Dynamo players spent the whole week preparing for the game. However, there was one extraordinary exception - Lobanovsky celebrated his thirtieth anniversary of his work as a coach. At the press conference he said significantly, "We had an unsuccessful start in the League of Champions, unsuccessful so far." As we know, Lobanovsky always keeps his promises.
"STUDYING CAME FIRST FOR ME..."
Why did you choose soccer?
I went in for all kinds of sports when I was a child. But after I tried everything, I decided to play soccer. Only then I made my final decision. But studying came first for me, because of my parents. They wanted me to become an engineer. That is why I had to solve the main task, and I used the free time to master my soccer skills. I was recruited by Dynamo while still a student at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. I love all kinds of sports. But my profession is soccer coach.
"FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, GOING BEYOND ONE'S PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL LIMITS IS THE NORM "
Did the way you relate to players change during your thirty years of coaching?
Trainers have to have a feel for life, to feel how it develops. Thus at the beginning of my coaching career the way I related to my players was adequate for that time. A coach simply cannot build identical relationships with players throughout his career. I am very lucky to have worked in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, because the people there are different; they have a different mentality. And I had to find my way with players I had never known earlier. This gave me new understanding of my relationship with players. I cannot say I am a soft person, but I am not merciless, either. You can say something very soft, but it may be really tough.
In 1976 you were criticized for your bronze medal in the Olympic Games, and after the second place in the 1988 European tournament you again came under critical fire. What do you think about this?
I always took a normal view of critics. Everybody expects you to win, everybody wants the team to win, both national team and the club.
The most important thing is to feel the team's potential. You cannot underestimate it, but taking it to heart too much is also bad. I think in 1976 the critics were right, because we failed to make use of our potential. In 1988 we won second place and came under the fire. I think that was all right, because our team also had great potential. But the individual skills of some Dutch players were higher. I agree with their coach Rinus Michels, who said at the press-conference, "Individual skills won the game." There are different critics. Journalists sometimes say that the same players play better for Dynamo than for the national team. I do not understand how that can be. Players are human, just like everyone else. For soccer players, going beyond one's psychological and physical limits is the norm. And there is also such a thing as becoming exhausted. Even metal can wear out, and we want our players to play every game at the same level. No one has ever managed this. It is just your emotional estimate. They all
work for the national team, just like they do for the club. And I do not want you to separate the club and the national team.If we were unsuccessful (thus far unsuccessful) in beginning the League of Champions, this does not mean the players are less dedicated or play with less inspiration. We could have scored more points, because the games we played were victorious. But, unfortunately, due to some mistakes by individual players, we scored few points. That is why I do not want you to separate Dynamo and the national team. Otherwise we will have to turn to the Soccer Federation, asking they give us the same uniforms. Perhaps then you will understand how they play with the same dedication for both teams.
"IF I DID NOT UNDERSTAND MASLOV..."
Soccer should be discussed not from the perspective of the past, but of the future. You journalists rarely understand what role you play in the development of the soccer, in its evolution. In 1964 Dynamo got its greatest coach, Viktor Maslov. Many failed to understand him. If
I did not understand him... They say British soccer experts developed the 4+4+2 strategy in 1966. Kyiv Dynamo already used this strategy in 1964. Why do I say this? There was one man who understood him, who always fought for him - Oleksandr Vit, the journalist. That is why I would also like you to participate in this evolution, to outpace your foreign colleagues. You should help us a little.
Some people created a myth of genius around your name. You are a modest man, what do you think about this?
I have nothing against it.
What will be written on the today's page of the book of the Unending Match?
The process continues. Soccer develops, whether Lobanovsky likes it or not. It simply develops. Lobanovsky says this is wrong, but it just goes on. If you want to achieve certain results, you should understand not only the direction of soccer's development, but also outrun it. What can be written at the end of the book of the Unending Match? Let match continue!
