Ukrainian Football Club Shakhtar Danisk

Tara Stepanenko is the captain of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Danisk. He was born before the collapse of the Soviet Union and played over 70 times for Ukraine. His life changed when Russia invaded the country in early 2022 but six months on unlike most men his age he's fortunate enough to do his normal job again. Over the course of this series I'll be tracking Shakhtar's unique football journey as they navigate their way through football's toughest contest all whilst there's a brutal war raging on their doorstep forcing them out of their own country.