Ten-year-old Ukrainian refugee Danylo is seen during practice with his football club Rapid Wien in Vienna, Austria, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
VIENNA: Ten-year-old Danylo Astion fled Ukraine with his family soon after Russia invaded but his dream of becoming a soccer star lives on in Vienna, where training for one of Austria's top teams has rekindled his lust for life.
Danylo fled Kyiv in March with his family, taking little more than the clothes on his back, his mother said. After a week at Austria's border with Hungary they arrived in Vienna, where friends had invited them to join them.
"He only took one backpack with a football and his boots and nothing else. Our family had one small bag of clothes, we forgot everything else," his mother Giuliana Astion told Reuters.
Danylo had trained with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv and soon after arriving in the Austrian capital they contacted Rapid Vienna, who had him do a tryout. He now plays for their under-11s side.
"We went there with Danylo and I almost cried. He didn't smile for weeks when we were in Vienna and all of a sudden when he started playing again he started laughing and said 'Hey Mama, look, I'm playing again'," she said.
His coach Matus Kukla says he is one of the top players in his year and is blossoming after his time in Ukraine, where young players are pushed harder.
"Life in Vienna is so-so. If I could, I would go back to Ukraine. Two friends are in Italy and two friends are in Spain and some friends stayed there (in Ukraine)," Danylo said, adding that he hoped one day to play for Real Madrid or Rapid's Austrian rival Red Bull Salzburg.
In the meantime, he is following the World Cup, where Argentina will face France in the final on Sunday, with both hoping to secure their third title.
"I hope for France to win," he said.
