Status: 04/26/2022 7:55 p.m
Borussia Dortmund and Dynamo Kyiv set a sign for peace with a benefit match. Although the result of the match was secondary, goals were also scored on Tuesday – more for Kyiv.
When 13-year-old Nikita Semenow passed Erling Haaland at the kick-off, many of the spectators in Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion had a lump in their throats. The junior soccer player from Dynamo Kyiv fled with his mother from an air raid shelter via Poland to Berlin, where he currently lives in an SOS Children’s Village. Now he was allowed to open the benefit game between Borussia and the Ukrainian flagship club.
Blue and yellow instead of black and yellow in the stands
It was just one of many signs of peace, large and small, on a memorable evening. The result between BVB and Dynamo was just a side issue from the start. Where otherwise black and yellow ruled, the colors blue and yellow of the Ukraine determined the scenery that evening.
“Stop War” was written on the boards, and the national anthem played before kick-off. Around 35,000 spectators gave BVB an income of 400,000 euros, which is intended to benefit the victims of the Russian attack on Ukraine. After similar games by the 16-time Ukrainian champions from Kyiv in Warsaw, Istanbul and Cluj, the Bundesliga club probably contributed to the highest revenue from this mission to date.
Ukrainian help for stadium announcer Dickel
Former Bundesliga professional Andrei Voronin thanked for the support. “We hope that we can play games like this again in Ukraine soon. I pray every day that it will be over as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we don’t see the end,” said the long-time Ukraine international.
There was great unanimity in the stands. “Stop War – Stop Putin”, “Save Mariupol” or simply “Peace” was on the posters when the players stepped onto the lawn to the sound of the football anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – the guests each wrapped in a national flag . Ivan Matviychuk from Shakhtar Donetsk U17s, who fled Ukraine with his mother and grandfather and currently lives in Dortmund, helped stadium announcer Norbert Dickel read out the line-ups.
Free tickets for Ukrainians
Ukrainians could book free tickets for the game, and all fans were offered solidarity bracelets. The atmosphere in the stadium affected everyone involved and differed fundamentally from that in competitive games. Contrary to other customs, the BVB fans received the away team with the same warm applause as the home team.
Dortmund’s captain Marco Reus (right) and Sergiy Sydorchuk from Dynamo Kyiv
Image: Treese/imago images
Dynamo chants even from the Dortmund south stand documented the friendly character of the game. Visiting goals by Vitaliy Buyalskiy (9th minute) and Vladyslav Vanat (11th/35th) to make it 3-2 (3-1) for Dynamo Kyiv were cheered on by the fans of both teams. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (4th) and Tom Rothe (65th) contributed the goals for BVB.
For the team from Kyiv, which has been keeping fit near Bucharest since the beginning of the war on the initiative of its Romanian coach Mircea Lucesu, the performance in Dortmund was also a sporting endurance test, despite all the charitable reasons. After all, eleven professionals are in the squad of the Ukrainian national team for the upcoming World Cup qualifier in June. Tests like the one against BVB are therefore an opportunity to gain match practice.
Source: sportschau.de