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The war continued, all the concerns were there, but the start of the Ukrainian League turned out to be the possible balm for Shakhtar, a team that had long been deprived of playing in the modern stadium that hosted the 2012 European Championship but ended up losing affected by the start of the war in Donbass in 2014. While the infrastructure was being hit, the Donetsk formation had to jump from room to room, passing through Lviv, Kharkiv and kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion. At a European level, the move was made to another country, the Champions League matches being at home disputed in the Polish city of Warsaw, just as Dynamo kyiv had done in the qualifying rounds.
Gotowy stadium in wtorkowy mecz @FCShakhtar ???? @Real Madrid ????
???? @mat_kostrzewa pic.twitter.com/64xnsI2oAa
– Legia Warszawa ???? (@LegiaWarszawa) October 10, 2022
The war continued, the concerns were all there, but the start of the Champions League with a win in Germany against RB Leipzig turned out to be the possible balm for Shakhtar, a team that ended up symbolizing the union of the Ukrainian people according to a report by The Athletic, which found families who were supporters of Dynamo kyiv, who under normal conditions always loved the Donetsk team, but since the beginning of the war they began to see some representative of the country in each victory a symbol of hope, as had happened before with Dynamo itself.
“Before there was a 1% chance to support the enemy; now, only Ukrainians make us proud”: Shakhtar win with the support of Dynamo fans
The war continues, the concerns are all there and now not even the reception of Real Madrid, European champion, can act as a balm for the situation that Ukraine is experiencing, and the squad itself has changed a lot with the pandemic and the war and now has only one Brazilian (before it was almost a legion, now Lucas Taylor remains), two Africans (Olarenwaju Kayode and Lassina Traoré, who decided to stay in the team even in the current context) and a Croatian (Djurasek) in addition to national players. Also for this reason, everything that happens in the country where they have roots and family has a doubled impact and the series of attacks in Russia this Monday in kyiv or Lviv the squad moved a lot.
???????? Invincible Ukrainian spirit. Nobody can beat us! ????????????
People in the Kyiv metro sing Ukrainian songs during Russia’s terrorist missile attacks.#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/6SqzED7c75
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) October 10, 2022
“The faces this morning at breakfast were very serious, it was almost like a funeral,” a source from the club, who is also in Warsaw for Tuesday’s match with the Spanish champions, explains to the newspaper As. In a way, the situation turned out to be almost unexpected, considering that just over a week ago, when they left kyiv (the League match with Lviv was postponed), the scenario was calm and almost as normal as possible. “The atmosphere now is much more serious than usual, we will see how it affects the team”, admitted the same source, who also explained that since the match in Madrid last week, the team is concentrated in the Hotel Regent, in Poland, which means that no one has been with family and friends except through phone calls.
???? All of Ukraine has been under terrorist missile attack since the morning of October 10.
It is very difficult to think about the UCL vs Real Madrid match when our country is in danger.
???????? Hold on, Ukraine! ????????#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/zPpQtJdakn
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) October 10, 2022
???? Terrorist attack in Zaporizhzhia tonight
Following the attack by the Russian occupiers, currently 12 people are known to have died as a result of the enemy attack, another 49 people have been taken to hospital, including six children.#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/QpYh8QjRij
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) October 9, 2022
It should be remembered that Shakhtar, currently runner-up in the group and with open possibilities of reaching the Champions League with all the sporting, social and economic significance that the feat would have, it is one of the most active Ukrainian teams during the war period. As As recalls, two players from the squad, Andrei Totovytskyi and Oleg Ocheretko, recently visited a children’s hospital made in Warsaw for Ukrainian children, while the club’s Foundation supports not only the families who were left with nothing and the children who want keep playing indoors. of the program “Let’s Play!”. Earlier, the European tour “Shakhtar Global Tour” raised 1.2 million to help in the fight, with 22 tons of food, mattresses, pillows and helmets for the front line. Shakhtar owner Rinat Akhmetov has also personally donated more than €95 million to humanitarian causes.
???????? Valeriy Bondar met with refugees in Warsaw ???????? Ukrainian
See how it happened: https://t.co/hLfJvEQfkG.#Shakhtar pic.twitter.com/5Cxl5YeU3w
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng) October 9, 2022
Source: Observadora
