Kiev's Football Fever - Museum Quality

When you plan a visit to a city, you typically map out the museums, cathedral, squares and hot restaurants and clubs. I'd like to suggest an addition to that list, namely checking out a local sporting event. That's what I did on my current stay in Kiev, and I'm glad I did.

The Monday night match in Lobanovsky Stadium pitted the hometown Dynamo Kyiv against the FC Metalurh Donetsk in a Ukrainian Premier League match-up. Five of us fortunately bought our tickets just before the big announcement -- famed striker Andriy Shevchenko, the fourth-highest scorer in the history of European club competition, re-signed with his former Kiev team on Friday and would make his debut return at our game! Shevchenko, who had been playing for Chelsea and Milan since leaving the Dynamo, was greeted like Michael Jordan returning to the Bulls.

The 90-minute game stayed relatively close throughout with Dynamo going up 2-1 in the second half. The crowd wildly cheered on their returning star in hopes that he'd score, and that moment happened in the final seconds. Shevchenko, fouled during a goal shot at the end of the game, got a penalty kick with no time left on the clock. He shot; he scored; the crowd went nuts.

It was a good night for the humanitarian-minded striker. Shevchenko, whose family fled their Ukrainian village during the Chernobyl tragedy, has been an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages organization, which has fought to protect children for 60 years now.

Interestingly, the Dynamo Kyiv also boasts a historic legacy for their tragic role in the World War II "Death Match." In short, several team members continued playing amateur ball when the war prevented professional play, and members of the Germany army team challenged them to a match. Calling themselves the Start, the Dynamo players kicked some Nazi ass. In the weeks that followed, the Germans set up more matches with professional teams from Axis countries, and the Start walloped them all, including an 11-0 whipping of the Romanian team. Finally, Germany rolled out their undefeated Luftwaffe Flakelf team, and despite the hype going into the match, the Nazis forbid the papers from publishing the Start's 5-1 victory. Then came the rematch, a.k.a. the Death Match.

Forced to deal with an SS officer as a referee and warnings that they'd better lose, the Start endured a brutal game in which the German team physically abused them without any fouls being called. In one case, they outright kicked the Start's goalie in the head. The Ukrainian team refused to be intimidated and beat the Flakelf once again despite the unfair advantage. A little more than a week later, the Gestapo arrested several of the players and tortured one to death. The others were sent to a labor camp where they were later executed. The team knew such a fate awaited them if they didn't throw the game, but they chose to be killed rather than give the Nazi a victory even on the football field.

This is the legacy of the team I watched play on Monday night in a game that welcomed back the Ukraine's all-time highest scorer. The crowd was as enthusiastic as any college rivalry game I've seen as we sat in excellent, center-section seats that allowed us to watch a gorgeous sunset in the background. And how much did these tickets cost? We paid less than $5 each.

While I have enjoyed the many museums and cathedrals, this football game will certainly stand out as one of the trek's top highlights. In fact, I'm already determined to catch at least one game when I head to South America in November. I've learned that, if you like sports, it's definitely worth seeing a local game for a different yet exciting tourist experience.

Photos by KenGoooal and RedsForest courtesy of Flickr.