As the wind blows through the devastated streets of Donetsk, there are broken walls as far as the eye can see. The city had endured eight years of relentless shelling before the official start of the Ukrainian-Russian war this year.
This is also the eighth year of the Donetsk Miners' wanderings.
In August 2014, the Miners' home stadium, Donbass Arena, was shelled by Russian forces, forcing the team to embark on eight years of wandering. 2022-23, the Miners officially entered their ninth season of wandering. The war-torn miners did not lose heart, and during this period the miners were either champions or runners-up in the league, and remained the dominant team in the Ukrainian Premier League. In these nine seasons, the miners entered the Champions League eight times.
group stage (including this year's 22-23 season), and even broke through the group stage to reach the round of 16 in the 14-15 and 17-18 seasons
The miners, like a tree that stood firm in the midst of the war, became a symbol of the resilience of the people of Donetsk. It was also at this difficult time that a small flower silently blossomed on this tree.
Mykhaylo Mudryk has so much to carry. The road ahead is a haze, and he can only move forward slowly with the anticipation of his tattered homeland; without an immortal to show him the way, all he can rely on is himself.
He must lean on himself. For, every pair of war-torn eyes is watching him and leaning on him.
He has to be a voice that cannot be ignored in this day and age.
Andriy Shevchenko was one of the brightest stars of the star-studded 2000s. He represented an era that brought Ukrainian soccer to the eyes of the world. The nuclear warhead on his feet destroyed the dreams of as many late-blooming heroes as there were young ones because of him.
No one can question his influence and status in Ukraine and in the world of soccer.
But after that?
Ukraine hasn't produced another soccer superstar with such slaughtering power as Shevchenko.
Andriy Shevchenko, the greatest Ukrainian footballer of all time
The boat of Ukrainian soccer sails slowly down the river of time, with generations of new Sheva's rising and disappearing, Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka taking up the heavy baton. 10 years have passed, and the people are still thinking about Shevchenko, still waiting for their new Sheva to appear.
The blonde boy soars on the wind, and he sees the anxieties, worries, and hopes of the people. Especially in such a war-torn country, people need a new hero.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, 21 years old, bravely stepped onto the green field, his hometown in ruins, but the will of the people was not destroyed. He put all his hopes into the ball on his feet and ran with all his might, cutting through the opponents' defenses like a comet, like a swimming dragon. His footsteps covered the European continent, and his eyes were fixed on a higher stage, where he had already reserved a place for himself.
His skill as a dribbler has quickly attracted the attention of the big boys, who prefer to call him the new Neymar rather than the new Chevalier.
The first couple of seasons he played in Europe, he didn't get much of a chance to play. In his first couple of seasons, he didn't get much of a chance to play in Europe, but he attracted attention from all over the world with his flamboyant style of play.
Despite having full potential, Mudryk's soccer career has not been a smooth ride.
