19.10.2026 18:32
Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Arda Turan spoke about the impact of the war in Ukraine on the team and the difficulties they have experienced ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Inter. Emphasizing that the war should not be normalized, Turan stated that people are dying every day and the world needs to know this.
Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Arda Turan spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the match against Inter in the UEFA Champions League. Speaking from the impact of the war in Ukraine on the team to his memories at Galatasaray, Arda Turan also recounted what happened between him and a fan named Roman who experienced the pain of war at a young age.
'WE WANT TO SHOW THIS' Evaluating his team's situation, Arda Turan said, 'When I came here, I found a team that was talented but needed to build a strong collective identity. In our first season we won the league and reached the semi-finals of the Conference League. Now we want to show that we can also exist in the Champions League. We are talking about a level where details are often decisive, where even a wrong body position can cost you dearly. We have a game system we believe in. We always know what we need to do on the pitch. We want to control the match, have possession and react immediately when we lose the ball. From a sporting perspective, the work we do is extremely difficult. But I do not want this to be perceived as an excuse.'
'SOMETIMES WE CANNOT EVEN GET HOME' Explaining the impact of the war in Ukraine on the team, Arda Turan said, 'We travel for hours by bus and train. There is not enough time left for the players to recover. We barely find time to train. Our trips for European matches take an average of 14 to 16 hours. Sometimes we cannot even get home. We have to take into account not only the burden of the matches but also the fatigue created by these journeys. Maintaining this schedule from a scientific point of view is almost impossible. We are a young team and players with little experience are more vulnerable to injuries. I thank my club. Sometimes they make incredible plans to minimize the impact of the conflict on us.'
'LET THE WORLD KNOW; PEOPLE ARE DYING' Emphasizing that the war should not be normalized, the successful coach said, 'I repeat, I do not want this to be an excuse. But at the same time, we cannot accept this situation as normal. There is a war in Ukraine, people are dying every day and the world needs to know this. People show incredible strength and resilience. They have not lost their joy of living. After spending a night in a shelter, the next morning they can go out and go to work, take their children to school. They refuse to let life stop. In the face of such a people, it would be unfair for us to complain. Football can give these people happiness for a few hours. We are not just a team, we represent the hope of a country.'
'AT 8 YEARS OLD, HE TAUGHT ME LIFE'S LESSON' Also sharing a special memory he experienced in Ukraine that deeply affected him, Arda Turan recounted the conversation between him and 8-year-old Shakhtar fan Roman, who lost his mother in the war. In his statement, Arda Turan said, 'Last year we lost 4-1 to LNZ at home. A day before the match, Lviv had been heavily attacked and people had spent the night in shelters. After the match I was very angry. At one point I found myself in front of an 8-year-old boy. His name was Roman and he was a Shakhtar fan. His house had been bombed, he had lost his mother and he had undergone 35 surgeries. He said to me, Coach, do not be sad. In life there are good days and bad days. You must continue on your way. Considering what he had been through, his perspective on the future was extraordinary. That day I learned one of the most important lessons of my life from Roman. We must respect our profession and do our best to make people happy. But we must never forget that this is a game and that real life is much bigger. Roman reminded me of this. We stay in touch and meet up whenever we get the chance.'
THE MEMORY WITH RIJKAARD Arda Turan, recounting a memory with Frank Rijkaard, who was his coach at Galatasaray, said, 'I give young people unlimited right to make mistakes as long as they remain loyal to our system. I never blame them for a mistake they make while following our principles. I know this because when I was 18-19 I saw the game differently and thought I could solve everything with my talent. At Galatasaray, Rijkaard was my coach. In training I was dribbling past everyone. One day Frank stopped everyone and said, Arda, what is the point of dribbling past 10 people 30 meters outside the penalty area? If you believe in yourself, do it in the final meters. That is where it really matters.'
'I LEARNED FROM SIMEONE, ENRIQUE AND TERIM' Explaining his understanding of coaching and the names he takes as examples, Arda Turan said, 'Defensively I take a lot from Simeone. I learn from him about positioning, compactness, pressing and closing passing lanes. In attack, I am inspired by Luis Enrique in seeking solutions against set defenses. In relationships with players and stress management, I take Terim as an example; in pre-season preparations, our coach Ortega; and in set-piece organization, Burgos. But a coach does not form his identity by being influenced by a single person. You learn something from everyone and then integrate these lessons into your own system.'