The Ukrainian football champions Shakhtar Donetsk will start the group phase of the Champions League against FC Porto on Tuesday evening in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. The fans are really looking forward to it – as a visit to the youth training of the Hamburg club KS Polonia shows.
It’s a colorful hustle and bustle here on the artificial turf pitch of the Polish-influenced club, where fundamental things have changed within a year and a half. Until then, only dark male voices could be heard at the Sportowy club’s training sessions because there were only two teams for adults at Polonia, but now the majority are children – children from Ukraine.
Manfred Wolny, founder and chairman of the club from the Uhlenhorst district of Hamburg, stands on the sidelines and smiles as he looks over at the large group of C and D young people who are eagerly chasing the balls under the guidance of three trainers.
Already 80 Ukrainian children at KS Polonia
“In April 2022, two months after the start of the war, a boy from Ukraine came to us and asked about training opportunities for children,” says Wolny, who moved from Polish Silesia to Hamburg in 1987 and co-founded KS Polonia a year later. This started something, said the 61-year-old. Discussions with the Croatia Hamburg club, with which KS shares the pitch, quickly led to the result: “We’re now doing this with youth training!”
Soon after, Polonia became a center of attraction for Ukrainian children. Wolny: “It happened in no time, we already had 50 or 60 children, and more are still coming. Now there are 80, and we have five successful youth teams.”
In which there are numerous fans of Shakhtar Donetsk – like eleven-year-old Mykola, who uses polished technique to distribute the balls skillfully and occasionally nets them himself. He wears the orange jersey of his favorite club, which plays its three group games in the Champions League in the Volksparkstadion of the second division team Hamburger SV. The start is on Tuesday (9 p.m.) against the 30-time Portuguese champions and current title holders FC Porto.
Shakhtar fan Kolja goes to the stadium with his mother
“I’m very happy that Shakhtar is playing in Hamburg – and I’m going! My dad is in Ukraine, but my mom bought tickets. I was really happy when she told me that,” says the small midfielder with shiny eyes. His connection to the club from the mining region of Donbass goes beyond just being a fan. There is also a footballing relationship. Mykola: “When we used to live in Zaporizhia, I played in the Shakhtar Academy there.”
Donetsk played in Warsaw in the preseason
The start of the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country on February 24, 2022 changed everything – for Mykola and many of his current teammates at KS Polonia. But also for Shakhtar Donetsk, the 14-time Ukrainian champion and 13-time cup winner, who is the second most successful club in the country after Dynamo Kiev.
Since then, Shakhtar’s home games have no longer taken place in Ukraine. Last season the club played in Warsaw. However, due to scheduling problems, another venue had to be found.
The game against Barcelona is the top event in Hamburg
HSV offered – and got the contract. The North German second division team takes over the entire organizational implementation of the match days and receives a share of the sales. The highlight of Shakhtar’s guest appearances in Hamburg is the game against FC Barcelona on November 7th.
The opponent for the third premier class game in the Volksparkstadion on November 28th is Club Royal Antwerp from Belgium. According to HSV information on Monday afternoon, 45,300 of the 51,500 tickets have already been sold for the game against Porto.
Mykola’s teammate Tymofii is also looking forward to the games. “I thought it was great that Ukraine played in Bremen and that we saw the international match in the stadium with our club. I think it’s great that a Ukrainian club is now coming to Hamburg. That’s a very good Ukrainian club,” says the ten-year-old in surprisingly good German.
Confidence before the game against FC Porto
During the last summer vacation he was in his hometown of Kiev. “It’s not so good there. I’m often sad about what’s happening in Ukraine. I used to be in the stadium at Dynamo Kiev and saw the game against Shakhtar. It’s almost like HSV against FC St. Pauli.” He will probably watch Shakhtar’s Champions League game against Porto on television, as it will kick off quite late. Timofii believes Shakhtar will win 3-2. “Porto also has a strong team, Pepe is playing there too. I think it will be a great game,” he says.
His teammates are also confident. Mykola is tipping for a 2-1 win, while Mykailo, who comes from Kharkiv, is tipping for a 1-0 win for the club from Donbass, which has been relying on Brazilians since 2002. The current squad of the 2009 UEFA Cup winners (2-1 against Werder Bremen) includes defender Pedrinho and midfielders Eguinaldo and Newerton. The best-known Ukrainians are the national players Artem Bondarenko and Taras Stepanenko.
Volny has learned to love Ukrainian football
Polonia maker Wolny is also looking forward to Donetsk’s game against Porto. The Polish native learned to love Ukrainian football through the demeanor, performances and successes of his players. “I’m going to the game against Porto and will buy some things at the Schachtar fan stand in the Volksparkstadion. We’re already planning for our summer party next year and then I’ll have something for the raffle. It’s always good to have something.”
Manfred Wolny, chairman of KS Polonia, wants to buy Shakhtar fan merchandise at the Volksparkstadion.
The fact that they now have so many Ukrainian children in the club has given a lot of impetus. KS Polonia received the integration prize worth 5,000 euros from the Hamburg Football Association (HFV) and the Hamburg S-Bahn. And this honor in turn may have contributed significantly to the fact that a lot is now happening in terms of infrastructure at the club.
So far there is no clubhouse and the teams change in construction trailers and containers. But in just a few weeks, a shared clubhouse for the KS Polonia and Croatia clubs will be built right next to the playing field. Both clubs will each receive a grant of 150,000 euros from the Hamburg citizenship.
“We always get recognition. Before we didn’t have children, now we have children,” says Wolny, pauses briefly and adds: “I would welcome it if they could go back home to Ukraine at some point. But many will stay.” They have found a sporting home at KS Polonia, the actually Polish club in the heart of Hamburg.
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Hamburg Journal | Sep 19, 2023 | 19:30 o’clock
