Mircea Lucescu: "If the players had to go to war, they would have died on the first day"

Dynamo head coach Mircea Lucescu spoke about the war in Ukraine in an interview with Prime Video Sport It.

“With two friends, we insisted on taking the players away. If they had to go to war, they would die on the very first day. And so the players were able to add an image to the country, which continues to live thanks to sports. I was one of those who helped a lot along with the Romanian Federation and UEFA President Ceferin. I was close with Dynamo and Shakhtar players.

We organized a tournament for the world. We traveled from one part of Europe to another to support the preparation of players for the matches of the Ukrainian national team. What we did during this tournament was not for football fans, but for Ukrainians, who needed to feel like a single whole.

Football makes them stop thinking about what's going on, but when I see sad faces, I feel like I have to cheer them up. The only thing that can really cheer them up is the results, the results move everything forward. Pride is the most important thing for them. Responsibility for representing the country right now. Knowing that they train or play not only for themselves, but for the whole country. Football should help people. One cannot live only in fear, poverty, despair, bombings. One more thing is needed. Smiles, emotions. And that's exactly what we're looking for," Lucescu said.