Exiled Shakhtar dream of going home
DONETSK, Ukraine, Sept 29, 2014 (AFP) – Reigning Ukraine champions Shakhtar, who have been exiled from their native Donetsk because of the bloody clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels, are dreaming of going home.
Shakhtar have set up their training base in Kyiv and have
chosen the venue in Lviv — around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away from
Donetsk — in western Ukraine as their home ground for domestic and Champions
League matches.
“I still don’t know when we will have a chance to come
back home to Donetsk,” said Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu.
“We all want to play at Donbass Arena, to feel our
fans’ passionate support. But we have to play at Lviv as our president said
it’s still too dangerous to return.”
The prospects of Shakhtar’s return are slim at the moment as
their training base, ‘Kirsha’ in the south of the city, has been seriously
damaged by shelling.
Shells have also damaged the facade of Donetsk’s
state-of-the-art Donbass Arena, once a glittering venue which staged matches at
the 2012 European championship.
“Of course, we all want to live in peace and
harmony,” said Shakhtar’s Ukraine international defender Ivan Ordets.
“We feel comfortable in Kyiv but Donetsk is in our
hearts forever. We all want to come back home.”
Earlier this year six foreign players expressed their desire
to leave Shakhtar because of the political situation soon after the Malaysia
Airlines crash.
The six were named as Brazilians Fred, an attacking
midfielder who has represented his country at Under 20 level, Alex Teixeira,
Douglas Costa, Dentinho, Ismaily and Argentine Facundo Ferreyra.
However, the personal pledge of security from the club’s
president Rinat Akhmetov, as well as the charm front mounted by Lucescu, has
helped smooth doubts.
Despite the difficult political situation, Shakhtar have not
only kept their line-up but have also boosted their defence by signing another
Brazilian, Marcio Azevedo from Metalist Kharkiv.
“I’m very grateful to Lucescu who believes in me and
has given me the chances to show what I can do,” Azevedo told AFP.
“It’s an absolutely amazing feeling when you play in
the Champions League. I was happy like a child during the match with Athletic
Bilbao.”
Since Shakhtar were bought by Ukraine’s richest man Akhmetov
in 1996, the club have ended the domination of Dynamo Kyiv in domestic league
and also won the UEFA Cup in 2009.
This year Shakhtar, whose name means “miner” in
Ukrainian, won their fifth consecutive domestic title bringing the overall
number of Ukraine’s titles to nine.
Meanwhile, football lovers in Donetsk, who were angered and
frustrated after being deprived of the chance to attend matches, are also
hoping for a Shakhtar return.
“It’s too far and too expensive for me to drive to Lviv
to watch Shakhtar,” 22-year-old fan Alexei told AFP.
“I watched some of their matches this season when
they’ve played in Kyiv but it’s not the same as watching them at home. I just
can’t wait to see Shakhtar at the Donbass Arena again. We love them and we need
them here.”
Shakhtar will play their second game of the Champions League
season on Tuesday against Porto in Lviv.
The club have been watched by average crowds of around
10,000 at the 35,000-seater Lviv Arena but local organisers insist Tuesday’s
game against the Portuguese giants is a sell-out.
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