Former coach of Kyiv Dynamo Mircea Lucescu explained why he left the club. According to him, continuing to play football during the war was unrealistic.
“I left Kyiv Dynamo in November last year, the day 50 drones arrived, and it became impossible to continue; I realized it was time for me to go home. I feel sorry for the team, my colleagues, and the players: it is not easy to play football under such conditions.
Holding matches during combat operations? It is very difficult. When I spoke to the players, they understood that it was important to give people a sense of joy. Football is joy, despite all this suffering and the scale of the war; football helped a lot. Previously, we played without spectators and had to announce a minute of silence in honor of the soldiers at the front; it was difficult because everything was happening before our eyes.
We had to play all European matches abroad; even in the league, it was difficult because Ukraine is large, and we couldn't travel by plane or by an 8-hour bus ride: we had to continue showing everyone that, despite the difficulties, life went on,” said Lucescu.
Recall that Lucescu left Dynamo in November 2023. Under his leadership, the players of the capital club played 119 matches, in which they achieved 64 victories and drew 21 times. Dynamo became the champion of Ukraine, won the Cup of Ukraine, and the Super Cup of Ukraine under the coach.
