Dmitry Kirilenko: “Shakhtar is still healthy, but in Ukraine we lost our homes and many lives”

Dmitriy Kirilenko He is the commercial director of Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine. He speaks to us from Croatia, where he had to flee with his family to escape the Russian invasion, which halted all football operations in Ukraine. pity

ask. Despite the conflict in your country, Shakhtar does not stop, does it?

Answer. We have organized some recent friendlies to raise money and donate to those who need it most. The tour is over and the players are now training with the national team. They will be back in a few weeks, and I will go with them to Kyiv.

Q: What is the current status of the club?

R was found. The club exists. Citizens with Selection and foreigners have returned home through June of this year. Our club qualifies directly for the Champions League and in a month or two we will start preparing for the new season. Another thing is what will happen to our Ukrainian league. This month we will hold a meeting to discuss with the federation and the team leaders how to start the tournament.

Q: Where do you plan to play La Liga?

s. Our priority is keeping our people safe, so it depends on many things. If the situation remains the same, there will be no chance of playing in Ukraine, so it is likely that he will be in Poland or Turkey. The World Cup kicks off very early this year, so we only have two or three months to complete the tournament.

P. From a commercial point of view, what is the status of the club?

s. We have been separated from our five-star stadium in Donetsk since 2014 due to the conflict started by the Russians. Until 2017, we played in Lipolis, then we moved to Gourkov and from there we went to Kyiv. We travel a lot. Now that the war has started, the stadium is empty, but we pay a certain amount of money to the staff to support them and it’s good to know that everyone is alive.

P. The fact that you have already moved to three different cities, how does that affect the club?

s. By 2014, ticket sales for Ukrainian league matches started to drop and the same thing happened in my team. On the other hand, we lost income in the playing field, but at the same time, we increased in other additional services.

Q: Is Shaakther ready to play next season in the Champions League?

s. Certainly, since 2014 we have faced many challenges to play matches away from home. We are ready to organize and play these high-level matches away from our stadium, although we still hope to play in Ukraine.

s. Personally, do you think it is still possible to play in Ukraine in September?

s. Since the invasion began, I can’t tell if something is possible or not. For me this war was impossible… and it happens.

Q: Do you get the solidarity of European football teams?

s. Of course, when the war began, all football clubs in Europe supported Ukraine. All fans around the world unite for Ukraine.

Q: Have you received solidarity from any Russian club or player?

R was found. Nobody. I don’t think the Russian teams behave any differently from their own government. They don’t do anything and don’t support the Ukrainian players either.

Q: Would you like to play a charity match in Spain soon?

R was found. We have received an offer from Valencia and we would be more than happy to play against a big club like Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​but their schedules are tight. Above all, Real Madrid after qualifying for the Champions League final.

Q: When will Shakhtar’s Brazilian players return to the club?

s. They have permission from FIFA to be out until June and the decision of what happens to their contract will be discussed after that.

Q: What do you know about its owner, Rinat Akhmetov?

s. The president supports the club, but supports Ukraine more, gives a lot of money to charity and the Ukrainian army to fight.

P. The priority is not football, but the cities and the citizens themselves, obviously.

R was found. Of course, people lost their homes. From moment to moment, we no longer had homes and many did not know where to live. It is a great tragedy. Many lives lost.

s. How is the Ukrainian national team preparing for the June qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar? [Debe jugar en Escocia, y, si gana, en Gales]

R was found. Now they are in Slovenia and will have two friendlies before the match with Scotland. They are really excited to fight for Ukraine and qualify for Qatar. Be more than just a party