Shakhtar Donetsk, a Ukrainian exile club ... in Ukraine

It has been more than four years since Shakhtar Donetsk was a club exiled in his own country. Because of the pro-anti-Russian war, the club had to leave the city of Donetsk and its region. "We became, overnight, a homeless club," smiled Dimitri, a Shakhtar supporter. "Today we play mostly in Kharkiv, in the north of the country or in Lviv, just west of Poland, where we must be the only club in Europe who is no longer allowed to play. in his own city, "continues the young man from a tiny village on the border between two Ukraine, one anti-Russian - that of Kiev - and the other pro-Russian - that of Donetsk.

"When will he change his name?" The Shakhtar club was the richest in the country before the conflict. And if today he still has significant financial means, he had to seriously review his transfer policy and his entire economy. "The owner of the club, a wealthy businessman, lost some of his businesses, factories and mines because of the war," says Evgheni Starov, a sports journalist in Kiev, "the club buys fewer players, has more confidence in young Ukrainians, and more importantly, the question arises more and more: when will he change his name, because everyone knows that the team will never come back to Donetsk ... "

"A club that tells the torn apart of a country". For Irina, supporter of the club, if the story of Shakhtar deserves to be told, beyond football, it is mainly because the destiny of this team also illustrates what had to live many Ukrainians: "With the war that broke out, many people had to leave the east of the country, for example, I had a friend who had to come here to Kiev with all his family and left everything: their property, their work, Some of them could not be accommodated by friends or in shelters and ended up without anything, on the street.This is a tragedy.We can be pro or anti-russian, it's not At the end of the day, people are dying because of the war, Shakhtar is a rich club that has not had any serious problems but is symbolic of the situation. "

It is in this context that Shakhtar Donetsk will play Wednesday night a decisive European Cup match. The club can qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League in favor of a good result against Lyon. But, far beyond football, it was felt during the pre-match press conference that something else was being played out.

"It's hard to play so far from home." Club coach Paulo Fonseca took the floor, not to talk tactically, to pick players or chances to win, but to talk about Ukraine and the real challenge of the game: "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts the club of Dinamo Kiev, our rival, who has accepted to welcome us in his stadium for this match.We know that it is difficult to accept for some fans.For us too, it's hard to have to play so far from home we (at 700 km, ed.) But through this match, we show that football can bring peace.Through this match, thanks to the welcome of Kiev, we also show that Ukraine can meet, united In peace and solidarity we must be an example of peace for the world and for ourselves. "

As the conflict lasts, the country tries to write another story. Once a big club in the east of the country, Shakhtar Donetsk became the club of a whole country victim of the war. By finding refuge in other stadiums, in other cities, in the west, in the north or in the center of the country, the Shkathar helped to draw the map of a new Ukraine and laid the foundations of a new unit.