‘I will take a gun in my hand’: Former Tottenham star Sergei Rebrov returning to Ukraine to fight
Rebrov will return to Ukraine at the end of Al-Ain’s season
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Your support makes all the difference.Former Tottenham and West Ham striker Sergei Rebrov has said that he will return to “fight ” the Russian invasion of his native Ukraine at the end of Al-Ain’s season.
Rebrov has been in charge of the Emirati club since last June, and has guided them to the top of the UAE Pro League and final of the League Cup.
The 47-year-old, who won 75 caps for his country, has admitted that it is hard to focus on football after Russia’s offensive in his homeland that began on 24 February.
And urging that Ukraine “will survive and win”, Rebrov revealed he will be taking up the fight as soon as he can.
“I have a job here but as soon as my season is over, I will be back home, with my people. As soon as I can, I will go,” Rebrov told The Irish Independent.
“I will fight. Everyone is going into the streets, we are united as a people. The world is asking how Ukrainians can protect their people. It’s because people will go in the streets and fight, everyone is united, we know what we have to do.
“Of course, we are not even thinking about football now, we are thinking about protecting our country. I am very proud of the people, the soldiers who are trying to save our country. We are on the right side, but we have to fight for our freedom.”
Rebrov scored ten Premier League goals in two seasons at Spurs at the start of the century, before spending time on loan at Fenerbahce.
The Ukrainian striker, a long-time partner to Andriy Shevchenko internationally, then spent a season in the Championship with West Ham.
He has also had managerial stints at Dynamo Kyiv, Al-Ahli and Ferencvaros since retiring from playing in 2009.
“Of course I will take a gun in my hand,” Rebrov continued of his plans to fight the Russian invasion. “We will survive. We will win. I see no compromise as there is no compromise with [Vladimir] Putin, he only wants to go to Kviv and show he has occupied our country.
“He has no interest in compromise, we will fight for our people and stay to the end. We are now fighting for our country, we want to decide our fate, not have other people run our country or tell us what to do in the future.”
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