Ukraine partied on despite national team loss
As the clock ticked into extra time and Ukraine’s hopes of overturning a 1-0 deficit against England dwindled on June 19, a sense of dread crept into the hearts of not only Yellow-Blues supporters, but tournament organizers.
Fellow co-host Poland was already out and now Ukraine was, too. Could the locals really be expected to stay interested in the tournament?
The answer came in the eighth minute of the England-Italy quarterfinal at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium on June 24. The chant started spontaneously before spreading out from its origin high above one of the corner flags: “Oo-kry-ee-nah.” It was louder than anything supporters of the participants could muster up. Even the notoriously deafening England fans had to be impressed.
It was the clearest sign yet that Ukrainians have taken over Euro 2012. Their boys may be out, but fears of a declining interest and swaths of empty seats were proven emphatically wrong.
The tournament had already served its purpose as a powerful uniting tool. Ukraine’s thrilling come-from-behind win over Sweden in their opener sent the nation into hysteria. Chants and horns blared throughout the capital in a sign of unprecedented patriotism.
“We put a lot of Ukrainian flags on the cars, which was something you never saw before,” said Iryna Bekeshkina, a Kyiv-based sociologist. “At our stadiums, people did not divide themselves between Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers. They were together as football fans.”
At our stadiums, people did not divide themselves between Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers. They were together as football fans.— Iryna Bekeshkina, a Kyiv-based sociologist
The bond was strengthened by a clear rallying point: Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko. The 35-year-old striker cemented his status in national lore with a pair of goals against Sweden and become a figure every fan could get behind.
“(Having heroes) is especially important in our divided country,” Bekeshkina said.
Ukraine’s run had its low points, too. A listless two-goal loss to France even drew whistles of derision from the home support. But a hard fought loss against England — which saw Marko Devic’s 63rd minute equalizer ruled out – reunited the populace behind the team and ensured that Ukraine exited the tournament with pride.
“We were proud that Ukraine played football, that they didn’t play anti-football,” said Artem Frankov, editor of Football magazine. “Ukraine showed a very good, attacking style of football.”
The loss provided fans with an excuse to bow out of the tournament equally gracefully. They had, after all, experienced more of an emotional roller-coaster than almost anyone else in the field. Ukrainians had contracted football fever, though, and the party continued.
It helped that the biggest names all made deep runs. Semi-finalists Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy each have a proud history. Seven of the last eight World Cup finals have involved at least one of these four. Portugal is the only side without a major trophy – the rest have silverware other countries would dream of.
“The tradition of our football is very oriented toward foreign football clubs,” Frankov said. Portugal captain “Cristiano Ronaldo is an idol to many of our fans. I think that interest in Europe is great all over Ukraine.”
Ukrainian interest in the Italian game was sparked by Shevchenko’s glory years with AC Milan and remains high. Though it has little connection to Eastern Europe, the Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry may be the best in the world, and the clubs supplied much of the talent on display in the Spain-Portugal semi-final.
Bayern Munich is another club power, and most neutral observers in Kyiv have professed an admiration for the attacking style of the German national team.
There are plenty of reasons to remain engaged in Euro 2012, though Ukrainians needed very little extra motivation. They had already shrugged off plenty of reasons to tune out.
There were wide-spread rumors of corruption during the preparations and seemingly daily criticism from outsiders with limited knowledge of the culture. Instead of succumbing to the negativity, many maintained a boundless optimism toward the tournament.
“For our country, (the tournament) is very important because the government improved the stadiums and transportation and hotels,” said Ukrainian fan Andriy Gnibulsky.
“It is chance to improve our country.”
Part of this opportunity for improvement came from interactions with visitors and, from the start, the Ukrainian people have taken full advantage. This has been a tournament of hospitality. Eager to dispel misconceptions, Ukrainians went above and beyond in their role of hosts.
It was great for the image of Ukraine, to have people from Europe come in. They could see a big contrast (from the media portrayal).— Artem Frankov, editor of Football magazine
“It was great for the image of Ukraine, to have people from Europe come
in,” Frankov said. “They could see a big contrast (from the media
portrayal). They heard about Ukraine as a very bad country … but they
flew into Ukraine and saw that it was a normal country – with problems,
yes, but small problems. There were no problems with the people – people
are our main resource. All of our people were very glad to have foreign
guests.”
“It was great for the image of Ukraine, to have people from Europe come
in,” Frankov said. “They could see a big contrast (from the media
portrayal).
“It was great for the image of Ukraine, to have people from Europe come in,” Frankov said. “They could see a big contrast (from the media portrayal). They heard about Ukraine as a very bad country … but they flew into Ukraine and saw that it was a normal country – with problems, yes, but small problems. There were no problems with the people – people are our main resource. All of our people were very glad to have foreign guests.”
Kyiv has one match left to graciously host: the final on July 1. Don’t be surprised when the Ukrainian fans steal the show.
Kyiv Post staff writer Matt Pentz can be reached at [email protected]
