Away From Home

The Athletic is given inside access to leading Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk as they compete against the world's best teams despite being unable to play at home - in their own stadium - due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The Athletic's Adam Crafton and Joey D'Urso travelled with the team to gather first-hand accounts of the extraordinary challenges in the lives of players and staff as they compete against the world's best players on the biggest stage under unprecedented, ever-changing circumstances.

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Episodes

Episode Six: The road ahead isn't easy

In the final episode, Adam Crafton & Joey D’Urso are joined by producer Abi Paterson in the London studio to reflect on their experiences witnessing Shakhtar's against-all-odds story in the Champions League against the backdrop of war. They are joined by Jakub Parusinski from the Kyiv Independent and Powerlines podcast to learn more about Ukraine's relationship with sport during this war. With the uncertainty in Ukraine, we explore what the future might hold for the club and its star players...

Nov 14, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Episode Five: The impossible game

Shakhtar’s Champions League campaign reaches an epic climax with two decisive fixtures against Celtic and RB Leipzig and head coach Igor Jovicevic promises his team will do everything they can to honour and represent the troops back home. We hear the inside story on young superstar Mykhailo Mudryk, who attracts attention from the world’s biggest clubs. The realities of war remain and we hear the first-hand account of Olena Sukhenko, who lost multiple members of her football obsessed family to Ru...

Nov 14, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Episode Four: Nothing can kill us

Adam Crafton’s trip to Ukraine is aborted as Russia launches a fresh wave of missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities. As the war drastically changes, Adam is with Shakhtar players who desperately await confirmation that their friends and family have survived Putin’s latest onslaught. Amid the anxiety, Joey hears how the coaching staff somehow prepare to face the best team in the world, Real Madrid. In an intensely emotional week, can Shakhtar pull off a sporting miracle? Credits: Presenters: Ad...

Nov 14, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Episode Three: God in the sky

In this episode The Athletic’s Adam Crafton goes into the boardroom at Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk to meet those facing unprecedented challenges to compete in the Champions League whilst war rages in Ukraine. Shakhtar’s CEO Sergei Palkin reveals why his club are suing football’s world governing body FIFA for €50m. The grim realities of war are never too far away, as Adam speaks to one Ukrainian mother, who shares the tragic story of her son, a soldier and promising young footballer,...

Nov 07, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Episode Two: Thank you Croatia

We take you inside the dressing room with Shakhtar Donetsk as they prepare for their next Champions League match against Celtic. Whilst The Athletic’s Adam Crafton follows the team in Warsaw, his colleague Joey D'Urso is in Croatia. He meets with the children from the club’s academy who are kept safe and out of harm’s way, but pine for their friends and family back home in Ukraine. We then return to Warsaw for match day - can the underdogs get another result? We start with an emotional team-talk...

Nov 07, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Episode One: We believe in miracles

In this episode, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton speaks to Taras Stepanenko, the captain of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, as he and his young family take refuge in an underground shelter when war breaks out in Ukraine. Adam also meets with Shakhtar's Croatian head coach, Igor Jovicevic, who was separated from his family when Russia invaded. Meanwhile, as the team prepares for their first match in Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League, we hear from Shakhtar midfielder Ivan Petr...

Nov 07, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing: Away From Home

Introducing The Athletic's brand new podcast series; Away from Home. We have been given rare inside access to leading Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk as they compete against the world's best teams despite being unable to play at home - in their own stadium - due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Over six episodes, we’ll bring you Shakhtar’s story of hope and horror, tales from Kyiv, Warsaw, Madrid and beyond on their Champions League odyssey as they cope with the impact of war. Six episo...

Oct 26, 2022•3 min

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