Remember the Blue & Yellow: Soccer, War, and the Pride of a Nation

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

No team has ever faced a more impossible task than the Ukrainian Men’s National Soccer Team. On Feb. 23, the team was a month away from playing Scotland, with a trip to the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the line. The following day, their lives and the lives of their countrymen were changed forever when Russia invaded Ukraine, with catastrophic results. Many thousands have died, millions have been displaced, and incalculable damage has been done to Ukraine’s towns and cities. It’s against this backdrop that manager Oleksandr Petrakov and his players embarked on a journey to qualify for the World Cup. Wright Thompson followed the team over the last six months, in nine different countries, including the embattled Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as the Ukrainians showed the world their country’s enduring spirit and commitment, and how crisis and conflict revealed their true character. It’s the subject of the latest E60 special: “Remember the Blue & Yellow” which debuts this Sunday at 5:30 pm ET. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So, right, Thompson, the date, May 19th, 2022, the 85th day of war in Ukraine, why was
0:10.1	that in particular significant for you?
0:14.1	That's the first time I ever sat down with Alexander Petrokov, who is the head coach of
0:20.2	the Ukrainian national team.
0:22.7	And we were in this beautiful hotel in Slovenia.
0:33.9	He kind of looked around at the chirping birds and the trees and the big tall skies and was
0:39.5	just ashamed and disgusted that they were in this luxurious place, preparing to play soccer
0:45.3	games while his countrymen were in foxholes and trenches.
0:53.1	He had a reputation that preceded him.
0:56.5	He famously once handled an eight-question press conference in 37 words.
1:03.1	And so I was a little nervous.
1:06.7	First, I was like, let's just get this guy talking.
1:10.3	And then, I mean, he was like a warrior poet.
1:16.1	When this is over and the war is over and Kiev is its old vibrant self again, what do
1:23.7	you most look forward to doing?
1:31.9	I don't even know what to say.
1:34.6	I'd walk around Kiev for a couple of hours.
1:38.5	I'd visit churches.
1:41.9	Our city is very beautiful.
1:45.1	I love Kiev very much.
1:47.2	For me, it is the best city in the world.
1:55.0	They are in an existential fight for their survival.
	...

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