– In 2015, when I was the head of “Dnipro”, I was the initiator of keeping 18-year-old Dovbyk in the team after the review. He remembers that he even took him immediately to a foreign gathering with the main squad. The anthropometric data of the newcomer were impressive, everything was fine with the left kicking leg.
As you can see, the fact that Dovbyk ended up in big football is also my small merit. Therefore, it is a bit of a pity for Artem, who is often criticized in the current season, and here, as a matter of spite, injuries are bothering him quite a bit.
– However, after an enchanting season in 2024 in Girona, where Artem became the top scorer in La Liga, it seemed that he would continue to score in his next team, the Italian Roma.
– I didn’t think so. The Italian championship, where most teams play defensively, does not suit Dovbyk, who is dependent on his partners. It was La Liga that suited him as much as possible, which is why he emphasized this in his comments at the time.
There was an invitation to “Atletico”, it was necessary to take advantage of it. Or stay in “Girona”, where the whole team played for Artem. I think that the club management would agree to improve his financial conditions.
However, Dovbyk and his representatives chose “Roma”, apparently, “Girona” and the football player himself benefited from this materially, but not in the game aspect. After all, Artem gradually lost his place in the starting line-up of the Roman team, and his position in the national team of Ukraine also deteriorated.
It should also be taken into account that Dovbyk does not fit into the game concept of the new Roma manager Gasperini, who requires the attacker to be intense and perform a large amount of rough work. However, these are not Dovbyk’s strong points.
– Now Roma is actively offering clubs from top championships to buy Dovbyk. Would you advise him in which country to continue his career?
– The best option is the Spanish La Liga, where everyone knows him well. In the Premier League or the French League 1, he has little chance to assert himself, because there are enough vulnerable places.
– According to many experts, Roma overpaid for Dovbyk, and therefore the desire of the “townsmen” to return the spent funds is understandable. But if he is not lucky enough to find a buyer, what should Artem focus on?
– In training, prove to Gasperina that he deserves to have game practice in “Roma” and cherish every given chance to prove himself. After all, no matter how demanding and picky Gasperini is, he will not be his own enemy when the Ukrainian scores.
It’s just that Dovbyk doesn’t have time to relax. He is already 28 years old and needs to start making up for lost time. By the way, the national team of Ukraine will also benefit from this, in which decisive matches are coming up in the battle for a ticket to the world championship, Markevych is sure.
Source: sport.ua