On 2 May 2014, Shakhtar beat Illichivets 3-1 on Matchday 28 of the UPL. At that time, no one could have imagined that this match would be the Pitmen's last at the Donbass Arena. Mykola Pavlov, who at the time was in charge of Illichivets, shared his memories of the difficult time.
Nikolai Pavlov"On May 9, tanks started driving through Mariupol, tyres were burning, there was shooting in the city. Bullets were flying everywhere!".
- Mykola Petrovych, the match between Shakhtar and Illichivets took place on May 2, 2014, when separatists seized administrative buildings and power structures. Wasn't the team scared to go to Donetsk?
- Earlier, on April 6, we played in Luhansk against Zorya. On that day, the separatists seized the SSU building there. Also, at that time there was already tension in Mariupol itself: the building of the UVD was burnt down, the military, including my acquaintances, were killed. It is hard to remember it.
I remember when Mariupol was getting uneasy, the team started to talk about the relocation. At that time we played all away games, but we lived and trained in Mariupol.
Illichivets" management was looking for an option in Dnipro, but the conditions there were horrible. I had Dima from Mariupol on the coaching staff. I gathered the team, the management and said: "Dima, you have a wife and two small children in Mariupol. Do you think we should leave?". He answered: "Nikolay Petrovich, it seems to me, it is better to stay for the time being, but we should be ready to leave at any moment. Better - towards Berdyansk, and from there to Zaporozhye".
I said: "Guys, Dima has two children and he is not going to leave yet. There is no need to panic prematurely. So the residents of Mariupol will stay and we will run away? It would not be nice. But if any of you are scared, you can go, I won't hold anybody by force.
In the end, no one left, everyone stayed. It was after the game in Kyiv at the NSC Olimpiyskiy, I do not remember who we played with, four people left the team and did not return. I don`t want to name them.
- Were you scared at that moment?
- On May 9, tanks started rolling through Mariupol, tyres were burning, there was shooting in the city. That day I called the guys and told them not to come to training and not to look out the windows. Bullets were flying everywhere! The guys were renting flats mostly in the city centre, where all the "heat" was. The separatists were already walking around with submachine guns in the streets, collecting tribute in the shops. That was when it was really scary.
We were in touch every two hours to make sure everything was OK. The situation in Mariupol was tense for about a month and a half before the city was liberated on 13 June.
"In Mariupol they also tried to hold a pseudo-referendum, I immediately said: "If I find out that someone went there, I will kick them out of the team".
- Did you think that the conflict in Donbas would drag on for a long time and escalate into a full-scale war?
- Of course not. I thought it would be over rather quickly. No one could have imagined then that the war would be so long and bloody.
- 2014 was not an easy year in terms of civic engagement. At Zorya, Rafailov revealed his true face, at Shakhtar - Marmazov. Was there any separatist sentiment in your team?
- I have not noticed. In my team there was only Ukraine and I did not allow other opinions. In Mariupol they also tried to hold a pseudo-referendum, I immediately said: "If I find out that someone went there, I will kick him out of the team". At Illichivets no one supported the separatists.
- Let's remember the team's way to the match with Shakhtar? Did the separatists check the checkpoints too much, what attitude was there? Andriy Pyatov had to even take a photo at the checkpoint with the separatists, and then he had a long time to justify himself for it. Have you had similar episodes?
- At that time it was not clear at all where there were separatists and ours. People at checkpoints were dressed differently, without uniforms or identifying signs. On the way to Donetsk, the bus was inspected superficially, but I remember another incident more.
Simferopol's Tavriya, the last game of the Ukrainian championship in Crimea, also played against Illichivets! So my team was involved not only in Shakhtar's last game at the Donbass Arena. I remember how we were travelling by bus to the Crimea, and some Illichivets players started taking pictures of the enemy checkpoints on their phones. Then the big "green men"(this was the name given to the unmarked Russian soldiers who took part in the armed annexation of Crimea - editor's note) came in and said: "If someone takes pictures, they will stay here! Everybody understand?!". That's when it was really scary.
"I read Budanov's statements and look forward to good news in the summer."
- Let's go back to May 2, 2014. What was the atmosphere like in Donetsk then?
- We lived in a hotel near the stadium in the centre and I don't recall much unrest. But it was already gloomy, there was tension in the air and an incomprehensible feeling of unease. I didn't hear any shots, it was harder in Mariupol than in Donetsk - there was constant shooting and bursting of shells. When we were training, we constantly heard the sound of artillery fire, it was the norm for us.
- Matches were playing in Donetsk, but not in Mariupol. Didn't you feel offended, because if Illichivets played at home, we could have kept that great line-up?
- Of course! "Volyn and Chornomorets refused to come to us. If their head coaches Kvartsyaniy and Hryhorchuk were not afraid to come to Mariupol, Illichivets would have played at home and we would have saved the team. But God be their judge. Probably, they were frightened though the situation in the city was calm then. A year later Mariupol started to play at home and nothing terrible happened.
However, the whole team ran away in winter and we opened Shaparenko, Konstantyn Kravchenko and Zurab Ochigava. This trio ended up at Dynamo, Shaparenko and Kravchenko are still playing in the UPL. There would be no happiness but unhappiness helped, but we do not need such unhappiness.
- When you see photos and videos of the abandoned Donbass Arena, what are your feelings?
- For me it is a disaster. I am talking not only about the Donbass Arena, but also about Mariupol, because I worked there for seven and a half years. After my coaching career was over, I never celebrated my birthday in Kyiv - I always went to Mariupol. My birthday is on the 20th of June and the 13th of June is the day of liberation of Mariupol.
On that day I always went to the cemetery to the graves of the guys who died defending the city. Only last year, alas, I could not go there because of the full-scale invasion. Mariupol means a lot in my life.
- When do you think Shakhtar will play at the Donbass Arena again and you will return to Mariupol?
- I read Budanov's statements (Kirill Budanov - the Ukrainian military commander, the Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, major-general - editor's note) and wait for good news in the summer. I also want to go to Crimea, to Donbass Arena, and, of course, to return to Mariupol, continuing its traditions. I believe that something good is about to happen. We are waiting for a counterattack!
Andrey Piskun
