Ex-miner’s mentor spoke about the first days after the full-scale Russian invasion
Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi shared his memories of the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Italian headed Miner at the beginning of 2022.
“The most formative experience of my life. Shakhtar was a strong team, the one that best suited my idea of football. I told the players that in two or three years I would take them to the semi-finals of the Champions League.”
“The worst thing was to accept not war. It was in the air. It was terrible to realize that your team is no more day by day. She disappeared”.
“I never felt fear. The only fear was the need to move to the border, to be stranded, without gasoline, in the cold, without food. And then shots, rumors about Russian paratroopers descending into the city center to kill Volodymyr Zelensky, and also could have entered the hotel where we were.”
“One country was invaded by another. Dot. Ukraine defends its territory. There’s nothing more to say.”
De Zerbi led Shakhtar in the 2021/22 season. The Italian won the Ukrainian Super Cup and was also in first place with the team when the championship was halted due to a full-blown Russian invasion. After leaving the club, De Zerbi said that his thoughts are still with Shakhtar and the Ukrainians.
Early in the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia launched rocket and air strikes on most Ukrainian cities and then launched a full-scale military invasion. The war against Russia has been going on for 542 days.
Source: Sportarena
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