Ukrainian champion Dynamo Kyiv will be visiting Istanbul for a match with Turkish giant Galatasaray as part of its fundraising tour aiming to benefit Ukrainian orphans.
In a show of solidarity and support to the people of Ukraine, Galatasaray will host Mircea Lucescu’s side on their home ground, Nef Stadium, in a football fundraiser on April 14.
Dynamo manager Lucescu, who previously coached Istanbul’s Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and the Turkish National Football Team, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday that he spent many years working in Turkey, stressing that he knows very well how helpful the Turkish people are.
Decrying the “nightmare” that people in Ukraine have been facing for six weeks, Lucescu said: “We want to show our support to them with the football matches we will play. This war will surely come to an end.”
“I think that sport is a unifying and restorative element in this pessimistic environment,” he added.
The team has mostly camped in southern Turkey’s Antalya after arriving in the country in mid-February for a training camp and was forced to remain after war broke out on Feb. 24.
Lucescu, now living back home in Romania due to the war, said that Dynamo Kyiv will take on Legia Warszawa in Poland on April 12 and then will take on Galatasaray with the slogan “Match for Peace.” The club previously said they plan to have further games against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax and Basel.
Ukraine suspended play in its top-tier football league due to the war launched by Russia. Lucescu clinched the 2021 Ukrainian Premier League title with Dynamo Kyiv.
The Romanian manager is no stranger to Ukraine. Shakhtar Donetsk hired Lucescu in May 2004, kicking off a long-term project. He led the senior team until May 2016 to win local titles and the 2009 UEFA Cup.
Under the helm of Lucescu, Shakhtar Donetsk dominated the Ukrainian Premier League with eight titles.
