It was the summer of 2013 and for the 1st time I was a club seeking professional Footballer. I also didn’t had an agent as I always negotiated my contracts with Hearts by myself. The search for a new club was not as easy as it seemed. Many people inside the football business gave me the advice just to “switch off” for 1-2 weeks, enjoy the days off and go to sea or something. However, I was brought up with another motto:
“Business before pleasure”
To sit back and relax was obviously not an option for me. As I played well and got myself a “good name” at Hearts with my awards and the Scottish Cup title many agents knew me already. When it was official and they found out that I left Hearts agents started to call me from all over the world. They promised me that they’ll find me a good club with good salary if I sign with them. But every agent got the same answer from me: “The one, who finds me a good club with good salary, gets 10 percent of my salary.“ However, I didn’t want to put all my hopes into some phone calls from agents I never met, so I decided to take the initiative by myself.
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” (Michael Jordan)
I created a list of all the clubs that were interesting for me; looked up their contact details and contacted them by sending emails with my CV and couple of my highlight videos. I also informed myself on Transfermarkt about players at attractive clubs and which agents or agencies worked for them. I was thinking that the agents/agencies probably negotiated the contracts with these clubs so there must be still some sort of connection between the agents and the clubs. So I wrote or called the particular agents and told them about me. Many of them gave me positive feedback and assured me their support, which calmed me down a little.
But there was also something else on my agenda. I was still a student at the Napier University Edinburgh and had to complete 2 exams during this summer semester. So I flew to back to Edinburgh, did my exams and returned with 2 passed exams in my pocket. That was a great feeling, because I knew that if I keep going on with my studies, I’ll have a BA degree in “Business with Marketing”, which will open up many doors and opportunities for me in the future after my football career.
Two years later I was sitting again on a plane from Edinburgh to Berlin; but this time with a BA degree in “Business with Marketing” in the pocket.
But back to my club search in summer 2013: I got a call from my old assistant coach of Hearts, Edgaras Jankauskas, still a good friend of mine. He immediately got to the point: „Pack your bag Denis, tomorrow you will fly to Lisbon to train with Benfica.“ I was thrilled as I didn’t expect my future club to be this big. A good friend of Edgaras had organized everything with Benfica, Paulo Barbosa, one of the best agents of Portugal.
So I arrived in Lisbon, was driven to the Training Ground of Benfica and training on the same day with the U23 of Benfica Lisbon. The 1st team was preparing for the cup game on the next day so I couldn’t train with them. I trained well. The scouts and coaching stuff, among them the 1st team coach of Benfica, wanted to have a look at me. After 3 days they stated to talk about a contract for me. Their offer was that I would train basically all week with the 1st team however I would mainly play with the U23 team. At this time of moment this was out of question for me as I only wanted to play at 1st team level. (Which I am still regretting a bit as I was only 21)
Remember that not getting what you want – sometimes is luck.
Many clubs have already contacted me personally and offered me to play with their 1st team so I declined the offer from Benfica and took a flight back to Berlin on the next day. When I arrived in Berlin I received a call from Paulo Barbosa, who informed me that another Portuguese 1st division side was interested in me. It was CD Nacional from Madeira. CD Nacional was starting their preseason in about 4 weeks’ time, so I could relax and take a vacation until then. Of course I agreed to come and train with CD Nacional as it’s a big club in Portugal and usually play in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. Moreover, it was the first club of Cristiano Ronaldo, so I really wanted to “check” this club out. Everything went well and I was able to allow myself to relax a little and starting to prepare for the training in Portugal.
I was enjoying my holidays and suddenly after 2 weeks I received a call from the Ukraine. The Ukrainian Premier League Team FK Sevastopol was very interested in me and wanted me to be there already in 2 days. They wanted everything to go quick as they were already at the end of their preseason. I thought to myself: “What do I have to lose? I have to be in Portugal in 2 weeks so it’s a perfect opportunity for me to gain some fitness and train with a good team”.
At first they booked me a one way ticket, but I insisted that I’ll only fly if they book me also a return ticket for my departure in 5 days. So I made it clear to them that I expect a quick decision from FK Sevastopol over whether they want to offer me a contract or not.
Always keep your options open.
Before I continue I want to say a few words about the Crimea and Sevastopol. The city of Sevastopol is located on the Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea, where my father and his twin brother were legends and still are. They played many years for the capital Club of Crimea called: Tavria Simferopol. Almost every summer my family and I spend our holidays there and I was familiar with the Island and the mentality there. I only had great memories about our trips to the Crimea.
