Manchester City’s Ukraine defender Oleksandr Zinchenko stated this Saturday to the BBC that if he had not fathered a girl, he would have decided to go to his country to fight in defense against the Russian invasion.

Several sports stars, current or retired, such as world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk, have taken up arms.

“To be honest, if I didn’t have my daughter, my family, I would be there,” said the 25-year-old footballer.

“I am very proud to be Ukrainian and I will be Ukrainian for the rest of my life (…) I know my people, the mentality of the people of my country. They would rather die and they will die, but they will not never give up,” he added in an interview given to British television networks, on the eve of the Manchester derby, corresponding to matchday 28 of the Premier League.

Zinchenko recounts how he lived the night the invasion of Ukraine began.

“My wife woke me up and she was crying. She was in shock. She showed me videos, photos of what is happening now in Ukraine,” he explained.

“The closest thing to the feeling I have is maybe when a family member dies. You know, it’s a really bad feeling inside of you. But what’s worse, I did nothing but cry,” she added.

Zinchenko, who played for a year and a half at Russian club Ufa before joining Manchester City, laments the Russian footballer’s silence.

“I am surprised that no one, not one of them” spoke out against the invasion, he said.

“Most of them play in the national team and they have a lot of subscribers on Instagram, Facebook etc. At least they can do something to stop this war, because people listen to them (…) but no, they pretend they don’t there is (a situation). I don’t know why,” he added.

London, England. AFP.

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Qualifying for phase 3 of the Copa Libertadores gave Olimpia great relief on all fronts. In sport, Julio Cáceres’ team closed a great draw against Atlético Nacional de Medellín, drawing in a rematch in Colombia.

To be precise, one of the key points of this match was defender Saúl Salcedo, who stood out in defense along with Antolín Alcaraz, but he was also the creator of the series which gave Olimpia the peace of mind to reach the classification. Salcedo, for an extraordinary night in Colombia, appeared in the ideal eleven weeks of the Copa Libertadores, as published by the contest’s official accounts on social networks.

Apart from the important goals, Salcedo played a great game in terms of numbers. He had one shot blocked, one clearance and won all his aerial duels (3/3). The defender emerged from the sidelines, reached his 100th game with the Dean and scored his first goal at international level.

The CONMEBOL team of the week! #Liberator!

. #Eternal glory @EASPORTSFutbol pic.twitter.com/WANYq2uAYS

— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) March 4, 2022

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It wasn’t just the match between Cerro Porteo and Sol de América that caught the eye today Saturday in the Apertura tournament. The 5th also features a meeting between Resistencia and Guaireña, in “Defennsores del Chaco”, in a game that promises a lot.

A very different reality clash at the start of the championship for the two teams. “Resi” is making waves, with ten units, he is at the top of the table. The other side of the coin is Guaireña, who doesn’t yet know how to celebrate in the tournament and has only added one point in the four games played.

Despite not adding three to three in the last game against Guaraní, Resistencia arrived at the right time, becoming the team with the most goals in the championship (11), ahead of Cerro and Libertad.

In return, those led by Troadio Duarte will attempt to change reality. Guaireña barely scored in the tournament, which reflects his reality in the standings.

A game that promises a lot, and it can come as a surprise because as we all know this is football and anything can happen.

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