De Zerbi and the Italians of Shakhtar leave Kiev safe out of Ukraine

Roberto De Zerbi and Shaktar Donetsk staff members have finally left Kiev and are in a safe place. After days of anxiety about the fate of the former Sassuolo coach, the news arrived last night that the group had left the capital (they were stuck in a hotel when there was the Russian military attack) and are headed for the border. . De Zerbi is in contact with the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, who acted as an intermediary with Uefa decisive for this operation, as for others in recent days.

The train escape

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De Zerbi first made sure that he had secured his Brazilian players, and then together with his staff formed by second-in-command Davide Possanzini and collaborators Michele Cavalli and Giorgio Bianchi, as well as by the sporting director Carlo Nicolini, he left in train from Kiev to Lviv, to then reach Hungary and finally return by plane to Italy. “In these hours, President Ceferin is taking action in the first person to help many people in our world by proving to be a great leader – said the president of the FIGC Gravina yesterday -. The situation is critical, in the hope that a ceasefire will soon be reached, however we have taken steps to be able to embrace Roberto De Zerbi and his staff with whom I am in constant contact as soon as possible in Italy “.

Fear

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De Zerbi and his team landed in Kiev on Thursday on their way home from a retreat in Turkey and wanted to travel to Kharkov in eastern Ukraine for the away match against Metalist. The resumption of the championship after the winter break has been suspended indefinitely due to the Russian attack on Ukraine. De Zerbi, in office since last summer, had reported explosions from Kiev. The 13 Brazilians playing for Shakhtar left on Saturday for Romania with their families. Shakhtar are based in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, but have not been able to play home games in Donetsk for nearly eight years due to the ongoing war in the region. The Donbass Arena, built for the 2012 European Championship, was badly damaged. Since then Shakhtar have played in Lviv, Kharkiv and most recently in Kiev.