In this episode, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton speaks to Taras Stepanenko, the captain of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, as he and his young family take refuge in an underground shelter when war breaks out in Ukraine. 

Adam also meets with Shakhtar's Croatian head coach, Igor Jovicevic, who was separated from his family when Russia invaded. 

Meanwhile, as the team prepares for their first match in Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League, we hear from Shakhtar midfielder Ivan Petryak, who lost a family member to the war with Russia. With all the odds against Shakhtar, can the Ukrainian club pull off a shock victory against the German club Red Bull Leipzig?

Credits

Presenter: Adam Crafton

Producers: Adam Crafton, Abi Paterson, Mike Stavrou

Sound mixing: Ollie Bellwood

Featuring footage from: The Daily, AP, ABC News, Sport BILD, DW News, Al Jazeera, and BT Sport