Winter Break News And Notes

By: Yevy | January 9th, 2009

After securing passage to the UEFA Cup knockout stage with a 1-0 victory over listless Fenerbahce, Dynamo players began their well-deserved vacation, and so did yours truly. The first half of the season featured plenty of highs and lows, from the three month unbeaten streak to the crushing last-minute defeats. Despite the disappointments in the Champions League and a stumble against Shakhtar before the break, the latter half of 2008 has to be considered an unqualified success for the Kiev club. Dynamo sits six points clear at the top of the UPL table and is poised to reclaim the championship, while the performance in Europe was its best in years and showed the club can compete with the likes of Arsenal and Porto.

While competitive football is still over a month away, Yuri Semin’s squad will return to training tomorrow, before flying out in a week’s time to hold camp in Marbella, Spain. Dynamo was hoping to defend its First Channel Cup title in Israel, but the withdrawal of several Russian clubs caused the cancellation of the tournament. Instead Semin will take his charges to Spain for two weeks, and perhaps get a close look at Dynamo’s UEFA Cup opponent, Valencia. With the likes of Villa, Silva, Mata, Joaquin, Angulo, Albelda, and Albiol, just to name a few, it is no surprise that Valencia has only Barcelona to look up to in the La Liga table.

With the opening of the transfer window, Dynamo welcomed Ukrainian international Serhiy Kravchenko into the fold. The 25 year old midfielder sealed his move to Kiev from Vorskla Poltava in the summer. Kravchenko finished third in the UPL manager’s poll of the best players for the first half of the season, just behind Metalist’s Jaja Coelho and new teammate Artem Milevskiy. Current Dynamo players took places two through six in the poll, with Stanyslav Bohush, Oleksandr Aliyev, and Taras Mykhalyk following Kravchenko. The versatile midfielder has demonstrated his ability to play in the middle of the pitch as well as in the wide role with the national team, and should immediately compete for a place in Semin’s first eleven.

In other transfer news, several Dynamo veterans struggling to earn playing time have been linked with moves away from the club. Striker Maksim Shatskikh has drawn interest from Dnipro, while midfielder Florin Cernat is said to be contemplating a move back to his native Romania. Croatian defender Goran Sablic may also be on his way out.

Dynamo is also looking to unload some of its Brazilian assets. It is negotiating a fee with Palmeiras for Kleber, where the striker has played on loan. Dynamo is said to be seeking close to $8 million for the “Gladiator”, a valuation the cash-strapped Brazilian club is struggling to meet. Even less clear is the situation surrounding defender Rodrigo, who has been on loan at Sao Paulo and wishes to remain in Brazil. Dynamo wants to sell Rodrigo outright, but Sao Paulo does not appear interested in such a transaction. Dynamo has declined to extend Rodrigo’s lease and recalled the player back to Kiev, but the distraught Brazilian will apparently be a no show at training as a sign of protest.

One Brazilian who is certain to be back with the team is Diogo Rincon. Semin has said that he considers the midfielder a useful player, but only if he maintains the required level of fitness. We will soon find out if Rincon has gotten in shape during his spell with Corinthians.

Category: Dynamo Kyiv Team News

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