It was a week of ups and downs for Dynamo Kyiv. After a 3-0 victory over great rival Shakhtar Donetsk on Nov. 21, a dour draw at Rubin Kazan in the European Champions League on Nov. 24 all but put an end to their hopes of advancing to the next round. More worryingly for Dynamo, rumors this week have linked coach Valery Gazzaev with the Russia national team post, which many expect Guus Hiddink to leave after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
The victory over Shakhtar was something of a fraternal revenge mission for Ihor Surkis, the Dynamo president, after the accusations by Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov thrown at his brother, Hryhoriy Surkis, president of the Football Federation of Ukraine, about high ticket prices for the Ukraine-Greece match on Nov. 18, won by Greece 1-0. Dynamo’s star frontmen Artem Milevskiy and Andriy Shevchenko did what they couldn’t manage against Greece a few days earlier – create chances and score goals. Dynamo goes into the winter break with a seven-point lead over Shakhtar, which is now third after being leapfrogged by Metalist.
But Dynamo’s Champions League challenge looks to be all but over. After goalkeeping errors let a 1-0 lead against Inter Milan turn into a 2-1 defeat in the last five minutes earlier this month, the 0-0 draw in Kazan gives Dynamo a mountain to climb. It now needs to beat European Champion Barcelona at the start of December and hope the other two teams draw.
This wasn’t the only bad news for Dynamo this week. After Russia failed to qualify for the World Cup next year, the team could be looking for a new coach. Despite Dutchman Hiddink taking the Russian side on an unprecedented run to the European Championship semi-finals in 2008, nationalistic fervor overcame the country in the aftermath of the defeat to Slovenia, with former national-team coaches calling for a Russian to coach the team. Hiddink says he’ll decide his future in the next couple of months.
Eyes immediately fell on Dynamo coach Gazzaev, who hails from North Ossetia in Russia, as a potential successor. He coached the national team from 2002 to 2003 and had recent success at European level with CSKA Moscow, winning the UEFA Cup in 2005.
At a press conference on Nov. 24, Gazzaev was asked whether he wanted the Russia job. “I can’t hear you!” he replied.
Surkis says Gazzaev’s got a three-year contract – which started in the summer – and in any case “no one’s called.”
Nevertheless, with Dynamo struggling to get to the next round of the Champions League, it might be a tough offer to turn down if Moscow does call.
Staff writer James Marson can be reached at marson@kyivpost.com
