Former striker of Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk Emannuel Okoduwa recalled the period of his career in the capital Ukrainian club.
Emannuel Okoduwa
— Was the invitation to Dynamo Kiev in 2008 a surprise? Who exactly invited you?
– I didn’t expect this. At that time I was playing in Belgium and had an invitation from the former coach of Metallurg Donetsk Co Adrianse, who invited me to Salzburg in Austria. However, Igor Surkis, the president of Dynamo Kyiv, called me, and I didn’t think a second time. I wanted to return to Ukraine.
– Why didn’t you manage to gain a foothold?
— I arrived, but was injured during the training camp and had surgery in Belgium. After this operation, I still feel discomfort in my leg when I play football.
— Did Dynamo try to break your contract when you received that serious injury? Did you communicate with the president after you joined the club?
– No, that didn’t happen. I went on loan then, and ended up in Kuban for the second time. I didn’t talk to the Dynamo president again after signing the contract.
— You found Dynamo during the times of Valery Gazzaev and Yuri Semin. How different were these coaches’ approaches?
– Gazzaev is… his training was very hard: always run, run, run. However, I am grateful to him, because it was with him that I managed to win the Ukrainian Super Cup (2009). As for Semin, he paid much more attention to working with the ball.
— You also saw the period when the Artem Milevsky-Alexander Aliyev connection broke not only in nightclubs, but also on football fields. What can you tell us about them?
— I hadn’t heard much about nightclubs, I only knew that there were some scandals there. As footballers they were very cool. They could have played in European teams, but Dynamo also played in the Champions League and Europa League.
— Did you notice young Andrei Yarmolenko in that Dynamo?
“I remember that it was Gazzaev who gave him a chance then. He must have seen something in him. Gazzaev put Yarmolenko in the lineup regardless of how he played, just like Grozny and Gusev in Arsenal Kiev. A football player really needs trust, especially a young one.
— Didn’t Yarmolenko spit because Gazzaev used him on the left in defense?
“Perhaps it was some kind of educational moment.” I also played Grozny as a left-back at Arsenal. How did he explain this? It’s just that when the opponent had a very fast player on the right flank of the attack, he put me on the left in defense. At Arsenal I played almost everywhere, the main thing for me was to play.
— At Dynamo you became friends with Aila Yussuf. Does your friendship continue? What is he doing now?
– Yes, of course we communicate. We even managed to talk this morning, we are always in touch. He has his own football academy in Nigeria, which he is developing.
Vladislav Lutostansky
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2023-10-02 06:35:00
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