Nice touch from him - drew quite a crowd. Shakhtar are a great club so augurs well that he's so highly thought of.
The club shop hasn’t seen such a crowd since long ago. Hundreds of football fans have come here to thank the now ex-midfielder of the Pitmen for the years he spent at the Donetsk club, to take a picture and get an autograph. By five o'clock in the evening (the event was postponed for an hour due to a change in the flight timetable), the queue reached well beyond the Fan Shop and stretched to the granite ball!
When Ferna appeared in front of the fans, the audience burst into applause.
- Good afternoon! – the Brazilian said in Russian, and then, apparently, because of the excitement, he switched to Portuguese. - I am very happy to be back here again to see you. The eight years of my work at Shakhtar are over. I want to thank all the fans, just all of you for coming here. It’s a great pity, but I'm leaving. However, I hope that you will continue to root for me!
- Of course! – the fans responded. After that, Fernandinho’s communication with the fans turned into a tete-a-tete. Each supporter approached the ex-Pitman, told him some kind words in return for an autograph and a photo as a memento. Some have shown resourcefulness. For example, dear young lad Anna came to Ferna ... with his own football boot! As the lady fan told us, the Brazilian had given her his boots a couple of years earlier, after a match with Olexandriya. Today, Ferna put his signature on the boot and confirmed with a smile: ‘It’s mine!’
One of the fans came up with the ball, using which Shakhtar beat Chelsea in the last season's Champions League edition. The first autograph from the Brazilian was received by the nephews Dmytro Mustofayev and Vlad Shapovalov. Vladislav, by the way, came from France.
- I come to Donetsk only during my holiday time, I visit my grandparents here. I’ve been Shakhtar’s fan since my childhood, I continue to support my home team, even when living far away, - said Vlad.
According to the boys, they joined the queue for the meeting with Ferna at noon. But it was well worth it.
- Fernandinho has made a great contribution to our team’s performance. He is a quality player and a great individual. He faithfully served Shakhtar for eight years, so I think he deserves a star on the Walk of Fame, - says Dmitriy. - Just a great chap! May God keep him and help him with everything. We'll certainly be rooting for him in the future. Ferna remains in our hearts.
The fan Anton has managed to acquire a shirt of Manchester City with Fernandinho lettering on its back.
- As soon as I learnt that he moves to Manchester City, I immediately ordered the shirt. Ferna is my favourite player at Shakhtar. I never supported anyone in England before, but now I am going to support the Man City. I am sure that Ferna will strengthen the team. He could play in any league.
In order for Ferna to gave his autographs to everyone, we would have had to postpone the kickoff of Shakhtar vs Zenit. It’s a joke. But the people formed a solid ‘wall’ around the Fan Shop, determined to leave not until they see Fernandinho. And he found a solution! Ferna went to the balcony overseeing the southern entrance to the Donbass Arena, and from there, he said goodbye to the fans. It was obvious that the player was overwhelmed with emotions. Please read on our website with what feelings the Brazilian returned to Donetsk shortly.
