In this special episode of the Euro Leagues, Steve Crossman, Guillem Balague, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Julien Laurens are joined by Sergei Palkin, CEO of Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.
Sergei talks about the challenges facing the club since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – finding somewhere to play their games, convincing foreign players to sign for them and dreaming of returning to the Donbas Arena.
With less than 100 days to go until the World Cup, the panel also discuss how Germany, Spain and France are shaping up.
TIMECODES
00:52 – Less than 100 days until the World Cup
04:33 – Germany and Nagelsmann
11:17 – Spain’s injury worries
15:05 – France and Deschamps spoilt for choice
26:38 – Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin
27:23 – Running a football club in wartime
29:18 – The role of sport in Ukrainian’s lives
31:04 – Using stadiums as shelters
33:12 – Convincing foreign players to sign
37:17 – Trying to maintain the academy
40:20 – Dreams of returning to the Donbas Arena
