What to do next Dynamo? How to rebuild defense and offense so that it doesn’t hurt as excruciatingly as in Lisbon

Leave criticism to realistic options – we lost to Benfica because we had to lose to them. This is the current balance of forces and resources. Someone is at the level of the Champions League, someone is at the level that the Champions League group is “manna from heaven” and a “miracle”. Agree, this was the case last season, and one point with one goal confirms us.

Therefore, it’s time to get down to business and think about how not to get a couple of backhanded blows already in the tournament of losers. Moreover, at the group stage of the Europa League there will be a fairly representative company and it will still be necessary to get into the first basket so that it is not as excruciatingly painful as in Lodz and Lisbon.

But if you are overwhelmed with despondency and hopelessness, Sport Arena offers to distract yourself with football theorists. Even with modest staffing resources, there is still room for a few reshuffles that could allow better use of the potential of the current Dynamo (Kyiv). Here they are.

First. Shuffle Tactics

The current Dynamo is very vulnerable due to the uneven filling of the squad and gaping holes in several positions at once – first of all, the left half and forward. In order to be less dependent on leaders and minimize the pain of problem areas, it may be wise for a team to play around with tactical formations.

The first thing to improve is the defense. If Zabarny played all six qualifying matches at a level above the average, then his teammates “cooked” to the fullest. Both Popov and Sirota made several gross mistakes at once. And you don’t know what is even worse – Denis’ systemic positional “blunders” or the stupidest passes near the gate from Alexander.

This needs to be improved in two ways – individual work on improving the players themselves (it will be longer, and you won’t get into a person’s brain to immediately understand if you are wasting time) and tactical novelties. Perhaps it would be appropriate for Dynamo to saturate the redoubt. The most obvious options are three center backs or two defensive midfielders. First, with an increase in the level of mutual insurance. Secondly, with a purely physical saturation of protection. The downside here is obvious, we saw it in the matches with Benfica – execution decides everything, and Dynamo often looked like a crowd of idols with a numerical superiority in their half of the field, while the nimble Neres comrades passed between the Kievans, not noticing the opposition. The class of ours in defense is low, which means that we must take the number and diligence in the game.

Another tactical option that can help the attack. Under Lucescu, Dynamo systematically plays 4-1-4-1 and usually does not deviate from this scheme. But the Kyivans theoretically have strong flanks and, in our opinion, good central havas. So why not try a 4-4-2 “diamond” with four central midfielders (Buyalsky moved up would play a “fake nine”) and Tsygankov with Karavaev as ersatz forwards? The benefit of this option is the maximum use of human resources. For the flanks (at least at this level) you can not be afraid, Dubinchak, Vivcharenko and Kendzhora are able to keep a long distance.

Second. Pull up the youth

The successes of the Moroz and Kostyuk teams are undeniable. But the main thing is that even the latest release (far from the most talented in this cohort) has not yet been fully implemented. For example, in the center of defense you can and should play Pain. At least in the domestic arena, he should get 3-5 chances in the first part of the season. Popov and Sirota must carefully analyze their performances against rivals, on which conclusions can be drawn. Even Zabarny cannot rest on his laurels. We need competition in defense, and only as a result of a serious search can a duet worthy of the former ligaments of Fomenko-Reshko, Baltacha-Kuznetsov or Vashchuk-Golovko emerge.

Definitely deserved to seriously play Yatsik. At the training camp, the guy left a good impression and was remembered for several very good skills, first of all, a long-range shot – which Dynamo lacked in many moments of confrontations with Benfica, Sturm and Fener. It is likely that the captain of the youth squad can make up the most harmonious trio with Sidorchuk and Shaparenko. Again, if this guy had acted up, it would have been less scary in the first match against Benfica without Sidorchuk.

Surely, Lucescu has his own opinion on the Dynamo youth, and if we have such problems with the flanks of the midfield and the forward, and Voloshin, Isaenko and Popov are on loan, this opinion is deadly and final. But still, it makes sense to introduce attacking double players into the game more boldly. Like Lobanovsky, even with a pair of Shevchenko-Rebrov, VVL always found playing minutes for Venglinsky. Because even with abundance, you need a fallback.

And in our case, the word “abundance” is a desecration of reality. Well, even more so Vanat, Tsarenko and Diallo had to constantly play for 15-20 minutes last season. Perhaps now they would be completely different. And we played “antyuhi” and “skins” – good guys, but completely unpromising in the context of the capabilities and needs of Dynamo. Over the past year and a half, Shkurin, Ramirez, Antyukh, Kulach simply stole those few game minutes from Vanat, Isaenko or Voloshin. Since everyone does not reach the desired level, it would be better for those who theoretically can reach it sometime to play.

Third. Take decisive action to shake up existing players

The joke with Garmash on the cutting edge dragged on, but at the same time remains relevant. Let the amateurs of statistics look to see if Besedin delivered at least one blow towards the opponents’ goal in these six matches – we confidently state that there are still no goals from him. So, we need to systematically play Vanat – and in a few matches he will certainly break through. You don’t really get enough of mutual understanding from appearances to replace, so far they don’t play against Vanat, he himself rushes through vast spaces in search of the ball. But a couple of matches with goals in a modest UPL – and Vlad will feel completely different on the field. And it is a pity in this regard that Isaenko and Popov do not stay in Dynamo – it is necessary to play forwards in attack, not Garmash, Buyalsky or Denis Boyko. We are wasting time with temporary solutions. Or they could have already played one of the young, giving at least an alternative to Besedin’s power style.

It is also difficult to understand why Karavaev remained in the reserve all the time – even when the eternally injured Verbich left and the “hole” of Shepelev’s name gaped on the left flank. Yes, one can agree with Khatskevich that the left-footed Tsygankov on the left flank loses a little in sharpness. But then it is better to invert Karavaev to the left than to deliberately deprive yourself of sharpness for 2/3 of the match. Karavaev in the current Dynamo is not for replacements, this is the reality of our basis at the moment.

And finally, the main thing. Dynamo lost the strategic fight to Shakhtar this summer. The Pitmen, with all the problems of the protracted perestroika, seized the initiative and returned Zubkov, Petryak, Mikhailichenko from abroad. Signed a number of their former in the UPL. Dynamo, on the other hand, could get caught in this selection market, but instead entered the decisive matches of European competition without a left midfielder and striker, with an archaic and slow support zone, as well as with apprentices in the center of defense. The results were not long in coming.

So don’t cry for us, Champions League. It would have been much more painful to get there and break some next anti-record, leaving all the joy of the season to the very fact of an accidental entry into the tournament, for which they give 30 lyams. With competent work in the Europa League, you can also show off, and even if you shake up the bins, it may turn out that everything is not so bad as it might seem in the darkest times. Once upon a time, even before the war, there was such a meme: “But the current lousy times will someday be called “good old”. Looking back to 2021, 2020, 2019 and so on, upvote this folk wisdom.

Igor Dashkov, Sport Arena