Marc Guillén/Roger Bogunyà
Dmytro Chygrynskiy believes Barça “offer the best football in the world” and is “sure the club will continue to win titles, improving and growing.”In an interview with Barça TV and fcbarcelona.cat, the first ever Ukrainian to play for FC Barcelona has spoken about such topics as his admiration for Luis Enrique and Iniesta and the way he has always been fascinated by Barça.
“They have been very emotional days, since I landed in Barcelona I have been astounded by the way Barça and the fans have treated me. It has all been very nice.”
How did the negotiations go?
“I have to be a realist, ever since I learned of Barça’s interest I remained prudent. In fact I only started believing it once it was official, before that it was all just rumours.”
What was it like playing in the Super Cup against your future team?
“It was quite a strange game, but I was still part of Shakhtar and so I couldn’t allow myself to play at half strength. I had to play as well as I could as a Shakhtar player, to act responsibly.”
What do you know about Barça? Did you watch them last year?
“Of course I know about Barça, it is a well-known club with a huge army of fans. That’s why I have always followed this club, both in terms of its results and in terms of the players in the team.”
Is there any past or present player that you have admired?
“A player I’d single out, from about 7 or 8 years ago, was Luis Enrique. As for the current players, they’re my colleagues so I don’t want to say I like one player better than another. I think all the players are professionals and very good. But the first time I played against Barça, a year ago, I was impressed by the way Iniesta played.”
Do you know Luis Enrique also wore 21?
“No, I didn’t know Luis Enrique had the same shirt number as I do. It’s nice to know, I like that.”
Do you think the way Barça play will suit you?
“Barça play the best football in the world right now. I am sure the club will continue to win titles, growing, improving. And I am sure players’ careers progress much faster when they play for a club like Barça.”
Did the Barça philosophy have any effect on Shakhtar?
“As players, we didn’t know much about the tactical nuances of Barça, but we followed the team, its results, and they were a model for us. One of the reasons I am here is precisely because our way of playing is not so different from that of Barça.”
Tell us briefly about how you started in football.
“I’ve always played football. It’s as if I was born with the ball in my hands, if I can put it like that. I come from a small city and as a kid I played wherever I could. There was a school in my town, but it was small. When I was thirteen I went to study in a more professional school, I made a lot of progress there and when I was 14 I joined the Shakhtar youth set-up.”
Curiously, your first European game was against Barça.
“Life brings these odd coincidences. It must be symbolic that when I was 17 or 18 my first five minutes were against Barça. I like to think that in a certain way it was destiny and that’s why I am where I am now.”
