Shakhtar Donetsk have misplaced as soon as within the Ukrainian Premier League this season. It was a 4-1 defeat to LNZ Cherkasy, a nominal dwelling recreation for Shakhtar in Lviv. There have been mitigating circumstances. They spent a lot of the earlier night time in a bomb shelter.
Such is the lot of a workforce making an attempt to function an emblem of hope and endurance for supporters within the Donbass area of Ukraine amid the continued struggle. Arda Turan, the previous Barcelona midfielder, is the person tasked with European soccer’s hardest job.
“In life, I have never been a person who hides behind excuses but there have been situations we could not foresee,” Turan tells Sky Sports activities. That’s an understatement. Shakhtar had solely simply returned from an extended away journey to Aberdeen when it occurred.
“The bombs came the night before the next game. We went down to the shelter. It might seem strange but we were not afraid, just worried for our loved ones. We had no sleep that night. We never really know the circumstances in which we will play the game.”
Inspiration got here within the aftermath of defeat. “I was sad because it was a critical game for us. And this boy, Roman, a big Shakhtar supporter, who had 35 surgeries because of his injuries when his house was bombed, came to visit us inside the dressing room.”
Turan reveals: “He said to me, ‘Mister, don’t be sad. There are good days and bad days in life. You have to keep going.’ This was a life lesson from an eight-year old boy who has been operated on 35 times.” Even now, Turan is understandably emotional about all of it.
“Yes, football is important. And we have to respect the job and give it 100 per cent for the people who follow us. But, on the other hand, it is entertainment, it is not as real as life. We have to understand the difference. It was Roman who gave me that life lesson.”
Turan is a powerful character. At 38, he is without doubt one of the brightest younger coaches in Europe having guided Eyupspor to promotion adopted by a top-six end in his native Turkey. He had choices for his subsequent transfer. So, why did he select Shakhtar Donetsk?
“You need to get out of your comfort zone to be successful,” he explains. “Yes, this is a big challenge with very young players. But it is the chance to develop a team, to learn and compete at the same time. I want this responsibility. I believe I can learn a lot here.”
Turan performed for Atletico Madrid and Barcelona earlier than turning into a coach
Six months in control of Shakhtar has already thrown up greater than a coach may count on to come across in years elsewhere. Placing apart the feelings, the practicalities of all of it are demanding. Unable to play in their very own metropolis, it is a life spent on the highway.
“At a regular club, you can go back to your house a few hours after a trip. Here, it is not like that. Sometimes it takes more than a day and you can only start working again after 48 hours.” Not simple when Shakhtar are in Europe, successfully enjoying each recreation away.
Their early European dwelling qualifiers have been performed in Slovenia earlier than switching to Poland for his or her group video games within the Convention League. Lviv hosts their home dwelling fixtures. Turan’s problem is to show logistical difficulties and adversity into motivation.
“We are trying to use it. When you are in the middle of a war and people are making such a big sacrifice, you should definitely touch on these things. Why are they here playing football? Why leave their families in the middle of a war? It has to make sense.
“I believe we’ve made it right into a constructive and tried to have loads of enjoyable too and attempt to be cheerful on a regular basis. We now have loads of younger Brazilian gamers who’re making an attempt to adapt and handle that psychological aspect however there are occasions when it’s exhausting.
“We have a lot of teenagers who need more rest than the experienced players so we are often forced to change the team. Unfortunately, you just cannot play the same team three days later with the amount of travel that we have. It is like inviting an injury.”
Turan received promotion with Eyupsor and now has Shakhtar high of the desk
From the surface, it won’t be such a shock that Shakhtar are high of the desk beneath Turan on condition that they been champions of Ukraine on 15 events for the reason that flip of the century. However that UEFA Cup win in 2009 was a distinct period to this one, in reality.
“The team I have is a very different team from the previous Shakhtar teams,” says Turan. Having completed third final season, they’ve since misplaced star gamers Kevin and Heorhii Sudakov to Fulham and Benfica, respectively. Different key males at the moment are out injured.
“We lost some players but the squad is now full of young footballers who are open to improvement. That was the club strategy. I agreed to it and I respect. Rather than buying players who are complete, we want to go with players who have great potential.
“Isaque is eighteen, Kaua [Elias] is nineteen, Lucas Ferreira is nineteen, [Luca] Meirelles is eighteen. Generally they may play badly as a result of they’re solely younger however we aren’t taking away their proper to make errors. And, once you win, the happiness of that feels fully totally different.”
Kaua Elias of Shakhtar Donetsk celebrates scoring in opposition to Breidablik
Kaua scored in Shakhtar’s newest European win, a recreation sandwiched between victories over reigning champions Dynamo Kyiv and a 7-1 conquer SK Poltava final outing. “The young players are a source of pride. They are turning me into a braver coach.”
Having mentioned that, Turan talks of getting to adapt his techniques to acknowledge their uncommon state of affairs. “Sometimes we cannot push. This is a team that played with 40,000 or 50,000 fans and is now playing in front of 2,000 spectators. Motivation is a challenge.”
However he’s discovering new methods, teaching the workforce in English and in Spanish. For this interview, he reverts to Turkish when the dialog turns in a sure route. “I prefer to use my native language when discussing more sensitive matters,” he explains.
And with that, his ideas return to younger Roman and a accountability that weighs closely on his shoulders. He desires Shakhtar Donetsk to be champions of Ukraine once more. “I really want to win the title for him,” he says. “It is like a dream now for me to do it.”
