Our country has united
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
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Anatolii Trubin explained how his life has changed since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s military aggression, he spoke about the support of coaches, the desire to be useful, and the video message by the national team players calling to stop the war
- Anatolii, immediately after the military aggression of the Russian Federation, you, along with other players of the national team, shot a video address calling to end the war. Who was its main organizer and thought leader?
- It was a collective idea. In the Ukrainian national team, all the guys have developed excellent friendly relations without any division between the clubs. We always keep in touch and communicate with each another. When we were shooting the video appeal, we probably did not yet fully realize the scale of the tragedy that our country has faced. But we had some understanding that it was impossible for us to stand aside, that this catastrophe should be stopped as soon as possible, and we also tried to convey to the world the truth about the things that are happening. That civilians and children suffer and die in Ukraine… That one just cannot stand aside because human grief has no boundaries.
- How has your life changed compared to that before the war?
- First, I had to change my place of residence. By the way, our coaches also insisted on this, because it became unsafe in the capital from the first days. I want to note that the coaching staff headed by Roberto De Zerbi were among the last people to leave Ukraine. That was their principled stance: the players were evacuated first, and only then the coaches. Now they contact us nearly every day and ask how safe we are, they worry about and support us. It’s important when the head coach treats each player as if they were his family members.
- How do you manage to find motivation in this stressful situation?
- Indeed, I experienced a shock initially. Everything turned upside down so much and began to differ from the usual life that I caught myself thinking: Tolya, this is impossible, it's just a terrible dream that is about to end. And due to understanding that this is reality, that this is real, it got especially scary.
- What’s the focus of your current daily routine?
- The day begins and ends with calling my family members, friends, and relatives: asking them how they are doing – alive, healthy? Unfortunately, many of our compatriots suffer a lot, enduring hardships, dying. It’s particularly tough for those in Mariupol, Volnovakha... The situation is catastrophic there. It’s important that now our country has united like never before and that everyone is trying to help in every way they can. As far as possible, I also try to find out how I can be useful and help some ordinary people, volunteers, the army.
- Because of your age, you are in demand both in the U21 and the senior team of Ukraine. Both teams take part in responsible qualifiers, what do the coaches say about this?
- All residents of Ukraine are now hostages of the military aggression, football players are no exception. We have also been left without our favourite occupation and do not know what awaits us in the future. The matches of the national teams of Ukraine have been postponed – that’s the decision, albeit a temporary one. It’s much more important now to save the lives of our citizens, to stop the destruction of peaceful cities, to stop the war.
- It was a collective idea. In the Ukrainian national team, all the guys have developed excellent friendly relations without any division between the clubs. We always keep in touch and communicate with each another. When we were shooting the video appeal, we probably did not yet fully realize the scale of the tragedy that our country has faced. But we had some understanding that it was impossible for us to stand aside, that this catastrophe should be stopped as soon as possible, and we also tried to convey to the world the truth about the things that are happening. That civilians and children suffer and die in Ukraine… That one just cannot stand aside because human grief has no boundaries.
- How has your life changed compared to that before the war?
- First, I had to change my place of residence. By the way, our coaches also insisted on this, because it became unsafe in the capital from the first days. I want to note that the coaching staff headed by Roberto De Zerbi were among the last people to leave Ukraine. That was their principled stance: the players were evacuated first, and only then the coaches. Now they contact us nearly every day and ask how safe we are, they worry about and support us. It’s important when the head coach treats each player as if they were his family members.
- How do you manage to find motivation in this stressful situation?
- Indeed, I experienced a shock initially. Everything turned upside down so much and began to differ from the usual life that I caught myself thinking: Tolya, this is impossible, it's just a terrible dream that is about to end. And due to understanding that this is reality, that this is real, it got especially scary.
- What’s the focus of your current daily routine?
- The day begins and ends with calling my family members, friends, and relatives: asking them how they are doing – alive, healthy? Unfortunately, many of our compatriots suffer a lot, enduring hardships, dying. It’s particularly tough for those in Mariupol, Volnovakha... The situation is catastrophic there. It’s important that now our country has united like never before and that everyone is trying to help in every way they can. As far as possible, I also try to find out how I can be useful and help some ordinary people, volunteers, the army.
- Because of your age, you are in demand both in the U21 and the senior team of Ukraine. Both teams take part in responsible qualifiers, what do the coaches say about this?
- All residents of Ukraine are now hostages of the military aggression, football players are no exception. We have also been left without our favourite occupation and do not know what awaits us in the future. The matches of the national teams of Ukraine have been postponed – that’s the decision, albeit a temporary one. It’s much more important now to save the lives of our citizens, to stop the destruction of peaceful cities, to stop the war.