So I arrived at the airport of Simferopol, I was surprisingly picked up by the twin brother of my father and he drove me to the hotel of FK Sevastopol. I’ve been there almost every summer, but I never have been in Sevastopol. It was love at the first sight.
On the next day I had my 1st training session with the team. I met many familiar faces: Teammates who had played with me in the U16 and U17 national team of Ukraine. But funnily enough they did not recognize me. No wonder, I used to be the small and thin boy and now there was standing a 1.89 m large and 84 kg man. Once I introduced myself everything was clear and many players were pleased to see me at their club.
I came to Sevastopol with not very high expectations. I had previously played in Germany and in Scotland; in terms of professionalism the clubs were already very advanced. But from Ukrainian Football I didn’t hear a lot back home. But FK Sevastopol really surprised me. Everything was so professional. The newest equipment’s in the gym and great standards of the football grounds. There were countless employees who were controlling and organizing everything. In my eyes this club was 2 times more advanced than the clubs I used to play before. That was a dream for every young and ambitious footballer like me.
Sometime later I found out the owner of FK Sevastopol was a multi-billionaire and one of the richest men on the planet; no wonder that for the club only the best was good enough.
The training went great and in the team was also a perfect atmosphere so they accepted me right away as one of their own. Straight after 3 days the Manager and Sport director called me to their office and offered me a 1 year contract as they were very impressed with me. So there was I sitting in one of the most beautiful city’s I ever been too and should be part of a big and ambitious team. They offered me a great contract with good terms and were more than I expected, so of course I will sign I thought to myself. However, there was one thing I had to sort out first. I gave Paulo Barbosa and CD Nacional my word that I will come to Madeira and train with them; I am a man of my words and will always keep them.
The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.
I told the people in charge of FK Sevastopol that I will definitely sign the contract but only in 2 weeks’ time. They agreed, as they had more time to sort out the bureaucratic stuff connected with my transfer. So I flew back to Berlin, in my pocket a contract offer of FK Sevastopol, ready to sign and an invitation for a trial with one of the best clubs in Portugal. The search for a new club wasn’t so bad than I expected.
The next day I flew to Funchal (Madeira), where I was welcomed warmly. Madeira is a beautiful island with a stunning landscape, but in my eyes it couldn’t quite keep up with the Crimea. Again, the training went very well. Of course it was very boring in my hotel room so I decided to stay behind for hours on the pitch and in the gym to do some extra work and work on myself. I trained for 5 days and kept doing my extra training, so I made a good impression of myself. Again I was called in the office of the Manager and Sport director.
The Sporting Director surprised me with the following words : „Denis, you know, you remind me of a little boy who was playing for our team, he also trained very very much and done everything just for football. Today our Academy Stadium is named after him and he plays for Real Madrid.“ He was speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo.
His work rate „borders on sickness, because he always wants to be the best at his job (Deco on Cristiano Ronaldo).
Of course it was a great honour for me to be compared with such a big player. I asked how did he knew that I was training so much. He pointed out to me that there are cameras installed all over the training and Stadium complex and I was seen on them basically day and night; either at 2pm or even once at 1am in the morning in the gym. After two more sessions I was offered a contract. So I was in a dilemma. I really enjoyed my time in CD Nacional and Madeira but the offer from FK Sevastopol was better and I felt more attracted to the Crimea. So I decided against the offer of CD Nacional.
Today, when I look back on my career, I wonder how everything would have turned out if I chose Madeira instead. Maybe I should have signed for CD Nacional? At that time I was told that I would be the 3rd central defender, so I would have only played if one of the other 2 defenders would be injured or suspended. But I really wanted to play and was afraid that I will be sitting on the bench most of the games. That was another reason why I chose Sevastopol. I followed the season of CD Nacional and they received a lot of goals against them and the 2 central defenders didn’t play well, so I guess I would have gotten a chance and maybe even turned into a 1st team regular. And who knows what would have happened after.
Our doubts are our traitors. They make us loose what we probably could have won if we were not afraid to try it.
My decision was made. A few days later I flew to Sevastopol and signed a very good contract. One month earlier I was frustrated and disappointed about leaving Hearts and Scotland and also very worried about my future. But this negative experience in a very hard time for me was also the beginning of a new and exciting journey with new possibilities. I signed with a new club and was part of one of the biggest events in the history of the island Crimea.
Life has three rules: Paradox, Humour, and Change.
-Paradox: Life is a mystery; don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.
-Humor: Keep a sense of humour, especially about yourself. It is a strength beyond all measure
-Change: Know that nothing ever stays the same
denisprychynenko 