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FC Shakhtar Donetsk

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Article Genealogy
Parent: FC Dynamo Kyiv Hop 4
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FC Shakhtar Donetsk
ClubnameFC Shakhtar Donetsk
Founded24 May 1936
GroundDonbass Arena (temporarily unavailable), Arena Lviv (temporary home)
Capacity52,187 (Donbass Arena), 34,915 (Arena Lviv)
ChairmanRinat Akhmetov
ManagerMarino Pušić
LeagueUkrainian Premier League
Current2023–24 Ukrainian Premier League
Position4th

FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a professional football club based in Donetsk, Ukraine, and is one of the country's most successful and prominent teams. Founded in 1936, the club has won numerous domestic titles, including a record number of Ukrainian Premier League championships, and achieved significant success in European competitions, most notably winning the UEFA Cup in 2009. Owned by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov since 1996, the club is renowned for its distinctive policy of recruiting talented Brazilian footballers, which has shaped its modern identity and playing style. Due to the War in Donbas and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the club has been displaced from its home city since 2014, playing matches in various cities including Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv.

History

The club was originally founded as Stakhanovets Donetsk in 1936, during the era of the Soviet Union, and underwent several name changes before becoming Shakhtar, meaning "miner," in 1946. For most of its history in the Soviet Top League, it lived in the shadow of its great rival, FC Dynamo Kyiv, though it did win the Soviet Cup four times, with notable victories in 1961 and 1962. The club's modern era began with the independence of Ukraine and the acquisition by Rinat Akhmetov in 1996, whose investment transformed it into a domestic powerhouse. Under managers like Mircea Lucescu, who led the team from 2004 to 2016, the club won its first UEFA Cup in 2009 and dominated the Ukrainian Premier League, breaking the long-standing hegemony of FC Dynamo Kyiv.

Honours

The club's trophy cabinet is among the most extensive in Eastern Europe, headlined by its victory in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final against Werder Bremen. Domestically, it has won the Ukrainian Premier League numerous times, along with multiple Ukrainian Cup and Ukrainian Super Cup titles. In the Soviet era, it secured four Soviet Cup victories and was a runner-up in the Soviet Top League on two occasions. The club has also won the now-defunct Commonwealth of Independent States Cup and has been a frequent participant in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the knockout stages on several occasions, including a run to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals in 2020.

Stadiums and facilities

The club's historic home was the Shakhtar Stadium, but in 2009 it moved to the state-of-the-art Donbass Arena, a UEFA elite stadium that hosted matches during UEFA Euro 2012. Due to the War in Donbas, the club was forced to leave Donetsk in 2014 and the Donbass Arena was damaged by shelling. Since then, the team has used several stadiums as temporary homes, including the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, the Arena Lviv in Lviv, and the NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv. The club's training base is the modern Kirsha Training Centre, located outside Kyiv.

Players

The club has been defined by a long-standing strategy of signing and developing talented Brazilian players, a policy initiated under Mircea Lucescu. Notable Brazilian stars who have played for the club include Fernandinho, Willian, Douglas Costa, and Fred, many of whom moved on to major European leagues. The squad has also featured prominent Ukrainian internationals such as Andriy Pyatov, Taras Stepanenko, and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. The club's academy has produced talents like Mykhaylo Mudryk, who transferred to Chelsea F.C. in 2023.

Rivalries

The club's primary and most intense rivalry is with FC Dynamo Kyiv, a contest known as the "Ukrainian Clasico" which decides domestic supremacy. Matches between these two clubs are among the most watched events in Ukrainian football. A strong regional rivalry also exists with Metalist Kharkiv and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, though the latter has diminished following Dnipro's financial difficulties. Historically, during the Soviet period, there were significant matches against Moscow clubs like Spartak Moscow and CSKA Moscow.

In European football

The club is a regular competitor in UEFA competitions, with its greatest achievement being the 2009 UEFA Cup win, secured with a victory over Werder Bremen in the final in Istanbul. It has frequently participated in the UEFA Champions League, with memorable campaigns including runs to the quarter-finals in 2011, where it lost to FC Barcelona, and the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals in 2020. The club has recorded famous European victories against teams like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Manchester City F.C., and A.S. Roma.

Category:Football clubs in Ukraine Category:Ukrainian Premier League Category:Association football clubs established in 1936