24.05.2026 19:21
Arda Turan, who manages Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukrainian League, shared an emotional holiday message.
Shakhtar Donetsk Head Coach Arda Turan shared an emotional holiday message on his social media account.
ARDA TURAN'S EMOTIONAL HOLIDAY MESSAGE
Shakhtar Donetsk Head Coach Arda Turan, who became the 2025-2026 Ukrainian League champion with the team, said the following in his post on social media:
"June 19, 2025. Istanbul-Ljubljana flight. We are setting off for the team's training camp, opening a brand new chapter with so many emotions inside me. I ask myself dozens of questions starting with 'I wonder.' I remember my excitement and, more importantly, my curiosity that day as if it were yesterday.
Today is May 24, 2026. Most of my questions that started with 'I wonder' that day now begin with 'Of course' today. I knew it would be difficult. But I never predicted that the difficulties would bind us together so much. Hours-long bus and train journeys, long waits at border crossings, all the matches we started wondering 'Will it be cut short?,' when we settled into a hotel, searching for the word 'Shelter' before our room number, the matches we won and lost, missing the European final by a hair, our league championship, but most importantly, becoming more of a team with every difficulty, holding each other tighter with every challenge.
I want to thank everyone who made this story possible, especially our president Mr. Rinat Akhmedov, Mr. Serhii Palkin, Dario Srna, Vitaliy Khlivnyuk, all our club professionals, my players who are the number one actors of this success, my entire team who stood by me without asking a single question when I said 'We're going,' our fans, and all football lovers who sent their good wishes and prayers from my beautiful country. And to my whole family. To my dear wife, who keeps us together despite the distances and never withholds her support. And to Hamza and Asil. Your saying 'Dad, we love you so much' is my greatest achievement in this world. I thank you all so much.
The poet said, 'This childhood is like the sky, it never goes anywhere'; now it's time to put the phone aside and be a child with Hamza and Asil, who on my birthday wrote on the first piece of paper they found: 'Dad, we are glad you came, we love you so much, and we missed you so much.'
I wish everyone many happy holidays with their families and loved ones."