There are things in life more important than football
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
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Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan commented on the victory in the UPL match against Obolon (3-1)
– The first question is about Alaa Ghram’s goal. Could it be the goal of the round and did you expect such a shot from him at all?
– First of all, I’m pleased with Alaa Ghram’s professional development. I would not say it was unexpected as he has previously scored in a similar way in training. Perhaps what slightly caught me by surprise was that he decided to attempt such a shot in a competitive match. But this is even better for us because players on the pitch, especially those in attacking roles, must score and provide assists, and Alaa Ghram was an excellent example for his teammates today. I’m fully convinced of his progress and that it will continue in the future.
– Moving on to individuals a bit. You already have some competitive comfort in the table, so you can experiment and try things. Bahlai was in goal, he made a great save at the end of the match today, Nazaryna was in central defence again and Shved came on for the third time this UPL season and scored. Could you say something about them?
– First of all, I’m extremely pleased for Rostyslav Bahlai, and I can only endlessly thank our goalkeeping department, which has properly prepared him for his debut at professional level. Yehor Nazaryna is a player who is always focused on the opposition’s goal and, regardless of his position on the pitch, is constantly oriented towards progressing the ball and getting as close as possible to the opposition’s goal. This is an underrated quality in modern football, but in my opinion, it is extremely important and fundamental. In addition, he has a very well-developed long-range shot, so this combination of skills is very useful in the team structure. As for Marian Shved, I’m also very happy for him: he is a footballer who has not received much playing time this season, but at the same time he has greatly impressed me with his professional attitude and respect for the training process. He has always remained positive, in no way has he disrupted the atmosphere in the team or the dressing room, and he has consistently helped the players around him feel at their best. I’m therefore extremely grateful to him and can only applaud and express my respect for his efforts.
– This season it seems that, for the first time, you have had to lead the team onto the pitch four times due to an air raid alert. As a coach, what is this experience like for you and how difficult is it?
– Of course, these are extremely sad circumstances for holding a football match and I’m certain these conditions are close to impossible. In fact, at one point we were informed that the match would be postponed until tomorrow: some of our players had already had dinner, others had taken a shower, so we did everything possible not to be affected by the war in this particular fixture. In situations like this, I’m convinced that a win, a draw or a defeat no longer carries the same meaning. There are things in life that are more important than football. We have a very diverse, international squad: Brazilians, Ukrainians, representatives of other nations and we had to take care of everyone. Many of our young players are facing something like this for the first time in their lives, so the circumstances surrounding it are terrible. And I must once again emphasise that the result under such conditions does not matter; the most important thing is to preserve human lives. I’m very glad that we still managed to win the match, but at the same time it is very sad that our children, and people in Ukraine in general, have to go through this. Such episodes can affect life at any, even the most unexpected, moment. So it is very difficult and unfortunately there is no positive side to discussing this issue. I sincerely hope that this horror of war will end as soon as possible.
– First of all, I’m pleased with Alaa Ghram’s professional development. I would not say it was unexpected as he has previously scored in a similar way in training. Perhaps what slightly caught me by surprise was that he decided to attempt such a shot in a competitive match. But this is even better for us because players on the pitch, especially those in attacking roles, must score and provide assists, and Alaa Ghram was an excellent example for his teammates today. I’m fully convinced of his progress and that it will continue in the future.
– Moving on to individuals a bit. You already have some competitive comfort in the table, so you can experiment and try things. Bahlai was in goal, he made a great save at the end of the match today, Nazaryna was in central defence again and Shved came on for the third time this UPL season and scored. Could you say something about them?
– First of all, I’m extremely pleased for Rostyslav Bahlai, and I can only endlessly thank our goalkeeping department, which has properly prepared him for his debut at professional level. Yehor Nazaryna is a player who is always focused on the opposition’s goal and, regardless of his position on the pitch, is constantly oriented towards progressing the ball and getting as close as possible to the opposition’s goal. This is an underrated quality in modern football, but in my opinion, it is extremely important and fundamental. In addition, he has a very well-developed long-range shot, so this combination of skills is very useful in the team structure. As for Marian Shved, I’m also very happy for him: he is a footballer who has not received much playing time this season, but at the same time he has greatly impressed me with his professional attitude and respect for the training process. He has always remained positive, in no way has he disrupted the atmosphere in the team or the dressing room, and he has consistently helped the players around him feel at their best. I’m therefore extremely grateful to him and can only applaud and express my respect for his efforts.
– This season it seems that, for the first time, you have had to lead the team onto the pitch four times due to an air raid alert. As a coach, what is this experience like for you and how difficult is it?
– Of course, these are extremely sad circumstances for holding a football match and I’m certain these conditions are close to impossible. In fact, at one point we were informed that the match would be postponed until tomorrow: some of our players had already had dinner, others had taken a shower, so we did everything possible not to be affected by the war in this particular fixture. In situations like this, I’m convinced that a win, a draw or a defeat no longer carries the same meaning. There are things in life that are more important than football. We have a very diverse, international squad: Brazilians, Ukrainians, representatives of other nations and we had to take care of everyone. Many of our young players are facing something like this for the first time in their lives, so the circumstances surrounding it are terrible. And I must once again emphasise that the result under such conditions does not matter; the most important thing is to preserve human lives. I’m very glad that we still managed to win the match, but at the same time it is very sad that our children, and people in Ukraine in general, have to go through this. Such episodes can affect life at any, even the most unexpected, moment. So it is very difficult and unfortunately there is no positive side to discussing this issue. I sincerely hope that this horror of war will end as soon as possible.