'Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp would struggle at Shakhtar, it's amazing what we have achieved' | OneFootball

Club CEO declares “Ukrainian football is alive” as sporting director hails manager and players ahead of Crystal Palace semi-final

Shakhtar Donetsk director of football, Darijo Srna, has said that even Pep Guardiola would struggle to handle the Ukrainian club’s situation as they prepare for their Conference League semi-final against Crystal Palace.

Ukraine has been at war since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 2022 following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The conflict has seen millions of Ukrainian’s displaced, and has meant that Shakhtar have not played at their 52,000 seater stadium, the Donbas Arena in Donetsk, since 2014.

Amid a deeply difficult time for the country, Shakhtar, who have been playing their Conference League home games this season in Krakow, Poland, have provided a glimmer of hope.

Ukrainian football is alive. And we can continue to compete on this high level

Shakhtar CEO Sergey Palkin

Despite having to travel 18 hours to the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium for every European home game, Shakhtar find themselves in a European semi-final.

Srna, who won the 2009 UEFA Cup with Shakhtar, admits that the club did not expect to compete in the Conference League after a disappointing domestic campaign.

Given the circumstances on and off the pitch - they have the youngest manager and the youngest first-team squad in their history - Srna believe it is remarkable that Shakhtar are on the cusp of another European final.

“You know, when we start to play Conference League, I say, I don't like Conference League. But when you arrive in the semi-final, you realise that you did an amazing job. Not just for our players, for our country,” Srna said.

Led by former Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan, Shakhtar are also eight points clear at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League, and the club’s CEO, Sergey Palkin, adds that football is a vehicle through which Ukraine can show how to compete amid the destruction and distraction of war.

“For our people living in Ukraine, having 95 per cent of all news, it's almost negative news. And they're living under big emotional pressure. And for us, to go to the semi-final, it means we can give them some kind of positive emotion,” Palkin said.

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“To understand that we are alive. Ukrainian football is alive. And we can continue to compete on this high level.”

Shakhtar have responded in style to last season’s third-place finish in the Ukrainian Premier League, spearheaded by the goals of 20-year-old Brazilian forward Kaua Elias.

Given the emotional and physical pressures the war has had on the club, Turan has done an excellent job since he joined in May 2025, and Srna admits even Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho would struggle to contend with the situation Shakhtar find themselves in.

“If you bring even Guardiola in Shakhtar now, or Mourinho, or Jurgen Klopp, I don't know how he will manage this situation,” Srna continued.

“Believe me, it's just mentality. For example, after the game [against Palace on Thursday evening], we will go by bus for like four hours to a city in Poland. And after that, we have a train, and we will travel at 4am directly to Kiev.

“We will arrive [on Friday], I think, at 4pm in Kiev. Saturday, we have training. Sunday, a derby against Dynamo Kiev, and immediately after the game we travel the same way back to London.

“This is one case, and believe me, it's been like this for four years.”