In the career of Andriy Shevchenko, there were many iconic goals – for which his phenomenal shot against Gianluigi Buffon’s goal in December 2001 was worth it. This is probably the most famous striker’s ball, which the average European fan knows about – for us, Ukrainians, it is, without a doubt, also important, but it is hardly in the first place. All because of the episode related to Oleksandr Filimonov.
It’s no secret that the same match between Russia and Ukraine has a cult character – too many factors coincided, which in the end guaranteed the confrontation such a status. The shared Soviet past, the veiled rivalry after the collapse of the USSR, the imposition of an inferiority complex by Russia, the history of the struggle between Dynamo and Spartak, especially relevant due to the events of the 1994/95 Champions League, Sevastopol, Crimea, the placement of the Black Sea Fleet – these are only some of the nuances that are closely intertwined politics and sports, thus turning the final match of the EC-2000 qualification into something truly monstrous and principled. So it is not surprising why the press of that time allowed mutual insults such as “Bey, Khokhlov,…, save Russia” or “Moskal the magician” – difficult relations between the countries were relayed even on the front pages of football publications. So what is beyond politics?
Of course, the meeting was also important in terms of the tournament standings – Ukraine, with 19 points, took the top spot in Group 4, ahead of the closest pursuers, Russia and France, by only one point. The situation turned out to be shaky, because under the implementation of a certain scenario, one or another national team risked “flying” past the European Championship – it is unlikely that Jozef Szabo and Oleg Romantsev seriously counted on the victory of Iceland, especially at the Stade de France.
In addition, Russia did not hide its vindictive spirit – in the first round of the qualifying cycle, held on September 5, 1998, the Yellow and Blue defeated the guests in Kyiv with a score of 3:2. What the opponent’s side wanted to forget as soon as possible – in general, the team failed miserably at the beginning of the campaign, subsequently not gaining a single point against France and Iceland. This became the reason for the dismissal of Anatoliy Byshovets, whose figure made the eyes of the leadership of the Russian Football Federation dull, and the position chosen as a result of an unsuccessful start caused open dissatisfaction – who could like the initiative, the essence of which was the final collapse of qualification in favor of preparation for the World Cup-2002?
Arriving Oleg Romantsev fundamentally changed the balance of forces – note, not without the help of Spartak players, whom the coach, under the guise of various motives, had previously not delegated to the national team due to a conflict with Byshovets. The result is stunning – a winning six-match series allowed Russia to break out into second place (the Gallic Roosters placed lower, losing according to additional indicators). We are ahead.
Ukraine overcame the distance quite evenly, demonstrably not suffering a single defeat, but managed to record draws with Iceland and, most regretfully, Armenia – honestly, a passing opponent (were we not enough points to keep the lead in the end?). If a similar development of events with France was allowed and considered optimistic (after all, they are world champions), then these losses, we can say, had a fatal effect – without them we would not have encountered Slovenia.
As in the case of Russia, whose backbone was formed around the Spartak “diaspora”, our coaching staff actually preferred one club. It is clear to everyone – no one was surprised at all when six Dynamo players (Shovkovsky, Golovko, Vashchuk, Dmytrulin, Husin and Rebrov) appeared on the field of Luzhniki. Oleg Luzhny, Andriy Shevchenko, who joined London Arsenal and Milan respectively a few months ago, Yuriy Maksymov (Werder), Serhiy Skachenko (Mets), Serhiy Mizin (Karpaty Lviv) were also part of the white-blue cohort in the past. Kernozenko, Konovalov and Kormyltsev remained on the bench, and only Gennadiy Moroz, Serhiy Kovalev (both Shakhtar) and Volodymyr Mykytin (Karpaty Lviv), at least at that moment, were not related to Kyiv. What should be characterized as an advantage – the football players interacted without much difficulty, because they knew their capabilities very well; there was not even close to any pre-meeting trip.
“The boys were normal. We talked about the fact that the Russian national team won all the matches after the dismissal of Byshovets. It was a unique case. They even won away from home in France. Win against Russia, and they would become the first. And so we drew, and the French national team became the first.”– Jozef Szabo said.
Russia was in similar conditions, however, it was not without an Achilles’ heel – Romantsev was wondering who to entrust with a place in the goal. Against the background of Serhiy Ovchinnikov, who did not pass the training, 36-year-old Stanislav Cherchesov, who was in Tyrol and risked not recovering for the game, and Ruslan Nigmatullin, for whom such an important match could become his debut, Oleksandr Filimonov looked like the most priority option. If it were not for certain circumstances, then even without alternatives, it is noteworthy that in 1998 he was recognized as the best in his position according to the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the goalkeeper did not avoid complaints – his self-confidence arose from the lack of healthy competition. So Romantsev in a conversation with press representatives could not give an unequivocal answer and admitted that he was worried about the form of his ward. What he later regretted.
Fans with experience remember well the events of that day – despite the continuous rain, the stadium was sold out. Moscow was full of emotions – the streets were crowded with people, not always positive (Russian ultras almost overturned a bus with our fans, and we had to get to the stands surrounded by a special police unit).
The match, as expected, began without any preludes – Russia acted from a position of strength and, according to the results of the first half, was objectively closer to opening the score. Ten minutes before the break, the home team wasted several murderous opportunities – Shovkovsky was twice disturbed by Dmytro Khokhlov, whose second shot was blocked by the post. The ball flew past the post after Titov’s attempt, and Oleksandr Panov, with his header, missed the goal from two meters into the empty corner – fortunately, the sphere flew higher under the intense gaze of the thousands of spectators.
