Welcome to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this episode, co-hosts Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson bring their second and final part of their series on the Death Match, one of the most mythologized football games of all time.
Occurring in Nazi-occupied Kyiv, Ukraine, this match between Start, a team formed mostly of former Dinamo Kiev players, and Flakelf, a Luftwaffe team, has become a symbol of resistance. The hosts discuss the brutal context of the occupation, the complex legacies of the players, and the role football played in these extraordinary historical circumstances. Jonathan Wilson critically examines how much of the narrative is based on verifiable facts and how much may have been post-war Soviet propaganda.
This episode provides a nuanced understanding of how football intersected with geopolitics, resistance, and national identity during one of history's darkest periods.
00:00 Introduction to the Death Match Series
01:27 Historical Context: Nazi Occupation and Football
02:26 The Rise of Team Start
03:07 Early Matches and Growing Tensions
04:21 Embarrassing Defeats for Axis Teams
05:28 Public Perception and Propaganda
06:29 The Turning Point: German Concerns
14:13 The First Clash with Flakelf
18:05 Setting the Stage for the Death Match
26:06 The Referee's Influence and Game Dynamics
27:10 Halftime Tensions and Orders to Lose
28:39 Second Half and Controversial Moments
32:35 Post-Match Arrests and Interrogations
35:50 Life in the Prison Camp
43:10 Escape and Kyiv's Liberation
44:33 Legacy and Mythology of the Death Match