Grim reality of war sends Shakhtar Donetsk to London for ‘home’ Champions League clash
The morning has thinned out into low, wispy cloud. Beneath it, Shakhtar Donetsk’s players are going through their paces. Arda Turan observes from the side, watching with the director of football, Darijo Srna. A stray ball zips towards them and Srna, after juggling it up, bends it into the goal with a familiar right-footed arc. “Modric!” exclaims Turan. But the two men are football legends in their own right and, as they continue to joke, the thought occurs that this happy scene could be played out almost anywhere else. Nearby, just beyond the team’s accommodation, a lake shimmers under the emerging sun.
