eight years later
In the eight years that followed, Shakhtar has not returned to playing at its Donetsk home. The club moved its headquarters to Warsaw, while the league team trained at Legia’s stadium. In Ukraine’s domestic competition, Kyiv has used two venues, Olympic Stadium and Lviv Arena, as makeshift homes. The war’s outbreak turned the squad into wanderers, a mix of Brazilians and Ukrainians alike who kept the club’s spirit alive despite displacement. The roster faded from its most famous names, and departures spanned across the team, including coaching staff members and players who sought new leagues. The balance shifted dramatically as twenty players and the coach, Italian Roberto De Zerbi, left the squad.
Glory to the heroes who stood firm in Mariupol’s defense. Shakhtar later wore special jerseys in a match against Metalist to show support for the defenders of Azovstal. A printed image of Mykhailo Dianov, one of the Azovstal defenders, adorned the jersey, signaling solidarity with frontline resilience. This display was shared in a post by the club on social media.
Among the current roster of twenty-nine players, twenty-five are Ukrainian, complemented by a Brazilian, a Croatian, a Nigerian, and a Burkinabe. Lassina Traoré sustained a knee injury in a Champions League match, yet returned to the Ukrainian champion jersey 399 days later. Traoré’s commitment remained strong; he explained that the club’s faith in him during injury recovery inspired his determination to repay that support on the pitch.
Another notable moment featured the team’s coach, Igor Jovicevic. The squad’s staff includes Spaniard Daniel de Castro, a physical trainer from the Canary Islands, and Curro Galán, a goalkeeping coach who spent years at Atletico Madrid. Croatian Dario Srna serves as sports director, a figure of the club’s enduring identity. Srna’s experience includes wearing the miners’ jersey 536 times over a 15-season tenure with the Donbas club.
Two young Ukrainian internationals stand out. Maryan Shved, often described as the Ukrainian Neymar for his remarkable skill, has contributed three goals and one assist and refused to move to a larger league. The other is Mykhaylo Mudryk, a prodigious talent who joined Arsenal discussions, adding two goals and two assists in Champions League play while opting to stay with the team.
Celebration of silence
Despite ongoing challenges, a recent Madrid trip demonstrated resilience. Shakhtar arrived undefeated in the Bernabéu season, accumulating thirteen points from five league games with four wins and a draw, holding a lead position. The team delivered a notable performance against Leipzig in the Champions League, winning 1-4, and drew with Celtic. A moment of quiet in the locker room, following a tough defeat in Germany, was interrupted by Jovicevic, who broke the silence to praise the players as Ukraine’s emblem. The message echoed: you are the heroes, you are the flag of Ukraine. The team prepared to face the field in Madrid, aware that Donetsk’s status as Ukrainian territory remained uncertain. This reflection underscores the club’s ongoing connection to its homeland and the people it represents, as reported in contemporary club communications and match coverage [citation: club communications, match reports].