2011 Ukraine (Kharkiv)
Between tournament days, improvisation was needed. Team manager Martin Gresch (WDR) dries the laundry on the fence. Tournament in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. A picture from peaceful times (2011) – back then there was no war in the country.
Juan Yanez (WDR, front) is encouraged by the friendly Ukrainian lady to join the drum roll. A picture from the opening ceremony of the tournament in Kharkiv (2011). In the background Mathias Brandt (guest player from the German development agency GIZ).
Into the games with a drum roll.
Not quite the typical football entourage, but not really Ukrainian either.
Oleksandr Yaroslavsky is regarded as a moderate oligarch and has invested a lot of money in the city’s infrastructure and in FC Metalist. The “King of Kharkiv”, as he is called in a documentary by a Polish journalist, says he pumped 300 million dollars into the preparations for the European Championship.
Opening ceremony.
Colourful picture with oligarch: in the middle, Oleksandr Yaroslavsky.
Lining up for the welcome. In the background the FC Metalist stadium.
Surely one of the first matches. Looks almost a little dynamic.
On the ball for over 70 years: Ralf Klemm (38).
Stefan Fuckert (RTL, boxing) is actually a combat sportsman. But at the tournament at FC Metalist in Kharkiv (Ukraine, 2011) he showed that he can handle the round leather too. First he impressed as goalkeeper; later in the tournament he even became a goalscorer!
The ball has been given a monument at the edge of Svobody Square – on behalf of all the balls in the world.
Sketch of the FC Metalist stadium.
Typically German: a suit for the stadium tour.
The Lenin statue on Svobody Square, one of the largest squares in the world: 12 hectares, 750 m long. Postscript: the almost ten-metre cast-iron statue was toppled by pro-Ukrainian demonstrators in 2014.
Market stalls in front of Svobody Square.
“Derzhprom”, the House of State Industry, on Svobody Square.
Blue and yellow are the colours of Ukraine and of FC Metalist.
Walking out, the stadium in the background.
The FC Metalist stadium.
On Svobody Square, or Freedom Square, in Kharkiv – one of the largest squares in Europe.
7-12 June 2011 in Kharkiv
That's how it started. Our first tournament abroad. Until then, the team, which had already played together in the eighties, had mainly played around the WDR regional studios in Dortmund and Cologne, often in the Sauerland or in the Siegerland.
This time the journey was a bit longer. Flight to Kiev, then the most exhausting part: with a minibus to Kharkiv.
We were received as friends . And promptly invited to further tournaments.
In terms of sport, we showed right from the first time where the hammer hangs: At least not with us.
About the tournament:
- Give me an "H" by Martin Gresch
2023 Armenia