One of the world’s finest goalkeepers bit his lip and steeled his nerve. Just weeks after prevailing in a Champions League penalty shootout of paramount importance, he knew he faced an even more daunting task.
Finally, he was ready. He stepped forward, and drew his shoulders back. He cleared his throat.
“My name,” he said. “Is Andriy Lunin.”
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Early last week, as Ukraine’s training camp for Euro 2024 entered its middle stage, head coach Serhiy Rebrov and some members of the team’s administrative staff gathered the players together.
There had been previous discussion of how to use the squad’s qualification for the Euros as a way of highlighting the plight of their compatriots back home, 28 months after Russian tanks rolled over the border to set off a war that still rages.
The decision, under the direct supervision of former superstar forward and current Ukraine soccer federation president Andriy Shevchenko, was for 13 players whose hometown had been devastated by bombs and fighting to make an emotional video to be broadcast to a worldwide audience.
Lunin, whose penalty dramatics helped Real Madrid knock Manchester City out of the Champions League, led things off, his voice somber and cracking.
Standing alongside Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, they highlighted their shared home of Krasnohrad, a small city in the Kharkiv region that has been deeply affected by the conflict, the image of their faces interspersed with film footage of heartbreaking scenes from the ravaged region.
Then there was Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, from Radomyshl. Dynamo Kyiv’s Mykola Shaparenko, from the ruined village of Velyka Novosilka. Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, from the bombarded capital, Kyiv. Others featured hail from occupied areas in Crimea and Donbass.
“Making the video was very emotional for the players, and naturally they were crying,” Rebrov told reporters. “Of course, something like this is going to give you a special kind of motivation.
“Football is not the most important thing to our country, but we have the ability to lift up the people of Ukraine. With how we fight in our games, we can support those who are fighting for our country and show everyone the true character of Ukraine.”
Ukraine will take on Romania in its Group E opener on Monday (9 a.m. ET) in Munich, and will later face Slovakia and group favorite Belgium.
Shevchenko wants the players to tap into the widespread support of neutral fans and to become everyone’s “second team.”
“I believe that the team won’t feel alone at the Euros,” Shevchenko told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper. We were forced to play elsewhere, far away from our homeland and our roots, and we have always found a lot of warmth, people who are interested in our history.
“Our qualification is proof that the country wants to live, that it wants to cheer, that it doesn’t want to give up everyday life, that it wants to look beyond the conflict.”
Despite all of its home qualifiers being staged at neutral sites, Ukraine only failed to advance from a qualification group also featuring England and Italy on goal differential.
That pushed it into the playoff gauntlet, where the team booked its place thanks to consecutive 2-1 victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
Lunin is the final cog in a stout defensive set-up, while scoring duties were spread across no fewer than nine different players. With the level of overall ability in the group, advancement to at least the knockout stage of the Euros is a highly realistic goal. Further than that, only time will tell.
“When you have a team that is motivated by something bigger than themselves, they can achieve something special,” FOX soccer analyst and Euro 2020 champion Giorgio Chiellini told me. “This is a team with very good players, but you wonder if they can do something even more. There is no bigger incentive or motivation than this, the will of the people.”
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Rebrov has been treading a fine line with his approach, at times seeking to drive his players to extra effort by engaging in deep discussions about the war and the support received from back home. However, he is also aware that such things can become overwhelming.
“All the players, me personally, are getting lots of messages from our fighters, from our soldiers, from our friends who are now fighting for the freedom of Ukraine,” the coach added.
“I am sure they are very proud of us, we are very proud of them. They are telling us to ‘show the spirit of Ukraine.’ This tournament is really about the spirit of our country.”
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If Ukraine is to go deep, there is no question that Lunin will need to show the sort of inspired form that he produced for Real Madrid while deputizing for first choice keeper Thibault Courtois.
Elite goalkeeping requires intent focus, but Ukraine’s bigger message will never be far from his mind.
When asked by a reporter recently what Ukraine’s struggle meant to the team’s campaign, Lunin paused for a moment before delivering a one-word answer.
“Everything,” he said.
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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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