Football In Conflict

In this special episode of the Euro Leagues, Steve Crossman, Guillem Balague, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Julien Laurens are joined by Sergei Palkin, CEO of Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk. Sergei talks about the challenges facing the club since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - finding somewhere to play their games, convincing foreign players to sign for them and dreaming of returning to the Donbas Arena. With less than 100 days to go until the World Cup, the panel also discuss how Germany, Spain and France are shaping up. TIMECODES 00:52 - Less than 100 days until the World Cup 04:33 - Germany and Nagelsmann 11:17 - Spain's injury worries 15:05 - France and Deschamps spoilt for choice 26:38 - Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin 27:23 - Running a football club in wartime 29:18 - The role of sport in Ukrainian's lives 31:04 - Using stadiums as shelters 33:12 - Convincing foreign players to sign 37:17 - Trying to maintain the academy 40:20 - Dreams of returning to the Donbas Arena

Today, Shakhtar Dontsk’s most capped player and stalwart of the Croatian national team Darijo Srna joins us from leafy west London. But his life and that of his football club have been anything but peaceful. Almost a year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk’s sporting director talk to Kate bout escaping Kyiv, why FIFA are destroying the Ukrainian league, and what football can mean right now in a time of conflict. Who would you like Kate to speak to next? Tweet us @FootballRamble and email us here: [email protected]. Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.