The statements of the Polish striker Lewandowski were ‘great’, judges Yevgeny Levchenko. Straight from the heart, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lewandowski said, ‘I don’t want to play football when I see people dying.’ That is such a beautiful statement, without many words.’
During the conversation, Levchenko is waiting in his apartment in Amsterdam for such a message from the KNVB, with which he spoke earlier on Monday. Lewandowski is followed. Do not play against Russians and Belarusians, the national association writes. A little later, Fifa and Uefa follow, although they only stick to a suspension of Russians. He abhorred the earlier statement by Fifa, to let the Russians play football under the name Football Association of Russia, on neutral ground, without flag display and national anthem. ‘Terrible. Bizarre. I can understand that Fifa wants to be politically correct and to please everyone, but Russia has crossed all borders. In that doping scandal you could still say: okay, some athletes have not used doping, you can allow them under a neutral flag. But this is so big. An invasion, with many dead.’
You can bet that such a sporty boycott will arrive, thinks the former professional of Sparta, FC Groningen and Willem II, among others. “Sport is so important to Russian heads of state because it allows them to reach the masses. When Putin takes a picture with a great footballer, all supporters of that club are immediately for Putin. Politicians abuse this at all levels, whether it concerns football, gymnastics or skating.’
VVCS, his employer, director Louis Everard, said chairman Levchenko that his head is not turned to union work at the moment. As sad as he is. ‘So empty. Worthless. Powerless.’ Fighting in Ukraine yourself? He has also thought about that. “But I’ve never fought.” As a boy, when he played football at CSKA in Moscow, he had to deal with formal business for two days while on duty. He should learn to shoot now. Then you won’t get a place at the front anyway.
Pray to stay alive
He can do better what he does in the Netherlands. War exists on several levels. He provides information and is active for the Breath foundation, which evacuates children from the affected area. Levchenko was still playing football for Sparta when he got to know Nico de Borst. The Spartan in heart and soul went with him to Ukraine, where he found that there was a need for orphanages. ‘A director there, Sasja, said this week that he doesn’t know, so to speak, whether he is dead or not. Then it is completely dark and the electricity is out. He prays to live.’ The foundation manufactured a blue-yellow captain’s armband, proudly worn on Sunday by Adil Auassar of Sparta. Who knows, more captains will wear the band in the near future.
Levchenko has cut off contact with some friends in Russia because they support Putin. He is half Ukrainian, half Russian. Russian is the language he grew up with. He hasn’t been to Russia for eight years, roughly since the annexation of Crimea. He doesn’t want to make or spend money in Russia, even though he could have made excellent money as an analyst in Moscow during the 2018 World Cup. He would rather let his voice be heard.
In the Netherlands he started to have doubts about norms and values. ‘There are so many letterbox companies in the Netherlands. So many Russians have parked money here. I am shocked by how we think about the balance between the refrigerator, the food, and norms and values. Merchant spirit is good, but you must also have principles, even if they cost you money. Sometimes I have the feeling: money dominates everything here.’
The feeling of living in another world
How does he feel? ‘Like in a horror movie. I feel like I’m living in another world, also because I never expected the war to come. I sleep short but powerful, and unlike normal even remember the course of dreams, because I can’t process certain information. Sometimes I literally think there is shooting outside. Then something is wrong with your psyche.’
His son Kiy sometimes asks sweetly for attention, in Russian. His partner Victoria Koblenko, presenter among others, is also Ukrainian, but more Dutch than him. Levchenko talks about an aunt in Severodonetsk, a town near the border. He speaks to her almost daily. It is a catastrophe, all those deaths, the suffering, the fear. The shops are empty. ‘A friend from Kiev sent a video of 800 meters of queue in front of a shop.’
He thinks it’s all ‘very terrible’, also because ‘many Russians don’t know where they are going. They are brought, dropped, and thought to be on practice. Like raw meat, they are thrown in front of the barrels of guns. Russians ask me what is actually going on. They can’t even use the word war. That regime is so sick.’
As a counterweight to villain Poroshenko
On television, he enjoys President Zelensky. ‘He has defects. I mean, he’s inexperienced and doesn’t have the right people around to run the country. He came to power to counterbalance Poroshenko, who screwed up because he was a crook. It is well said in Ukraine: some politicians get funny. Zelensky has gone from a comedian to a good politician. He has grown as a person, as a person. His communication is good. And he keeps fighting, he doesn’t run.’
For eight years now, Levchenko has expressed his concern that this is more than a conflict. ‘We were dealing with covid, or taxes. It was never widely reported, because it was not news here. No click bait. Now that the conflict has expanded to war and is moving towards Europe, people have been shaken awake. More and more countries understand the danger of this czar. I can’t call Putin otherwise. The people of Ukraine, even if the Russians overthrow the government, will fight like partisans. Sometimes you have to step over your sweet side.’
He asks if he can put on a different shirt for the photo. Yevgeny Levchenko dresses in the yellow-blue of the national team. Jersey number 8. Eight international matches.