In general, our defense demonstrated reliability – the mobility and organization of the defense shut down the opponent’s attack. But the midfield was somewhat disappointing – Husin, Maksimov and Mizin did not disappoint in terms of dedication, but did not invent anything against the imposed intense pressing.
Given the helplessness of Panov, separated from the rest of the team, the function of building the attack fell on the shoulders of the middle line led by Karpin. Considering this, Shevchenko, Skachenko and Rebrov were left without a ball – Sabo’s idea with three forwards turned out to be ineffective. If Rebrov still had hints of a goal, then Shevchenko found himself under the constant care of Yuriy Drozdov (after Andriy reluctantly stated that he lost the duel to his visage) – Romantsev made a bet on the defender, who played a few matches in the national team camp, and he performed the task “excellently” .
At the 75th minute, the English referee David Ellery gave a disputed free kick – neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian journalists were able to decide for what. Commentators Viktor Gusev and Andriy Golovanov muttered something on the air, and then agreed that someone “detained Panov earlier” – the television crew did not have time to record the episode. The Ukrainians built a wall of four men, but it helped – Karpin pierced the net with a powerful shot. The fans were in ecstasy, the cameras hurriedly caught the reaction of the VIP box, where the officials were located – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin jumped out of his seat.
13 minutes – that’s how much time separated Russia from the Euro. Smertin violated the rules against Mizin 40 meters from the penalty area – it would seem a comfortable distance, and according to logic, the Yellow-Blues would limit themselves to a cross. Shevchenko came up to the ball, threw words and hit… A prolonged wail from the commentator’s position and the doomed cry of Gusev “Oh my God… Filimonov throws the ball into his own goal”, and then there was deathly silence. Romantsev hastily goes to the tribune room. Later, the goal in which the Milan forward scored will be destroyed.
“When he went to kick a free kick, I went straight to the sideline and said: “Andrew, go there! You play well with your head!”. And he says to me: “Jozhefovych, I will score now!”. How did he know that? Maybe you felt it? Of course, Romantsev dismantled our team. Andriy kept passing to the front post, where the central defenders went and headed the ball to the far post. Apparently, the goalkeeper was “pushed” to such an extent that Shevchenko had not yet hit, but he had already gone forward! He was sure that the ball would go to the near post. Andriy cut him somehow, and the ball went into the goal. The goalie was back and forth, and in the end he threw himself. Probably, this happens once or twice in a lifetime.”Sabo recalled.
Later, Filimonov, scrolling through the situation in his head, will say that he wanted to catch the ball. And will add: “It was necessary to transfer the fist to the corner.”
“There hasn’t been an interview yet where I haven’t been asked about Shevchenko’s goal. I resigned a long time ago. If this question is not asked, I am sincerely happy for the journalist who did not get caught in the common stamps. Five to him. In 1998, I was recognized as the best goalkeeper of Russia, but I consider the next season to be my professional peak. Even taking into account Shevchenko’s goal. Everyone makes mistakes in life. This is just an episode,”– said the goalkeeper.
Opinions differed – did Shevchenko beat? The hero of the meeting himself emphasized that there is no coincidence. “I was hitting the goal, not making a pass. He was guided by the fact that any shot can put the goalkeeper in a difficult position. Of course, when the ball flies from such a distance, and even from the sideline, the chance that the goalkeeper will have big problems is small. But I counted on his mistake. And he did it.”
“A great goalkeeper has no right to make such mistakes. I’m sorry that this happened to him. However, I am a player of my team, and maybe it will not be completely correct on my part – I am glad that it happened. This miss gave us a chance to continue the fight for reaching the final part of the European Championship.” – added Oleksandr Shovkovsky, surrounded by reporters.
Romantsev was tight-lipped at the post-match press conference – the coach asked not to burden him with questions: “Probably, today was not our day, because we haven’t had as many moments as today for a long time. And the national team of Ukraine did not take such risks during the entire tournament. I think I fielded the right attacking formation that I had been thinking about for several days. I am grateful to all football players and now I don’t want to judge anyone, especially since I still feel stressed. For me, this is a terrible disaster.”
Sabo was convinced that he was unlucky: “I’m just an unlucky coach. In Yerevan, we had six 100 percent moments, and if we had realized at least one of them, there would be no question of the first place now. Or take a home match with Iceland. We are leading 1:0, a shot, three ricochets – and the ball is in our goal. Shevchenko’s goal is not luck, but a mistake by your goalkeeper. And at the same time, this is Shevchenko’s skill, because he has already scored more than one such ball. I can show you a tape where Shevchenko takes 30-40 minutes of free kicks both on the left and on the right during training sessions. It’s a skill, and it’s not sold in a deli.”
Looking for the culprits, the public, first of all, pounced on Filimonov. Romantsev, like his partners in the national team and Spartak, did not publicly label the goalkeeper, but gradually Oleksandr lost weight in the state of the Red and Whites – at first he was sent to the bench due to a lost competition to Maksym Levytskyi, and then he was easily released to … Kyiv Dynamo.
Knowing Romantsev, who desperately fought and held on to the leading performers (as evidenced by the story of Yehor Tytov, who was not sold to Bayern Munich), a not-unfounded opinion crept in – the specialist did not forgive a draw, equivalent to a defeat.
… On October 12, 1999, the front page of the Komanda newspaper boasted the inscription: “We broke through! For now, though, in the playoffs.” It’s a pity that he turned out to be prophetic – in November we were stopped by Slovenia.
Pavlo Kushneruk
