‘Curious’ Soviets Set for Soccer Exhibition

Players on Dynamo Kiev are curious about the Sockers’ gala pregame introductions and the Sockers--and their fans--are curious about Dynamo Kiev.

“The players heard that they party over here before the game,” Dynamo Kiev manager and translator Mikhail Oshemkov told Sockers vice-president Francis Reilly.

As Dynamo Kiev prepares for tonight’s exhibition match against the Sockers at 8 at the San Diego Sports Arena, their players have heard about the pregame extravaganza--the smoke, lights and rock music that accompany the Sockers’ introductions.

Apparently, in the Soviet Union, they just roll out the ball and start the game.

Sockers midfielder Kaz Deyna, a star in Poland who also played in England, thought he was at the circus when he saw his first indoor game in the United States.

“There were all those lights and the smoke and music during the introductions,” Deyna said. “I didn’t know what was happening. It was unbelievable. In Europe, you never see that kind of situation.”

In Europe and throughout most of the world, soccer is an 11-man game that is played outdoors.

Dynamo Kiev is one of the world’s great teams. It has played in the Supreme League in the Soviet Union since its foundation in 1936 and has won a record 11 Soviet championships, including the Supreme League title this season.

However, that is in the outdoor game.

In the Soviet Union, indoor soccer is a way to keep in shape during the long, cold winters. It is played on hard surfaces in halls that were built for team handball.

The last time Dynamo Kiev played an indoor game was in a tournament in Germany last January. The Soviet players said that tournament was played on a rink that was much smaller than a hockey rink.

Thus, Sockers fans wonder how Dynamo Kiev will do when forced to play an American indoor game which has a very different set of rules and sideboards along the field.

In the fall of 1983, the Sockers crushed Newcastle KB United of Australia, 11-3, and BK Hacken of Sweden, 9-3, to win the International Indoor Invitational at the Sports Arena. Socker fans became suspect of international indoor play.

The Sockers expect a much tougher match against Dynamo Kiev.

“Dynamo Kiev controls the ball well and they don’t miss too many chances,” said the Sockers’ Steve Zungul. “They punish you for every mistake you make.”

Zungul watched Dynamo Kiev practice Monday. He remembers Soviet teams from his days in Yugoslavia, and he was on the New York Arrows club that lost, 9-7, to the touring Dynamo Minsk team in 1978. Dynamo Minsk, another club noted for its outdoor prowess, won seven of eight games against MISL teams.

“You can tell they are really good players by the way they touch the ball,” said Sockers defender Fernando Clavijo.

In the past 20 years, Dynamo Kiev has participated in 16 European Cups. Led by star forward Oleg Blokhin, Dynamo Kiev won the Cup-winners’ Cup and the European Super Cup in 1975.

That year, Blokhin was named the European Footballer of the Year. The European press described Blokhin as “the best striker in Europe” and “the finest winger in the world.”

Blokhin, known for his speed and hard left-footer, is the first Soviet player to score 200 league goals. He has scored 42 goals in 98 national matches, and is hoping to become the first member of the Soviet Union to represent his country 100 times in national matches.

The 33-year-old veteran had some off years in the early 1980’s, but he played well in the 1984 World Cup and helped lead a young team to the league title this season.

Blokhin said he is “short of information” about players on the Sockers, but he is quite familiar with Deyna.

“I met him in 1972 at the Olympic games,” Blokhin said through Oshemkov. “At that time, I noticed he was a great player. I didn’t play against him at the World Cup, but he was brilliant.”

Deyna has equally high praise for Blokhin.

“I haven’t seen him play in six or seven years,” Deyna said, “but he is a very good player who plays on the highest level in Europe. “

Deyna said he has played against Soviet teams eight or nine times in his career, and particularly remembers Poland’s semifinal battle in the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

“Russia played very good soccer,” Deyna said, “and we played them in front of a full stadium. They took a 1-0 lead, and then I tied the game on a penalty kick five minutes before halftime. It was a beautiful game with lots of action. They had two or three chances to get a go-ahead goal in the second half. They even had a shot that hit the post. Then with three minutes to play, we scored and won 2-1.”

Blokhin does not want fans to expect to see a Soviet team that is as talented as the 1972 and 1975 teams.

“Players were more experienced and technically skilled on the 1975 team than on this team,” Blokhin said. “Players are much younger on this team and our teamwork is not as good as it was. We hope for the best.”

Dynamo Kiev practiced for the second time at the Sports Arena Tuesday, and surprisingly, the field players did not spend a lot of time working the boards. The goalkeepers appeared to be most concerned about the ricochets off the boards.

“Without a doubt it will be more difficult for the goalkeeper to adjust to the boards than for any other players,” said goalkeeper Viktor Chanov.

At the end of Monday’s practice, the shooters lined up in the penalty area and blasted shots from point blank range at the goalkeepers. They were just the type of shots goalkeepers face in indoor games.

“It was like a shooting gallery,” said goalkeeper Mikhail Mikhailov. “Human beings are not able to react that quickly. I guess the main thing is to avoid the ball.”

When the players on Dynamo Kiev were not firing right-footers and not getting used to the turf at the Sports Arena, they were being instructed on indoor rules by MISL official Toros Kibritjian.

“They were kind of confused about substitutions, goalkeeper moves and three line passes, “ said Kibritjian, who will referee tonight’s game. “They were very serious about the whole thing. The coach asked a lot of questions, but the players were pretty quiet.

Leave it to Sockers midfielder Juli Veee to put the importance of rules in perspective.

“They shouldn’t worry about the rules,” Veee said. “As long as they don’t have more than six players on the field, they will be fine. They will catch on quickly. If they were to join the MISL now, it would be fun to see who would win the championship. They would be there.”