In The Shadow Of War, Shakhtar Donetsk Plays On
The post In The Shadow Of War, Shakhtar Donetsk Plays On appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. HAMBURG, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 19: Georgiy Sudakov of Shakhtar Donetsk takes a corner during the UEFA … [+] Champions League match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto at Volksparkstadion on September 19, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images) Getty Images This Wednesday, Georgiy Sudakov will fulfill a “childhood dream” — playing against FC Barcelona in the Champions League. But much of the past 20 months has felt like a nightmare. “It’s a very difficult situation. I am constantly thinking about my family. About my young daughter who was born at the very beginning of the war,” Sudakov, a midfielder who plays for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, tells me in an exclusive interview. “Since we are travelling a lot, I worry about them because we are constantly receiving information about air attacks, about (air raid) sirens. So it’s very difficult to focus on football.” Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, Ukrainian soccer has struggled on. Matches in last season’s Ukrainian Premier League, won by Shakhtar for the 14th time, were played in empty stadiums. Air raid sirens interrupt play, forcing players and officials to shelter in bunkers. The mental toll on players and staff has been significant. In August, U.S. officials said the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war began was nearing 500,000. The victims include Serhii Riznyk, brother of Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk. “Can you imagine getting the information that your brother has been killed in the war? And you should play (soccer) in three days?,” says Sergei Palkin, CEO of Shakhtar. “Everybody understands you will not play because the most important thing in our situation is life. Football is the second option.” Palkin tells me the invasion has had a…
The post In The Shadow Of War, Shakhtar Donetsk Plays On appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
HAMBURG, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 19: Georgiy Sudakov of Shakhtar Donetsk takes a corner during the UEFA … [+] Champions League match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto at Volksparkstadion on September 19, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images) Getty Images This Wednesday, Georgiy Sudakov will fulfill a “childhood dream” — playing against FC Barcelona in the Champions League. But much of the past 20 months has felt like a nightmare. “It’s a very difficult situation. I am constantly thinking about my family. About my young daughter who was born at the very beginning of the war,” Sudakov, a midfielder who plays for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, tells me in an exclusive interview. “Since we are travelling a lot, I worry about them because we are constantly receiving information about air attacks, about (air raid) sirens. So it’s very difficult to focus on football.” Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, Ukrainian soccer has struggled on. Matches in last season’s Ukrainian Premier League, won by Shakhtar for the 14th time, were played in empty stadiums. Air raid sirens interrupt play, forcing players and officials to shelter in bunkers. The mental toll on players and staff has been significant. In August, U.S. officials said the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war began was nearing 500,000. The victims include Serhii Riznyk, brother of Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk. “Can you imagine getting the information that your brother has been killed in the war? And you should play (soccer) in three days?,” says Sergei Palkin, CEO of Shakhtar. “Everybody understands you will not play because the most important thing in our situation is life. Football is the second option.” Palkin tells me the invasion has had a…
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