It seemed easy, we just had to let them score at least one more goal than us (much better if they scored against us) if we wanted to live. We had to hand over the game we loved so much to them, the same ones who came to Kiev to force us to be their slaves, to polish their boots, to serve them their dishes; the ones who took my neighbor to a concentration camp, the ones who took our children and women to experiment with them, the ones who keep us prisoners while they move around the soccer field as if they were the owners of the house.
Four years ago I left my village for Kiev to work in the state bakery 3, not very big but known for selling the best Pampushkas in town. At first there was only work as a sweeper in the shop but eventually I was able to become an oven assistant. Kordik, the owner of the bakery was forming a soccer team, I told him that in my village I played as a goalkeeper, he gave me a tryout and that's how my story in the great Dynamo of Kiev began. We were the best in Ukraine, in the whole planet, nobody could beat us, only the war put an end to our destiny.
With the war little was left of Dynamo, we all went to the front to defend the country against the Nazis, three of the boys died in the fight, the rest of the invaders made us prisoners in our own home. But here we are, we regrouped in the concentration camp, three boys from Lokomotiv, once our sporting rivals, joined the team: FC Start. Maybe with a rifle we did not achieve our goal, but with a ball we were invincible and the Germans knew that.
They created the league to crush our morale, they knew the reputation of the Ukrainian footballers they were holding prisoners and wanted to prove that the Nazi army was also superior on a green rectangle. What our captors do not know is that we were free on the pitch, we felt that no superior force would stop us, here we are the masters of the house and no invader is able to beat us.
One by one we won the matches against the league teams: 6-2, 11-0, 9-1 only the Hungarian front gave a fight, we beat them 3-2. With each victory the pride of the Ukrainian people grew and our morale strengthened like a rock as fear took hold of our captors. We reached the final against them, the Luftwaffe Flakelf, a dirty game machine and an ode to anti-football. Just before we took the field they threatened us: If you beat us you die, knowing the caliber of the Nazi army we knew that it would not be difficult to keep that promise.
I as captain of the team gathered them together and told them: "this is the situation, if we win they will shoot us and if we lose we will live a few more days. So I say to you guys, if our destiny is to die then let's do it by beating those who have us here." It was evident that the Germans wanted to win at any price, they reduced our food rations, malnutrition was rampant among us, we were not allowed to practice, much less receive medical attention. The table was set for the great Nazi victory.
We went out onto the field with our heads held high, with the same pride with which we refused to raise our arms and salute Hitler. The referee was also on the German payroll, we could tell from the start of the game by the extreme dirtiness of the Nazi army players. But our desire to win overcame any blow, any fracture, the illusion of seeing them humiliated in front of our people is our north.
They started by scoring a goal, their euphoria was remarkable, they felt on cloud nine. It was time to pay them back with the same coin. Foul near the big area and on our side is the best free-kick taker in Europe. Kuzmenko drew the most beautiful parabola I have ever seen, a goal that made our opponents tremble and inflated our morale beyond infinity. Soon after came the second and the third, the first half ended with us up 3-1 and them frustrated as hell.
The second half was frenetic, the team of German soldiers attacked with fury and desperation, they were more concerned about crushing us on the field than defending, so every goal they scored we replied with another one. The game was about to end, the referee could not extend the actions any longer, the Germans had neither the capacity, strength nor the courage to defeat us. Those final minutes were the best of my life, that is what I remember now, standing here at the edge of this hole with the firing squad in front of me, that game is the reason why I love soccer so much, to the point of losing my life rather than give in to the threats of those who do not know how to play it.
