Srna is keeping dream alive for Shakhtar kids
‘FOOTBALL ALWAYS SURVIVES WARS’
DARIJO SRNA has lived through three wars and, in the latest cheapening of human life, he helped organise the evacuation of 100 children from Ukraine.
The kids – who come from the academy at Shakhtar Donetsk, where Srna is director of football – are now safe in the Croatian resort of Split, many of them with their mothers, after being rescued from Russian bombs and missiles.
All this after his exhausting and dangerous 36-hour car journey from besieged Kyiv to reach his homeland.
Srna’s motives for his humanitarian mercy mission are simple: life is precious, and football must always prevail over war.
He said: “This is the third war I have been through in my lifetime – Croatia in 1991, then in 2014 when the Russians chased Shakhtar out of Donetsk, and now they go to war in all of Ukraine so we have to leave Kyiv.
“I have no respect for the man who ordered this war. I don’t even want to say his name – it doesn’t deserve any space or oxygen.”
The accomplished rightback, who was awarded 134 caps by Croatia, helped Shakhtar win 10 league titles and the UEFA Cup as an adopted Ukrainian.
They were forced to leave the 53,000-capacity Donbass Arena, built for Euro 2012, after warmonger Vladimir Putin’s troops annexed the region. Now, after being forced to relocate to the NSC Olympiyskiy in Kyiv, the club’s 85-year history is in suspense.
Srna, 39, said: “When we were advised to leave Kyiv, there were so many people leaving the city it took three hours to go past our training facility – a journey that normally took 20 minutes.
“I was with two friends from Croatia and we made it back to our home country but this is not about me. “I cannot compare myself with the people of Mariupol or Kharkiv. They are living through a nightmare, they are the real heroes and I’m so frightened for them. But football always survives wars. Although Ukraine should have been playing in a World Cup play-off this week, war cannot destroy football. “Shakhtar have won the Ukrainian Premier League 13 times this century, and we have lost our home for the second time in eight years because of war. It is not an easy situation but the players of Shakhtar are ready to train and ready to play.”
On his rescue mission, in partnership with politicians, Srna said: “We are doing what we can to help. In Split, we have mobilised 100 children from the Shakhtar academy, they are in hotels with their mothers and at Hajduk Split, where I began my career, we are trying to organise some training for them. “For 19 years, mainly as a player, Ukraine welcomed me with open arms from the first day and now I am trying to do what I can to help them in a humanitarian crisis. “When you are facing a monster, peace is not something you can buy. You have to fight for it. But we will not forget who helped us in these difficult moments.”