Ukrainians are inspiring
Saturday, April 23, 2022
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April 23 is Andriy Boryachuk's birthday. The Shakhtar striker turns 26
In his interview, the striker spoke about recent changes in his life, shared his impressions of working with Roberto De Zerbi, and noted the importance of the Miners’ charity matches as part of the Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace.
- Happy birthday, Andriy! How did you plan to celebrate the occasion before the war?
- Thank you for the greetings! Before the war, I didn’t really plan anything... I try to never make any plans because you never know what’s going to fall on that day. It sometimes happened that I marked my birthday in training or in matches. But this time I’m in Turkey and train with the team.
- How has the war changed your life and the life of your family?
- Of course, life has changed a lot. It’s a tough time, it’s hard for everyone in Ukraine, and this also affected my family. My father is in the Armed Forces of Ukraine now. I worry about my mother who stays at home alone. It's good that my brother and his girlfriend are helping her. I also worry about my grandparents who stayed there as well.
- How do you feel about Shakhtar's idea of holding charity matches?
- I think that’s very good and right thing to do. We do for people what we can that way. The matches are important more in terms of raising funds for the Ukrainian army and civilians. Of course, we also want to display some great performance for the people to at least get distracted from the current events, so to speak, change the ‘picture’ and enjoy football. Because, unfortunately, there is no football in Ukraine at the moment.
- When you see Ukrainians in the stands, what do you feel? Do you feel their support?
- Yes, of course, we feel their emotions, and that’s really nice. I’m impressed that there are so many Ukrainians in the cities we visited. Their support is inspiring.
- What is your current training process like? How does working under the guidance of Roberto De Zerbi feel like?
- At the moment we’ve got one training session a day. We are preparing for the next game that will take place on 25 April vs Antalyaspor. I've been training with the team for a week now, I really like it. De Zerbi speaks openly about everything, he urges us not to be afraid, but to play football, enjoying it. Of course, we shouldn’t forget that we must always strive to win and showcase some quality football. But in general, I like his style of play, his tactical ideas, the way he interacts with the team and conducts training sessions.
- How do you think the war will affect the Ukrainian league?
- I hope that the championship will not vanish, but on the contrary, our whole country will flourish even more after the war. We will rebuild the same Mariupol, which will be even more beautiful, where there will be not just football, but also many other places where children and citizens will be able to spend their spare time and enjoy life.
- What is Ukraine’s strength and why will victory be ours?
- Because we are Ukrainians. And everything will be just like that. Glory to Ukraine!
- Happy birthday, Andriy! How did you plan to celebrate the occasion before the war?
- Thank you for the greetings! Before the war, I didn’t really plan anything... I try to never make any plans because you never know what’s going to fall on that day. It sometimes happened that I marked my birthday in training or in matches. But this time I’m in Turkey and train with the team.
- How has the war changed your life and the life of your family?
- Of course, life has changed a lot. It’s a tough time, it’s hard for everyone in Ukraine, and this also affected my family. My father is in the Armed Forces of Ukraine now. I worry about my mother who stays at home alone. It's good that my brother and his girlfriend are helping her. I also worry about my grandparents who stayed there as well.
- How do you feel about Shakhtar's idea of holding charity matches?
- I think that’s very good and right thing to do. We do for people what we can that way. The matches are important more in terms of raising funds for the Ukrainian army and civilians. Of course, we also want to display some great performance for the people to at least get distracted from the current events, so to speak, change the ‘picture’ and enjoy football. Because, unfortunately, there is no football in Ukraine at the moment.
- When you see Ukrainians in the stands, what do you feel? Do you feel their support?
- Yes, of course, we feel their emotions, and that’s really nice. I’m impressed that there are so many Ukrainians in the cities we visited. Their support is inspiring.
- What is your current training process like? How does working under the guidance of Roberto De Zerbi feel like?
- At the moment we’ve got one training session a day. We are preparing for the next game that will take place on 25 April vs Antalyaspor. I've been training with the team for a week now, I really like it. De Zerbi speaks openly about everything, he urges us not to be afraid, but to play football, enjoying it. Of course, we shouldn’t forget that we must always strive to win and showcase some quality football. But in general, I like his style of play, his tactical ideas, the way he interacts with the team and conducts training sessions.
- How do you think the war will affect the Ukrainian league?
- I hope that the championship will not vanish, but on the contrary, our whole country will flourish even more after the war. We will rebuild the same Mariupol, which will be even more beautiful, where there will be not just football, but also many other places where children and citizens will be able to spend their spare time and enjoy life.
- What is Ukraine’s strength and why will victory be ours?
- Because we are Ukrainians. And everything will be just like that. Glory to Ukraine!