Dynamo Kyiv are one step away from one of the greatest stories in modern sport

On the playing fields of a sports complex in the Polish spa town of Uniejow, a team are preparing for a vital Champions League qualifier among groups of children taking part in summer soccer schools.

Dynamo Kyiv – 29 times league champions and one of football’s great names – have not played a league fixture this year due to the ongoing war in their native Ukraine, and have suffered practical and emotional upheaval that they could never have imagined a year ago.

Yet here they are, 180 minutes from the group stages of the Champions League. They have already knocked out Fenerbahce and Sturm Graz and should they squeeze past Benfica, who won the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, it would be one of the greatest stories in modern sport. 

The first leg is in Lodz, Poland, tonight/on Wednesday, with the return in Lisbon next week.

Before and after these sessions – which are open to the public – players and coaches mingle with youngsters and holidaymakers, signing autographs and posing for pictures.

Guided by their remarkable boss Mircea Lucescu, who is 77 and who has been a head coach for more than half his life. 

Having worked for 12 clubs including Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo’s major rivals, as well as Inter Milan, Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg and the Romanian and Turkish national sides, Lucescu has forgotten more about football than most of his peers will ever know.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Lucescu has been far more than a mere football manager. The Romanian helped arrange for his Ukrainian players, and some of their family members, to leave the country and continue their careers. 

He has been at once a father, a counsellor, a teacher and a politician, at a stage of life where he could have chosen to step back and return to live quietly in his home city of Bucharest.

‘How could I possibly have retired in this situation?’ argues Lucescu, speaking exclusively to Sportsmail from Uniejow. ‘It was the same when I was at Shakhtar and there was conflict in the Donbass region during the last decade.

‘Maybe you have opportunities to leave immediately but you stay because in times like these you have to give everything you have to the situation. I couldn’t retire. It would make me an idiot.

‘My experience of football and life can help these young people a great deal. I can use what I have learned to help people who are scared and have not known situations like these before.

‘I have a duty to stay on my feet, set an example, not give up. I give myself that responsibility. It’s the most complete experience of my career. I can’t imagine going through anything like this again in the future.’ 

Dynamo’s results are all the more impressive given their lack of competitive action. Instead, Lucescu’s players have effectively become a touring side – ‘a nomad team’ in their manager’s words – playing friendlies across Europe.

Not only did the matches help keep the players’ eye in, they brought together members of the Ukrainian community in the various European countries, and raised funds for the humanitarian effort at home. 

Since late June, Dynamo have taken on clubs from Switzerland, France and Belgium, as well as facing Everton at Goodison Park on July 29. 

They have also returned to Kyiv since the outbreak of war ‘because we wanted to give hope to people, to show them that life could continue,’ explains Lucescu.

‘It has not been easy to prepare for competitive games in these circumstances,’ he continues. ‘Look at the squad Fenerbahce have, with players who have competed in England, France, Germany and Italy.

‘But my players feel a sense of responsibility for those still in Ukraine, for their family members there and those who are involved in the war. They have great enthusiasm for these games but also huge motivation.

‘They are preparing for these games away from their families and it is difficult, but still we have hope. It is hard but it will help the players a great deal with their life experience.

‘We play our European fixtures in Lodz in Poland and then on August 23 the domestic season begins in Ukraine. It is important for life that we continue. Ukraine is these players’ country. Even if they are a bit fearful, the players must understand they are an example for the whole population.

‘During the pandemic, cinemas were closed, theatres were closed, but after a certain period football restarted and people could watch it on TV. It’s the same in Ukraine – people love football and it has to restart at a certain point.’ 

Travelling across the border for every domestic fixture will be just another challenge for a squad who have handled so many already. 

Lucescu and the club hierarchy are considering moving their temporary base to Krakow, which is closer to the frontier with Ukraine but still nearly 600 miles from Kyiv.

They will be missed in Uniejow. The children who play alongside them today will always remember the days when they rubbed shoulders with Champions League players. Lucescu, meanwhile, believes these unusual circumstances have even benefited his squad.

‘It’s not like a training complex at a top European club, where you have your pick of 10 or more different pitches,’ he smiles. ‘There are lots of tourists and others who watch the sessions.

‘But we’re here, the kids are here, and this is how we’ve prepared. You certainly won’t find me complaining about it.

‘It’s no problem at all for us. To be around these kids, to feel their enthusiasm, is something that can help us and still helps us.’