Serhii Ryzhak, the Ukrainian who arrived in Buenos Aires never having heard of Platense and is now headed to the Maracana for the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals

A ferry packed with fans singing the whole way to Montevideo. Right there, in the middle of that party, stood a 38 year old Ukrainian who didn't speak a word of Spanish and who, a year earlier, didn't even know Platense existed. Today he's just another member of the supporters' group. And now he's getting ready to travel to the Maracana, where Platense will play the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals against Fluminense.

Serhii Ryzhak arrived in Argentina at the start of summer 2025, fleeing a Ukraine scarred by the war with Russia. He settled with his wife and four year old son in the Saavedra neighborhood in northern Buenos Aires, on Ramallo Street. That's where it all began: walking those blocks, he kept running into flags and murals of brown and white squid. He had no idea what they meant. He figured the reigning Argentine champions had to be River or Boca, like always.

He looked it up online and confirmed something he could hardly believe: Platense had been crowned Argentine soccer champion in 2025, just a couple of weeks before he arrived. He later found out the club's stadium was barely half a mile from his house. He checked the schedule, went to the first match he could find, which turned out to be the opening game of the tournament, complete with a drone show and fireworks, and that sealed his fate: this was going to be his team.

From Kyiv to Saavedra, without leaving soccer behind

Before the war, Ryzhak was a Dynamo Kyiv fan. He also has an unusual hobby: visiting as many soccer stadiums as possible. He's already been to 90 grounds and his goal this year is to reach 100. Argentina, he says, makes that pretty easy since there are matches almost every day. The only thing that frustrates him is not being able to travel to away games in the local league because of current restrictions, something that doesn't happen in the Copa Libertadores or the Copa Argentina, competitions where he can follow Platense anywhere.

And follow them he has. He was in Montevideo for the club's international debut, a 2-1 win over Peñarol, traveling on the same ferry the squad itself would take the following day. He also went to Sao Paulo and Coquimbo to follow the team. Looking back on that trip to Uruguay, he remembers something that stuck with him:

The next day, the entire Platense squad traveled on that same ferry. What better way to describe a family club than that? It was truly amazing.Serhii Ryzhak

When his Ukrainian friends jokingly ask him whether he's a Boca fan or a River fan, Ryzhak answers without hesitation that he's Platense. He won't be traveling alone for the match in Rio de Janeiro either: six friends from Ukraine are coming to visit him right around those dates, and they'll all head to the Maracana together.

Platense is going through the best stretch in its history and I'm really happy to be part of this period.Serhii Ryzhak

He won't let himself think about a final just yet, though he knows it would be played in Montevideo, the same city where he already celebrated a win wearing the squid jersey. For now, he'd rather enjoy Platense's three competitions one match at a time. Far from Kyiv, he found in a neighborhood club in Buenos Aires something he never expected: a place to belong.