Far from the closed face and the staring into the void of the past weeks, Danylo Ignatenko appeared smiling. The Ukrainian midfielder of the Girondins de Bordeaux spoke for the first time this Friday since the invasion of his country by Russia at the end of February. He who arrived at this winter transfer window and who could have found himself, within a few weeks, at the heart of the conflict. His family, until then stranded in Ukraine, was repatriated by the club “thanks to President Gérard Lopez and sports director Admar Lopes”.
“If I could help my country, I would have done it”
“I have friends all over the country, I know all these cities affected by the conflict“, says Danylo Ignatenko. And for good reason: he was born in Zaporizhia, whose nuclear power plant fell into Russian hands. He played at Donetsk, Mariupol and also Dnieper, cities targeted by strikes. Asked about these sportsmen – boxers Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko – who joined the Ukrainian army, Ignatenko responds: “I know that some athletes have taken up arms to defend the country, of course I thought about it. If I could help my country, I would have but I know this situation will last and the best I can do is play.“
This situation will last and the best I can do is play – Danylo Ignatenko
His family was to join him in early March, the war had delayed his repatriation. Gérard Lopez has obviously used his diplomatic relations in Eastern Europe and he would have made a plane available, according to our colleagues from the Team, for this. An initiative welcomed by the interested party even if part of his family lives there : “I still have my father and grandmother in Ukraine so I’m worried.“
My family told me that if I score, they will come out and run from Bordeaux to Paris, screaming! – Danylo Ignatenko
“I want to focus on football now”
Then, after several questions about the conflict in Ukraine, Danylo Ignatenko wanted to talk about football. “I try not to watch the news too much and I want to focus on football. And, no, I didn’t think of breaking my loan in Bordeaux to return to the country“, explains a bit annoyed, the midfielder. He who is “better and better“, said his coach David Guion, and who has been gaining playing time since his arrival.
The shock against PSG, he sees it as a match that “any player dreams of playing“. He even shared a anecdote about his family, if he were to score this weekend : “Of course, I would like to score but not only in Paris. My family told me that if I score, they will come out and run from Bordeaux to Paris, screaming! I don’t know if you know it, but March 13, this Sunday, is my birthday so the best gift is to play against PSG.“If only the stars could hear it.