Shakhtar Donetsk eyes Düsseldorf for Euro Cup home games amid Russian invasion

A leading Ukrainian soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk  is set to continue its European campaign on foreign soil due to ongoing conflict in Ukraine, The National reported on Feb. 29.

Shakhtar plans to host their Euro Cup home matches next season in Germany again, but they will play in Düsseldorf instead of Hamburg this time, said Serhii Palkin, the general director of Shakhtar Donetsk.

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"In Hamburg, they’ve not had Champions League football for 20 years,” said Palkin. “It was an experiment for us and it worked.”

“Before we played in Germany, we spoke to the people there and they liked the idea,” Palkin explained. “It was a risk but we played Royal Antwerp and 40,000 people turned up – 90 per cent of them German. We didn’t know what the reaction would be to us, but the German people supported us. And they supported us more when we played well and beat Barcelona.”

“And next season? We can’t play in Ukraine, we have plans to go to Düsseldorf,” Palkin concluded. “I hope this will go ahead." 

Read also: Shakhtar Donetsk salvages draw with thrilling last-minute goal in Europa League playoffs

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine