Ukrainian Football Club Reaches Euro Semi Despite War

When most football teams complain about travel fatigue, they're talking about a few hours on a plane. Shakhtar Donetsk faces 18-hour bus journeys between matches because their country's airspace is closed due to war.

The Ukrainian club hasn't played in their home stadium in Donetsk since 2014. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, they've been forced to host "home" games in Poland and Germany, traveling constantly while their country fights for survival.

This week perfectly captures their reality. After playing Crystal Palace in Poland on Thursday, they'll endure that grueling 18-hour bus ride to Kyiv for a Sunday match, then retrace their steps back to Poland to fly to London for the second leg.

"You will not find in the world a head coach or medical staff who has experience to recover players after 18 hours on the road," said sporting director Darijo Srna, a former team captain. Their pre-match prep sometimes includes hours in air-raid shelters and emergency hotel changes due to rocket damage.

Yet somehow, they're thriving. Under new manager Arda Turan, Shakhtar leads the Ukrainian Premier League and just reached the Conference League semi-finals, beating strong opponents to get there.

The Ripple Effect

For the 10 million Ukrainians who fled the war, Shakhtar's success means everything. About 26,000 fans, nearly 90% Ukrainian, will pack the stadium in Krakow, traveling from countries across Europe where they've sought refuge.

"For those who stayed abroad, it's like a connection," said CEO Sergei Palkin. These matches offer displaced families a chance to gather, to feel Ukrainian, to remember home.

Back in Ukraine, where news is mostly devastating, the team's success provides rare moments of joy. "We give them some kind of positive emotion, to understand that we are alive, Ukrainian football is alive," Palkin explained.

The club even maintained their famous talent pipeline, continuing to recruit promising young Brazilians despite the war. Twelve Brazilians currently play for Shakhtar, drawn by the club's reputation for developing careers, not deterred by the dangers.

"We lost our home, but we didn't lose our identity," Palkin said. That resilience, that refusal to let war define them, resonates far beyond football.

One more win puts them in a European final, giving millions of Ukrainians proof that their country can still achieve greatness while fighting for its existence.