“I just wanted to play football, now I’m in the middle of a war.”
The Incredible Story of Abdullah Dogan (25). The former third-division footballer from Werder II traveled to Kharkov/Ukraine at the beginning of the week to sign a contract with first-division side Metalist. When he wanted to fly back to Bremen on Thursday because of passport problems and the worsening situation, the war had begun…
Dogan: “If I had known what was going to happen, I would never have traveled here. I am shocked. I saw tanks and helicopters at the airport.”
Air traffic has been suspended since then. The German citizen is stuck in the second largest city in Ukraine and is mainly in the Metro shaft. Including: an 11-kilo suitcase and huge worries.
Dogan: “I sleep on the subway because gunshots are heard outside. It seems safer than apartment buildings.”
At Werder he played under coaches like Skripnik, Nouri and Kohfeldt, played with Maxi Eggestein and Niklas Schmidt. But now it’s not about football anymore, it’s about survival.
Dogan: “I’m afraid that I won’t see my fiancée and my siblings again. I am very worried about my life.”
He and his family desperately try to ask the German embassy for help. But the agency in Kiev is closed, and the situation is unclear.
His appeal to the authorities: “I’m an emergency. Please get me out of here!”
When BILD reached him again at 7:10 p.m., he said: “The Russians are nearby. I have to flee.”
