EA strange mix of different emotions hung over Mönchengladbach’s Borussia-Park on Wednesday night as Ukraine’s national team reunited for a genuine competitive match for the first time since the nation was invaded by Russia on February 24. Tears rolled down many faces of Ukrainian visitors. With emotion, but perhaps also in an act of collective mourning over the terrible situation in which their country is.
“I had tears in my eyes when we sang the national anthem,” said national coach Oleksandr Petrakov after his team won 2-1 against Borussia. “We stood on the sidelines with goosebumps, we are very grateful to all Ukrainians and also to the Germans for this atmosphere,” he said.
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And the people of Mönchengladbach sympathized on the one hand, but at the same time were filled with the joy of being able to help a little. Patrick Herrmann described the atmosphere as “somehow nice”, and Gladbach defender Nico Elvedi said: “I’m glad that we were able to give something to the Ukrainian fans with this game. It was an absolute matter of the heart for the club and for all of us.”
With the net proceeds and the donations collected as part of an elaborate TV broadcast, the suffering of the people affected by the war is to be alleviated. What was special about this benefit game, however, was its great sporting value. “After half a year in which we could hardly work, the game began,” said Petrakow, who wants to qualify with his team for the World Cup in Qatar in June. First up is a play-off semi-final in Scotland on 1 June, before defeating Wales four days later would see them through to the World Cup.
In order to be able to compete there in the best possible condition, the Ukrainians moved into a training camp in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana at the beginning of May, albeit without the biggest stars. Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City), Andriy Jarmolenko (West Ham United), Vitaly Mykolenko (Everton) and Ruslan Malinovsky (Atalanta Bergamo) will only join when their clubs’ seasons are over.
“Very hard to find opponents”
On the Lower Rhine, the team appeared in good physical and footballing condition even without these professionals, apart from a few inattentions on the defensive. “Of course they have a chance of going to the World Cup, they’re a good team with good individual players and a lot of quality, I have a lot of faith in them,” said Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer. But the road to get there is full of adversity. “It’s very difficult to find opponents at the moment,” said coach Petrakow. “It’s very likely that we’ll play Empoli and Rijeka.” With many players lacking competitive practice, tests against African national teams are being considered for the second half of the month.
Participation in the World Cup would mean a lot for the attacked country this year, after all it is more important than in previous tournaments to be noticed by the world. And for many of the Ukrainian players, such encounters are also important because they can attract attention from clubs from the big leagues. After all, it is not to be expected that national competitions can be held in the war-torn country in the coming season. The medium-term future of the Ukrainian big clubs Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, which regularly take part in the Champions League, is uncertain.
The national football association says they still hope that the war will end soon and that league operations will resume after the summer break. There are no concrete alternative plans. Andrei Pavelko, the president of the Ukrainian FA, also reiterated such hopes of a speedy return to normality when addressing the UEFA Congress on Wednesday. But even the pictures that he sent to Vienna as a man in a protective vest in front of a bombed-out stadium indicated how improbable such an ideal scenario is.
Should the canceled season not be played to the end, the association can still register teams for the European competitions of the coming season, which would raise new questions: will the teams then only play in the European Cup while the league remains dormant? And where should they hold their home games? Nobody knows. Therefore, changing clubs or loan deals for many national players who might want to get in shape for the World Cup could be a tried and tested way out of their difficult situation. In any case, football has also been badly hit by the war.
