Kyiv Dynamo President Ihor Surkis Talks about His Club
Because of the infamous scandal surrounding the Kyiv Dynamo soccer club, its president Ihor Surkis gets his daily dose of media attention. He is rarely mentioned in a soccer context. All the focus is on shareholder disputes and the club’s finances. The Close Joint-Stock Company Kyiv Dynamo Soccer Club was allegedly established in violation of some regulations. How much does this affect the work of the club’s president? The following interview kicked off with this question.
“To say that the events developing around the Dynamo club do not affect my work wouldn’t be accurate. I wish all this commotion did interfere with my work. This is not to say that I’m afraid of something. At the beginning of the year, when the government’s representatives issued the first statements about Dynamo, I said that the club was being run according to the law, and we have nothing to fear as long as we are treated under the due process of law. Let the competent authorities review the complaints and scrutinize our paperwork for all they want. But that’s not the way things are done. There’s hardly a day without a new statement being issued, and I am forced to answer new, often nonsensical, questions. I’m not a political commentator; I’m the president of a soccer club. I’ve never been involved in politics, never made any statements, or supported anybody in elections. I have always been involved only with soccer.”
“What about charity work, which you mentioned the other day?”
“Charity work is an integral part of the club’s efforts. We are not doing this for the sake of image; we’re only following the dictates of our hearts. Maybe that’s why information about Dynamo’s charitable acts rarely reaches millions of Ukrainian citizens through media outlets. When someone mentions our alleged violations, it is in all the papers and on television the next morning. But when we recently donated a car to a family with many children, this rated a couple of lines in two or three newspapers.”
“The papers are also writing about Dynamo’s lukewarm performance this spring and the fact that the country’s champions are not playing at a level befitting champions.”
“They’re right about that. I won’t repeat myself by citing the objective reasons behind our unsuccessful matches during the spring season. No matter what is happening to Dynamo, the team has to meet the fans’ expectations in every game. Why isn’t the team putting on its usual performance with the usual results? If we knew that, we would have already improved the situation. I think that what’s happening now is the result of a convergence of difficult circumstances rather than a single cause.”
“What would that be?”
“Soccer is played by humans, not machines or robots. Our team has enough high-class players. But they also have their difficulties, such as health problems, a climate that is foreign to many players, and the psychological strain of living in a country where everything is different, soccer being no exception. You can’t look into the soul of every player. Before their transfers to Dynamo, they all said they were prepared for the strain and the coaches’ instructions. The reality is different. How can you explain, for example, that Maris Verpakovskis is no longer his former self? Remember how he played a year ago! How he played in the European championship! Now he’s offended because he’s not always in the main lineup. The same goes for every underperforming player. We are looking for causes, talking to players and coaches.”
“Could the excessive number of foreign players be the reason? Some people think that only patriots of Ukraine should be on the team. Do you agree?”
“Our team should consist of Dynamo patriots. No coach selects a player based on his passport. I will repeat the soccer axiom: a player’s passport and pass to the pitch is his performance. The world’s best clubs collect players without regard to their citizenship. Everybody knows these clubs and enjoys watching them play. Can Dynamo do the same? The other day Kyiv hosted the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The famous singer was paid to come to Ukraine on a guest tour. But I think he wouldn’t agree to become a permanent performer at our National Opera for all the money in the world. The same is true of soccer players. It’s not enough to be an outstanding player. They should also want to live and work in Ukraine. It turns out that few of the foreigners whom we invite are up to it. On the other hand, when Dynamo crushed Shakhtar last year in an away match and nearly defeated the world’s most star- studded club, Real Madrid, in the Champion’s League, nobody seemed to notice the large number of foreigners on the team.”
“The club prefers local coaches and foreign players. First it was Valery Lobanovsky, then Oleksiy Mykhailychenko; and now Josef Sabo is having problems with the foreigners. Have you ever considered hiring a foreign coach and local players, or if not a foreign coach, then at least someone who’s not a former Dynamo player?”
“You know that we hired Leonid Buriak as the club’s sports director. He is someone who needs no introduction. We’re not hiding the fact that we cherish the club’s traditions that have formed over decades.
“I think we can teach foreign players to respect these traditions. I mean foreign players in a broader sense, because even Georgians and Russians are now foreigners. I think that we haven’t exhausted the potential of our Dynamo-style soccer. Therefore, no matter who he is, the team coach is obliged to respect our traditions. Can you name a coach who would be able to instantly raise the level of Dynamo’s performance without destroying everything that has been accomplished in the past 70 years? I still hope that we will achieve success the normal way without destroying everything that we have accumulated. I really hope that the players of the Dynamo school will oust the foreigners from the team by playing better than them, and do so in fair competition on the pitch.”
“So far the players of the Dynamo school are being signed up by other Ukrainian clubs. Do you ever regret that you are still giving away gifted players from Dynamo-2?”
“There’s no stopping life. We can’t maintain a reserve of 40- 50 players. And it’s not my business to decide whom to keep or sell or lease out. That is up to the coaches. Personally, I’m always happy when a student of ours achieves success and puts on a wonderful performance, even in matches against Dynamo. I understand the tremendous motivation of every player who goes onto the pitch to play against Dynamo. In matches against Dynamo, all of them try to outperform themselves. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don’t. It’s a shame to lose points in matches with weaker teams. On the other hand, this is evidence of the growing level of our championship. I realize that the days when Dynamo could win the national championship running on one leg are long gone. I want all Dynamo players and coaches to understand this.”
“Did you mention this during your ‘man-to-man’ discussion with the team after its defeat by Zaporizhia Metalurh?”
“Yes. The purpose of the discussion was to understand one another and jointly resolve the players’ problems on the pitch and in their attitude toward the club, coaches, and each other. These kinds of discussions are necessary. They help clear up misunderstandings and draw the right conclusions. I have drawn my conclusions.”
“How will this affect the team’s performance?”
“I’m certain that we will overcome the temporary difficulties, and that Dynamo will not only bounce back to its former level, but to a new and higher level that will enable the team to play better than it did in past years. The whole club and I believe in this. This is what we are working for.”
