It was Tuesday, September 28, 2021. The atmosphere in the Sheriff Tiraspol team must have been great – the Moldovan club won a historic promotion to the Champions League a few weeks ago, and in the first match of the group stage, Yuri Vernydub’s players defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0. Now it’s time for the away game against the great Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The bookmakers had no doubts, the odds on “Royal” was slightly over 1.10 and it actually seemed that Carlo Ancelotti’s team would defeat the newcomers of the tournament. However, the reality turned out to be different.
Yuriy Vernydub on the war in Ukraine: At that time I was no longer interested in football
Sheriff beat Real 2-1 that night, making Champions League history. In the end, the Moldovan team collected seven points and finished third in Group D. – Memories will remain forever. To play Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu and beat them 2-1… Although for the first few days I couldn’t understand what had happened. Only later did it dawn on me what we had done, what a beautiful story we had written in an interview with “WP Sportowe Fakty”.
Just months after the historic victory, the Sheriff’s trainer donned his military uniform to fight for his country.
The Ukrainian described in detail his memories and feelings from the time when Russia attacked his homeland. Vernydub revealed that a few days before the enemy invasion, he felt fear and anxiety. – When the Russian Duma drafted a bill calling on Putin to recognize the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, and this was a week before the aggression, I felt that something would start soon. My assistants saw it and asked me why I was so sad. I would say, “I’m thinking something’s going to happen.” I had a feeling and it was confirmed – said the former coach of Sheriff Tiraspol.
The club offered custody. The Ukrainian refused and went to the front
The club’s activists proposed to the coach to move the whole family from Ukraine to Moldova, but the coach did not take up the offer. “I said thank you very much, but I’ll go home first and decide there.” Even though I already knew I wasn’t coming back. I wasn’t interested in football then,” Vernydub said.
– I went to mobilization and joined the army on February 27, 2022. Soon after, I joined an artillery division. First, we spent two or three days in a military unit in Zaporozhye. Then we got on the bus and were taken to the training ground. After five days, we were put back on the buses and taken to where we were supposed to be. Now it’s no secret that it was in the direction of Kryvyi Rih, in the Kherson region. We were all from Zaporozhye. The 39th division went to defend Zaporozhye, and we, the 36th division, were sent to Kryvyi Rih, because the enemy was advancing, it was already approaching this place – the 57-year-old reported for “WP”.
In addition, Yuri Vernydub described his thoughts, tragic stories and conclusions related to the Russian invasion in great detail. I was scared, but I got over it quickly. The first time bullets fly your way, when bombs fall next to you, the horror is great. Then it’s not so scary anymore. You get used to it, you know what to do, how to protect yourself. But the first time is terrible, – announced Yuri Vernydub.
The current coach of the Ukrainian team Krywbas Krzywy Róg especially appreciated the Poles who have been helping their eastern neighbors since the beginning of the war. The 57-year-old revealed that at one time he had coaching offers, including from the Legion. When asked about faith in Ukraine’s victory, Vernydub answered very firmly. – That I believe is an understatement. I’m not 100 percent sure, but 200 percent!
