Only two Dynamo Kyiv players, Oleksandr Shovkovsky and Andrii Shevchenko, remember these Champions League games. At the time, both were a little over 20 and their entire soccer careers were still ahead. Now they have another meet with Barcelona as a European soccer club champion, regarded by many as an invincible team. However, before leaving for Spain and seeing what Dynamo Kyiv can do against a European team, the Kyivites had to play Rubin Kazan, Russia’s reigning champion, in the first game of a group tournament.
Let me point out at the start that the atmosphere during the game between Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin Kazan was nothing compared to last year’s meet with Spartak Moscow. A mere 150 fans made the trip from Kazan to Kyiv and displayed a remarkably tolerant attitude.
These Kazan fans should be commended as an ideal soccer audience as compared to our fellow countrymen, whose conduct at the stadium and outside left much to be desired. The guests from Russia rooted for their team with passion, and applauded both the defeated and the winning team. No fistfights, smoke grenades, or expletives. However, all this was just the setting for an excellent soccer bout on a warm autumn evening.
Rubin arrived in Kyiv as an undeniable leader of Russia’s soccer championships, having won five meets in succession. Yet the first couple of minutes of the match in Kyiv showed that being number one in Russia did not mean being number one in Ukraine. Rubin’s coach Kurban Berdiyev chose a remarkably rational pattern for his team, so much so that Dynamo Kyiv never scored in the first half. Meanwhile, the visitors took advantage of a single critical situation in front of Dynamo’s goal and Alejandro Dom nguez scored from a penalty kick — 0:1. However, this was as far as the Russian champion got.
In the second half Dynamo gained momentum, and after Oleh Husev and Tiberiu Ghioane entered the game, the host team’s superiority became clearly apparent. There was nothing to prevent it from scoring. In the final fifteen minutes three goals were scored by Dynamo Kyiv’s Aylia Yussuf, Gerson Magrao, and Oleh Husev. In fact, Artem Milevsky, Andrii Shevchenko, and Tiberiu Ghioane could have also scored.
This was a kind of onslaught Dynamo Kyiv has not shown in the Champions League’s group tournaments for many years. It remains to be seen whether Gazzayev has a very strong team or Dynamo’s rival turned out to be too weak.
We will have the answer when Dynamo meets with Barcelona on its home turf on September 29. Then we will see what the Ukrainian champion can count on achieving in Europe.
Let us not remind ourselves of how the teams played 12 years ago. Let us just rejoice that Dynamo leads in its group ahead of Barcelona, Rubin, and Internazionale Milano. Hopefully, our team will keep this standing long enough.
Champions League. Group Tournament. First round. Dynamo 3. Rubin 1; Inter 0. Barcelona 0.
