Playing Soccer During War: Salvatore Monaco Talks About His Experience in Ukraine on Sky Calcio Unplugged
The latest episode of Sky Calcio Unplugged is dedicated to Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian club that continues to compete at the highest level despite the conflict that has been ongoing in the country for over four years. The team, a semifinalist in the last UEFA Conference League and qualified for the upcoming UEFA Champions League, is competing in the national league under challenging conditions.
In the “Unplugged Bonus Track” segment, Stefano Borghi and Peppe Di Stefano host Salvatore Monaco, Shakhtar’s head of scouting. Monaco describes the main challenges related to the club’s day-to-day management, including air raid alerts, extended away trips, and matches subject to interruptions.
“Getting used to spending four and a half years at war, living with daily alerts and Russian attacks, isn’t easy,” explains Monaco. Travel logistics are the most complicated aspect, because to play in the cup competitions we need to leave the country, and crossing customs sometimes takes three hours. Not to mention the travel: for an away game in London this year, we had to endure a 16-hour train ride.”
Even home games are affected by the situation: “We have four hours from the moment the match starts to finish it, because it’s suspended at every air raid siren. Last year, I remember, we were playing near the heart of the conflict. The day before the match, the hotel where we were supposed to stay was destroyed by a missile. That time I didn’t see a single minute of the game; I was watching the sky to make sure there weren’t any drones or missiles flying through it. After a six-hour trip there and six back, I was so tired that I didn’t notice the biggest attack since the war began in Kyiv. I found out from messages and phone calls the next day.”
Monaco joined Shakhtar in 2021, as part of Roberto De Zerbi’s coaching staff. After the Russian invasion began, he chose to return to Ukraine in August 2022. “That day, I didn’t know it was Ukraine’s Independence Day. I remember arriving at the hotel and reading an article in which the U.S. Embassy was telling its citizens to leave the country immediately because it was Ukraine’s Independence Day, and Russia was going to attack. I got scared, so I asked at the front desk if there was a train to Poland: no luck, everything was full. I had no choice, so I went back to my room, but I didn’t feel like unpacking my clothes. The next day, I saw my colleagues, calm as ever, making fun of my fear. From that day on, I told myself: ‘Sasà, either you live like them or you’d better leave.’ So I decided to unpack my suitcase and stay. That doesn’t mean that when the alarm sounds—especially at night, an alarm that can last twenty minutes or three hours—the panic isn’t hard to manage. I’ve never gone to a bunker, even though the authorities recommend it: I prefer to go out onto the street and see how things are going.”
The full episode featuring the interview with Salvatore Monaco is available on all streaming platforms, on the Sky Sport YouTube channel, and on demand on Sky.
