"I Was Probably Wrong in 1990": Salenko Recalls Lobanovsky's Unexpected Admission

Former Dynamo Kyiv forward Oleh Salenko, in an exclusive interview with Sport RBC.UA, recalled one of the most memorable episodes of his time working with Valeriy Lobanovsky. According to the player, several years after the events, the coach himself brought up a 1990 decision and admitted that he might have been wrong at the time. The full version of the story can be found on the original source's website Sport RBC.UA.

The Path to the Mundial: Three Goals in the Final

Salenko began by describing how 1990 unfolded for Dynamo Kyiv. The team won the USSR Championship and the National Cup, and the forward himself scored three goals in the final match against Lokomotiv Moscow. Following such a season, the footballer joined the USSR national team training camp and prepared for the World Cup, believing his performances had earned him a spot at the mundial.

A Decision No One Understood

However, after a training camp in Germany, Lobanovsky sent Salenko and Oleh Luzhnyi home. The former striker admitted that he did not understand this decision at the time: in his view, his form and output at the club gave him every reason to expect a place at the World Cup. It was this mismatch between the player's expectations and the coach's choice that stuck in Salenko's memory for years.

A Conversation Five to Six Years Later

Salenko and Lobanovsky returned to this story only five or six years later, when the coach took charge of Dynamo Kyiv once again. According to the footballer, he came to Kyiv on vacation and visited the training ground, which is where that very conversation took place. Salenko emphasized that Lobanovsky generally disliked apologizing, but at that moment he found the strength to address the past.

"I Was Probably Wrong in 1990"

"We returned to this conversation only about five or six years later, when Lobanovsky took over Dynamo Kyiv again. I came to Kyiv on vacation and went to the training base. Valeriy Vasylovych didn't really like apologizing, but back then he said: 'I was probably wrong in 1990.' I replied that I appreciated those words. Life happens, and over time you rethink many things," Salenko shared. This episode became a rare example of how a coach and a player were able to honestly revisit a controversial decision years later and put it to rest with words of acknowledgment.