On 22nd February 2022, ukrainian National women football team win the Turkish Women’s Cup. Liubov Shmatko, defender born in 1993, comes back home with a flight to Kiev on 23rd February. Everyone is really excited for the winning. Once in Kiev, Shmatko takes a train to Kharkiv, where she plays for WFC Zhytlobud-1, the most winning club of the country. On 24th February Russia invades Ukraine. Due to the war, Liubov is forced to move to Turkey, where she won the Turkish Women’s Cup just few month before, to play for ABB Fomget.
How is your season going at ABB Fomget? How is it to live as a footballer in Turkey?
“My season in Turkey is going well, the season has just started, all interesting games are ahead. Turkey is an interesting country and you need to get used to it: culture, customs and even food is fundamentally different from Ukrainian, so you get used to it over time.”
Last season you were playing for the Kharkiv football team. Was it your choice to move to the turkey football championship or were you forced to move by the actual situation in your country?
“When the war started, I had a valid contract with the Kharkiv team, I worked and devoted myself to this team, and I did not think about Turkey.”
Did you expect what happened last year in Ukraine? In the months before the conflict started, did you prepare in some ways to face the situation as a team?
“A year before the full-scale war, I returned to Ukraine, and having lived this year, I was almost unaware that such a terrible event would take place in my country. As a team, we didn’t feel it either. After the winter break, we prepared for the second part of the 2021-2022 season.”
How did your city and the day by day life of the people living there change in the last few months?
“The city of Kharkiv suffered a lot and suffers every day, as this city is very close to the border. I think the people there have changed a lot, because it is not easy to live and feel fear for your life and family.”
What happened to the Kharkiv football team?
“Currently, the Zhitlobud-1 team does not exist, most of the girls play in other countries and teams. But in the future it will certainly be revived and will show good football.”
In the past year you were also part of the national team who played the world cup qualification matches. Some of the matches were played in 2021, before Russian invasion, and some others, like the one against Scotland and Hungary, were played in June when your country was already at war. How did you manage training and keeping in touch with your teammate in the meanwhile?
“When the war started, Zhytlobud-1 allowed us to transfer to other clubs, it was a good decision, we needed to train and play in order to have game practice for future national team games. Communication was maintained immediately with the girls in our chat. Therefore, we were aware of all the events happening with us.”
Players always talk about the pride they feel wearing the national team shirt. Did your perception of the importance of that shirt change for you before and after the beginning of the conflict?
“When you wear the shirt of the national team, it is a special feeling, but when the war started, this feeling increased and I wanted to prove to the whole world that we are here and we have a full right to life and existence”
“The Champions League is a special tournament. I always want to play against strong teams and thank God I got such an opportunity. And PSG and Real are top teams. I believe that progress can only be made with teams of this level.”
When people talk about women’s football, they always refer to a community of people, due to the common goals that this sport is trying to reach as a movement. Did you feel like UEFA and other european teams were supportive with the situation that football teams in your country had to face?
“UEFA and other teams immediately at the beginning of the war helped Ukrainian clubs or individual players with employment and humanitarian aid. And I want to thank them for that.”
Did you think that as an athlete you have some responsibility to share what is happening now in your country?
“Of course I thought: as our PRESIDENT said, “everyone helps on their own front,” that’s why I tell and show everyone what’s happening in our country.”
Do you plan to go back to Ukraine to play in the future?
“I plan to return in the future, but I don’t know exactly when it will happen. Life is not predictable. Let’s see.”
Giulia Beghini
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