Exclusive interview 

©IMAGO

While a number of sporting directors and directors of football around Europe’s top flights would likely stake a claim to having the toughest job in the sport, few could come close to the mammoth tasks that Shakhtar Donetsk’s Darijo Srna must overcome each and every week. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the “Hirnyky” have been forced to play their football more than 1000 km away from their home and their fans for 10 years now. Whether in Lviv, Kharkiv or Kyiv, one of Ukraine’s most recognisable clubs have been a constant reminder of the upheaval and personal cost of war in Europe. 

Rather than shy away from those challenges, Shakhtar have risen to the challenge and in an exclusive interview with Transfermarkt, Srna explains how the Ukrainian giants have persevered through seismic changes in the nature of European football, the challenges of competing in European football, why FIFA has been far from helpful since war broke out, but most importantly how a club that can no longer play in front of its own fans keeps a hold of its identity. 

Transfermarkt: Due to the difficult political situation, Shakhtar has been playing its home games, both nationally and internationally, more than 1000 km away from home (Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv) for 10 years now – what long-term effect has this had on the club and the team as well as the relationship with fans and spectators?

Darijo Srna: “I think the question speaks for itself. Not playing at your stadium in your city for 10 years is very painful and, let’s say, abnormal. Unfortunately, after 2014, when the war began, our fans live in all countries around the world, and we meet them everywhere. When the full-scale war started, it became even worse. Therefore, every Donetsk resident, every Shakhtar fan has only one dream – to play at the Donbas Arena. That’s why today we are doing everything for Ukraine, for Ukrainian football, not only for Shakhtar fans, but also for fans of Ukrainian football in general. Shakhtar is and will always be the leader of the Ukrainian Championship, showing and striving to demonstrate beautiful attacking football in Europe and representing Ukraine in the best way.”

In view of the war situation, can there even be such a thing as a “normal” footballing day? And how do you and the team manage this daily balancing act?

“We must understand that there are many people in Ukraine who are in a worse situation. Yes, it is difficult to plan, difficult to play, but still we know for whom and why we are doing this – for every Ukrainian, for every soldier who loves football, who loves Ukraine. We try to send good positive emotions when we play in Europe, and we want our fans, Ukrainian fans, to be proud of Shakhtar everywhere.”

You have often spoken in the past about how the club, the players, have all grown into one big family. How do you help each other off the pitch?

“This family of ours, which is very large, was able to save both the club and the players. Therefore, you know, in times of trouble, we find out who is who. I want to say that Shakhtar always is, was, and will be one big family, together with our president, who keeps the whole family united and tries to make it happy.”

With the war, FIFA created regulations that allowed Ukrainian players to leave their clubs without paying a transfer fee. You recently criticized the world association for this – can you explain the problem for us?

“Only FIFA can explain what the problem is, but they don’t. FIFA should exist to protect the club and the players in various situations. But they handled it their way. That’s why FIFA hasn’t brought anything good to Ukrainian football, unlike UEFA, which has tried from day one. FIFA, on the contrary, hasn’t done anything. But Shakhtar has held out, Shakhtar has survived, and will continue to live on.”

How has this affected your personal work as a sporting director over the past two years?

“This gave me even more strength to work, to make Shakhtar strong together with the coach, president and CEO. We are on the right track. If FIFA thinks that they can steal all our players and weaken us, then this is a very big mistake, because we are Ukrainians.”

How does a club manage to master such a situation and not go down sportingly and financially?

“Our very DNA is such that we are people who do not know how to lose. If we talk about the financial side, then thank God there is such a person as our president, who loves Shakhtar, loves Ukraine, loves Donetsk, loves Donbas, and respects every Shakhtar fan. Therefore, he always helps the club, and we try to play in the Champions League every year, carry out incoming and outgoing transfers, which ensures financial balance.”

Donetsk is still by far the most valuable club, their squad is worth twice as much as that of Dinamo Kiev, for example – how would you describe the transfer strategy of the past few years?

Our transfer strategy is always the same and we are doing well even today. We have more footballers than Dynamo Kyiv because we have been playing in the Champions League for the last three years. And unfortunately, without 22–23 people, with constant travels and such a schedule during the war, it is difficult to maintain a high level. I will not look at other opponents, we look only at ourselves. We have a clear plan to make the strongest Shakhtar, which will have a very good result outside of Ukraine.

For example, Donetsk is known for regularly bringing in players from Brazil in the past and turning them into well-known professionals in Europe… Why has the club been so strong on the brazilian market for years?

“Because we understand how to do it. To be honest, the market has changed over the last 15 years. Now clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea buy a lot of players, even sixteen-year-olds. The market is changing, we have to be careful. When there is a chance and when we are sure that there is incredible talent in Brazil, we have to go after it. All Brazilian footballers know about Shakhtar; they know how many top players have passed through the club. I think the ideal step for every young player is an intermediate stage before moving to a big club, such as Benfica, Shakhtar, Porto, or Ajax. I will say that we will continue to pursue this transfer policy.”

After Warsaw and Hamburg, this time Schalke – how did that come, why Schalke and what are your impressions and experiences so far?

“It happened because Russia attacked Ukraine. That is why we ended up in Warsaw, Hamburg, and now in Gelsenkirchen. I hope and really want that next year we will play in Ukraine. Great respect to all these cities, we were very warmly welcomed there, there are a lot of Ukrainians. But still, our home is in Ukraine, in Donetsk, so I wish everyone a swift end to the war, victory, and a return home.”

How confident are you, that you will make it to the Champions-League-playoffs or even directly to the round of 16? Why do you have a chance against Bayern on Tuesday, December 10th?

“Unfortunately, we missed a very big chance with PSV – at times, there was no football luck, and at times, there was a lack of focus. I think that with a win against PSV, we would have been very close to advancing further. Now everything is different. But this is football; there are still three games left, and anything can happen. Believe me, Shakhtar can beat Bayern, and then lose to some team in the Ukrainian Championship. This is football, and that’s why we love it. But we will not give up, and on Tuesday, we are definitely going for a win. Of course, Bayern is one of the strongest clubs in the world, but no one can write us off before the game. We have ninety-odd minutes of good football ahead of us.”