tournaments in the 1990s. The reason is simple: the difference in class between Dynamo and other European soccer clubs, a gap that has widened over the past couple of years, so much so that Dynamo’s rivals can easily get the better of the Ukrainian team in all sectors of the field, forcing our players to make mistakes. The two goals scored by Dynamo in the game against Manchester United are hardly worth anything, considering the Ukrainian team’s inadequate defense pattern.
Most likely Dynamo Kyiv will lose another game in Manchester two weeks from now, adding another item to its collection of European fiascos. There are no indications that Dynamo will reach a higher level of playing, where it could be an equal partner rather than a supporting actor in the Champions League. One can only hope that Dynamo puts on a better performance in the time left before the second round of the Champions League’s group tournament; the same goes for the people tasked with presenting this game. Then perhaps we could expect better results.
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Manchester United: 2:4 (1:3)
Goals scored by Diogo Rincon, Ismael Bangoura, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo.
A long time ago Dynamo Kyiv fans could list their favorite soccer team’s international wins. In time these stories turned into legends, with lots of “details” -mostly the fruit of eager imaginations - added to Dynamo’s list of accomplishments. Unfortunately, Dynamo scored its last victory in the UEFA Champions League almost three years ago. Since then, Ukraine’s premiere soccer team has suffered seven fiascos in the main continental club tournament. Dynamo’s failures provide enough material for a collection of spectacular victories for its rivals. What can be done when there are no other results and few prospects for victory?
The UK’s champion soccer team, Manchester United, is the latest successful rival of Dynamo Kyiv. Before the game the Dynamo players did their best to forget the days when the Kyiv players played as equals against the champions of England, days that have become part of soccer folklore. The Dynamo team came onto the field already beaten after hearing the names of their rival team members. How can one not recall Lobanovsky, who could persuade even the most mediocre soccer players that they were no worse than the world’s best players and capable of beating them all?
In the first 18 minutes of the game Dynamo made so many blunders that Manchester United had no problems scoring two goals. Dynamo’s Pape Diakate, the team’s guest star since the summer, succeeded in turning what was once a powerful Dynamo defense area into a hospitable territory for attacks from their opponents, who could do what they pleased.
It’s not worth describing the circumstances in which Manchester United beat Dynamo Kyiv 4:2. In fact, the British team could have scored another four goals, maybe more. Dynamo’s goals were a futile response - like mosquito bites - to the British team. Instead, it would be better to describe how this latest Dynamo failure differed from the two preceding ones.
In the game against Roma, held on Italy’s home turf, Dynamo Kyiv played as though they were paralyzed and unable to launch any counterattack. That was when the Ukrainian team revealed its inability to play on this level. Its colorless performance time ended in a 0:2 loss and forced the Dynamo Soccer Club to dismiss Coach Demianenko, who was replaced by the battle-hardened Jozsef Szabo (the coach of Dynamo Kyiv four times previously). The new-old coach could do nothing in the home game against Lisbon Sporting, a mediocre team by European standards. Dynamo lost again, 1:2. The Kyiv team also showed a combative spirit that would have changed the score, given different circumstances.
The game against Manchester United, objectively the strongest team in this year’s Champions League, was proof that even Szabo has no arguments to use against a truly top-notch soccer team. Dynamo’s reshuffled team made more goofs in the field than at any time during group tournaments in the 1990s. The reason is simple: the difference in class between Dynamo and other European soccer clubs, a gap that has widened over the past couple of years, so much so that Dynamo’s rivals can easily get the better of the Ukrainian team in all sectors of the field, forcing our players to make mistakes. The two goals scored by Dynamo in the game against Manchester United are hardly worth anything, considering the Ukrainian team’s inadequate defense pattern.
Most likely Dynamo Kyiv will lose another game in Manchester two weeks from now, adding another item to its collection of European fiascos. There are no indications that Dynamo will reach a higher level of playing, where it could be an equal partner rather than a supporting actor in the Champions League. One can only hope that Dynamo puts on a better performance in the time left before the second round of the Champions League’s group tournament; the same goes for the people tasked with presenting this game. Then perhaps we could expect better results.
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Manchester United: 2:4 (1:3)
Goals scored by Diogo Rincon, Ismael Bangoura, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo.
