Key Points
- Roman Sanzhar became head coach of FC Olimpik Donetsk at the age of 33, one of the youngest in Ukraine.
- The former FC Olimpik Donetsk player fled home twice due to Russian invasion — Donetsk to Kyiv in 2014 and to Australia in 2022.
- He now coaches young children in Sydney, hopes to pursue his career in Australian professional football.
In 2014, players of FC Olimpik Donetsk were forced to flee their hometown due to the war in Ukraine's Donbas region.
The team then spent seven years training on rented fields and playing matches without any fans to support the players. Nevertheless, it was able to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Head coach Roman Sanzhar is now based in Sydney. He had to flee a second time, this time to Australia.
He shared his story with SBS Russian — the challenges before a professional football team in exile, the war that forced his family to flee twice and his goals for professional football in Australia.
Mr Sanzhar is originally from Donetsk, the epicentre of the armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
He started his football career with FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk, a reserve team of FC Shakhtar, one of Ukraine’s most famous football clubs. He also played in the Ukrainian Premier League with FC Metalurh Donetsk, before moving to FC Olimpik Donetsk.
He stayed with FC Olimpik for 15 years, first as the team’s captain and later as its coach. When in 2013, Roman became head coach of FC Olimpik Donetsk, he was only 33 years old. That made him one of the youngest head coaches in Ukrainian professional football.
I was appointed head coach with the condition that I lead the team to Ukraine’s Premier League. We were able to reach that goal within a year.Roman Sanzhar
However, the team wasn’t able to celebrate this major achievement.
It coincided with the start of the war in Ukraine's Donbas region. The team, including all players, staff and their families, had to flee Donetsk for Kyiv.
“We were supposed to host our last game in Donetsk. But for safety reasons, the match was shifted to Berdyansk town on the Azov sea, 200 km away from Donetsk,” he says.
Donetsk was under constant shelling at that time.
Major highways leading into the city were blocked by separatists. Fearing that it may soon become impossible to leave, the players and staff of FC Olimpik Donestk packed overnight and headed for Kyiv.
Donetsk to Kyiv
In 2014, the war had started in Donbas. Anti-government separatist groups backed by Russia had seized administrative buildings and had declared the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
Roman Sanzhar and his family lived close to the Donetsk airport, one of the major battlefields at the start of the armed conflict.
However, Mr Sanzhar recalls that at the beginning, residents of Donetsk just like himself, didn’t take the separatist movement seriously.
It all started with 20 men walking around the streets with separatist flags. No one was taking them seriously.
Mr Sanzhar says that Donetsk was once a peaceful and prosperous city.
However, slowly, the number of pro-Russia separatists was growing and suddenly they started making attempts to take over administrative buildings, the airport and other key infrastructure.
Tension grew around the airport and the TV station. But when the building of the Ukrainian security services was taken over by the separatists, FC Olimpik realised it was time to leave.
“We were returning from a match late at night. On the outskirts of Donetsk, our bus was suddenly stopped by a group of armed men. They were pointing guns, yelling and searching us," Mr Sanzhar recalls.
The team members were shocked and scared.
Mr Sanzhar called the president of the club and requested him to assist with moving all players, staff and their families out of Donetsk immediately.
“We thought we were not going away for a long time. We never imagined this would last for so long. However, we never went back," he adds.
Mr Sanzhar says his parents still remain in Donetsk and live through bomb attacks on a daily basis.
They haven’t had access to drinking water for more than six months now. They try not to leave their house, as bombs keep falling randomly on the streets or over shops and bus stops.
FC Olimpik Donetsk team members after the match celebrating qualification for the UEFA Europa League . Photo supplied by Roman Sanzhar Credit: Supplied by Roman Sanzhar
Football in exile
FC Olimpik Donetsk was a small club. As Mr Sanzhar explains, in its size and status, it came third after FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Metalurh Donetsk.
But it was developing steadily.
Vladyslav Gelzin, the president of FC Olimpik Donetsk, sponsored building a children’s football academy as well as a new stadium. The club started from Ukraine’s Second League and was Mr Sanzhar as its head coach, it was able to qualify for Ukraine’s Premier League.
“We are a small club and it was a major achievement for us. But as we finally qualified for the Premier League, we had to flee Donetsk," Mr Sanzhar says.
As the team moved to Kyiv, they had to start everything from scratch.
The president was looking for a football base to rent for training while the families of the players were looking for apartments and schools for their kids in close proximity to the base.
Mr Sanzhar says he is grateful to the president of FC Olimpik for not letting his team down. Mr Gelzin paid for the relocation and continued paying salaries and the rental fees for the stadiums for the next seven years.
The club's president lost all of his businesses in Donetsk and was experiencing major financial difficulties. But he loved the team and didn’t betray it.
Mr Sanzhar explains that all players were looking forward to qualify for the Premier League. And when it finally happened, they had mixed emotions because on the one hand, they had achieved their goal, but on the other, they had lost their hometown to the war.
“The euphoria of getting through to the Premier League gave us the energy to continue fighting. This helped us to go up to the fourth place and qualify for the UEFA Europa League," Mr Sanzhar recollects.
Proud of his team and its achievements, he says they were able to withstand the challenges they had faced and continued growing professionally.
“We didn’t have any fans to support us during the matches. We didn’t have our own stadium or a football base. Yet, we were able to make our dreams come true," he tells SBS Russian.
Gleb Sanzhar plays for FC Bonnyrigg in Sydney. Credit: Lera Shvets/SBS Russian
Kyiv to Sydney
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr Sanzhar and family were at home in Kyiv. On the second morning of the war, the Ukrainian air defence shot down a Russian rocket and it hit the house next door.
I woke up early in the morning and heard this loud explosion. My wife jumped out of bed and rushed to our children and sheltered them in the bathroom.
The Sanzhar family spent the next few days in bomb shelters before leaving Kyiv for Western Ukraine. Once there, Mr Sanzhar got a call from his cousin in Sydney inviting them to fly over.
In Ukraine, men under 60 are not allowed to leave the country.
“These were the first few days of the war. The border control was in chaos. Maybe that’s why I managed to leave," he says.
The Sanzhars have now been living in Sydney for seven months. Mr Sanzhar is coaching children, mostly from the Ukrainian and Serbian communities, and is planning on opening his own football academy.
His son, Gleb, has joined FC Bonnyrigg and aims to become a professional football player.
Mr Sanzhar says that he is happy to see that Australians love football. He is determined to continue with professional football even though he hasn’t received any offers yet.
I love football. It’s my profession and my life.
"I am learning English now, as I am hopeful I can continue my career here in Australia," he says sounding hopeful about the future after a challenging past.
