Sheriff of Tiraspol coach takes up arms in defense of Ukraine

After achieving one of the biggest surprises in the history of the Champions League with the Moldavian Sheriff Tiraspol team by defeating Real Madrid, the Ukrainian coach Yuri Fernydop decided to take up arms and defend his country in the face of the Russian invasion.

The 56-year-old told the BBC that he did not hesitate to return to his country once his son told him last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had started military action.

"My son called me at 4:30 in the morning and told me that the Russians had attacked us. I knew then that I was going back to Ukraine to fight," Fernidop says.

Fernidop is one of the many well-known Ukrainian sports personalities, such as the world heavyweight champion Aleksandr Usyk, who has decided to return to defend her country.

Fernedup received that call while he was in Portugal to play a playoff match in the European League (European League), which Sherif lost on penalties to Braga, after the two teams tied 2-2 in the total of the two matches.

Although it plays in the Moldavian league, SC Sheriff is from Transnistria, a breakaway pro-Russian state that emerged after a civil war following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Fernydub, who ended his playing career with Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia, spent 11 hours traveling to Ukraine on Saturday.

Several members of his family tried to dissuade him.

"I thank my wife for her support," he says. "She knows who I am. If I make a decision, I won't change it."

The Ukrainian trainer notes that he received two years of military training when he was younger, and asserts, "I know how to use" firearms.

During the BBC interview, Fernedupe was 120 kilometers from the front line.

He explains, "I am not allowed to reveal my role in the army. Now we receive instructions. Every minute we are ready to go where they tell us. I haven't used my gun yet, but I am always ready. Anytime."

His passion for this unexpected turn in his life is evident.

"They (the Russians) said we're fascists and Nazis, I can't even find words to describe what they're doing," Fernidop adds.

"They attack civilians' homes, but they only say they hit the military infrastructure. They lie. I have no doubts that Ukraine will win this war. I can't think of anything else. I'm sure of that. I saw this tragedy uniting us as a nation." ".

Fernidub says he has "full respect" for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "People called him a clown, but he showed he was a real leader."

Fernedup points out that the evening in Madrid, when his team beat the European champions 13 times (2-1), does not leave his mind.

"When we beat Real Madrid, I couldn't imagine it," he says.

But at the beginning of February he became anxious: "The players kept asking me why I was so sad all the time. Did anything happen to me? I kept saying nothing, but soon something would happen."

Football remains Fernendop's number one adrenaline-fueled passion.

"Thinking of football motivates me," he says. "Football is my life. I hope this war doesn't last for long. We will win and I will go back to my beloved work."

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