FC Shakhtar Donetsk facts for kids
 |
||||
| Full name | Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Hirnyky (Miners) Kroty (Moles) |
|||
| Founded | 24 May 1936 | |||
| Ground | Arena Lviv, Lviv Oblast (for 2024–25 season). Previously Donbass Arena, Donetsk (but not used since 2014 due to war in the Donbas region) Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen (European cups) |
|||
| Capacity | 34,915 | |||
| Owner | Rinat Akhmetov | |||
| General Director | Serhiy Palkin | |||
| Head coach | Marino Pušić | |||
| League | Ukrainian Premier League | |||
| 2023–24 | Ukrainian Premier League, 1st of 16 (champions) | |||
|
||||
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk, or FC Shakhtar Donetsk, is a professional football club from Ukraine. The team was originally based in the city of Donetsk. However, because of the war that started in 2014, the club had to move. They played matches in Lviv (2014–2016) and Kharkiv (2017–2020), while their main office and training areas were in Kyiv. Since May 2020, Shakhtar has played home matches at NSC Olimpiyskyi in Kyiv. For the 2023–24 season, Shakhtar is playing home matches at Arena Lviv once again.
Shakhtar has played in many European football competitions, often joining the UEFA Champions League. In 2009, they became the first club in independent Ukraine to win the UEFA Cup. This was the last year before the competition changed its name to the Europa League. FC Shakhtar Donetsk is one of only two Ukrainian clubs to have won a major UEFA competition; the other is Dynamo Kyiv.
The club used to play its home games in Donetsk at the Donbas Arena. But because of the war in 2014, the team had to move about 1000 kilometers west to Arena Lviv for a while. After the winter break of the 2016–17 season, the club moved again to the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, which is about 250 kilometers northwest of Donetsk. From May to July 2020, Shakhtar played home matches at NSC Olimpiyskyi in Kyiv.
Shakhtar Donetsk is one of Ukraine's most popular football clubs, especially loved in the eastern Donbas region. The club has a long history, going back to the beginning of Soviet football leagues. It is one of the oldest clubs in Ukraine.
Contents
History of FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Club Names and Their Meaning
The team has played under different names:
- Stakhanovets (1936–1946)
- Shakhtyor (Shakhtar) (1946–1992)
- FC Shakhtar (1992–present)
The name "Shakhtar" (or "Shakhter" in Russian) means "coal miner." This name is very important because the club is from the Donets Basin, an area famous for underground coal mining. In 1936, local football teams from Horlivka and Stalino (now Donetsk) joined to form a team called Stakhanovets. This name came from the Stakhanovite movement, which was about workers doing more than expected, like the famous coal miner Aleksei Stakhanov.
After World War II, the club changed its name to Shakhtyor, which is the Russian version of "miner." When Ukraine became independent in 1992, the club officially used its Ukrainian name, Шахтар Донецьк, or Shakhtar Donetsk in English.
Early Years: The First Two Decades
The Shakhtar club was first formed on April 3, 1936. It was called Stakhanovets at first. The first team was made up of players from two other local teams, Dynamo Horlivka and Dynamo Stalino.
Their very first game was on May 12, 1936, against Dynamo Odesa in Horlivka. Stakhonovets Horlivka lost 3–2. Their first league game was on May 24, 1936, against Dynamo Kazan, which they lost 4–1. Even with a tough start, the club improved a lot by the end of the 1930s.
During the 1941 "war championship," which was stopped suddenly, the club was doing very well, even beating Soviet champions Dynamo Moscow. Many players went to fight in the war and sadly did not return.
In July 1946, the club changed its name to Shakhtyor. The word "shakhtar" refers to a miner working in a deep mine shaft. In 1951, Shakhtar had its first big success, finishing third in the USSR Championship. A key player was Aleksandr Ponomarev, who was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year. After being moved down a league in 1952, Ponomarev became the coach. In 1954, Shakhtar won the Class B League and returned to the top league.
Winning Cups and Becoming Strong in the Soviet League
In the 1960s, under coach Oleg Oshenkov, Shakhtar reached the USSR Cup final three times, winning it in 1961 and 1962. Because of this success, the club was nicknamed "The Cup Team."
Later, from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, Shakhtar achieved even more. In 1975, they finished second in the USSR Championship, which allowed them to play in European competitions. They also won the "Progress Cup" for improving the most in the league.
In 1979, the team finished second in the league again. Their captain, Vitaliy Starukhin, was the top scorer with 26 goals and was named Soviet Footballer of the Year. Other important players included Mykhaylo Sokolovskyi, who played the most games for the club, and goalkeeper Yuriy Dehteryov.
Shakhtar won the Soviet Cup twice more, in 1980 and 1983. In 1983, they also won the USSR Super Cup. They even reached the quarter-finals of the 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Independent Ukraine: The Akhmetov Era Begins
When Ukraine became an independent country, Shakhtar and Dynamo Kyiv became the top teams. In 1995, the club's president, Akhat Bragin, passed away. In 1996, Rinat Akhmetov became the new president and invested a lot of money into the club.
Even though they often finished second in the league, Shakhtar won the Ukrainian Cup three times: in 1995, 1997, and 2001. Many players at this time came from the club's own youth system.
In 1999, a Shakhtar football academy was opened, where about 3,000 young players train. In 2000, Andriy Vorobey was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year. That year, Shakhtar played in the UEFA Champions League for the first time.
First League Championship
The club won its first ever Ukrainian Premier League title in the 2001–02 season with coach Nevio Scala. They also won the 2001–02 Ukrainian Cup that year. Key players included captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, striker Andriy Vorobey, and midfielder Hennadiy Zubov. Tymoshchuk was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year.
.jpg)
In 2004, Mircea Lucescu became the new manager. He quickly won the 2003–04 Ukrainian Cup. Three months later, the club reached the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time. Lucescu's plan was to find young, talented players from Brazil for the attack, while using Ukrainian players for defense to meet league rules. Because of this, Shakhtar became known as "the most Brazilian club in Europe."
They won their second Premier League title in the 2004–05 season. They won the Premier League again in the 2005–06 season and also won their first Ukrainian Super Cup.
Shakhtar won the Premier League title again in 2007–08, and also the Ukrainian Cup. The number of fans attending Shakhtar's league matches grew steadily, with an average of 36,983 spectators in the 2011–12 season.
UEFA Cup Victory and Ukrainian Dominance
.jpg)
In 2009, Shakhtar became only the second Ukrainian team to win a European competition. They won the UEFA Cup by beating Werder Bremen in the final. This made them the last team to win the UEFA Cup before it was renamed the UEFA Europa League.
Shakhtar won the Premier League title in the 2009–10 season. The 2010–11 season was very successful. They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which was their best performance in that competition at the time. They also won three domestic trophies: the Premier League, the Ukrainian Cup, and the Super Cup.
They continued their success by winning the Premier League and Ukrainian Cup in the 2011–12 season. Key players at this time included captain Darijo Srna, defender Yaroslav Rakitskyi, and Brazilian midfielders Fernandinho and Willian.
In the 2012–13 season, Shakhtar won the Premier League, the Cup, and the Super Cup. Henrikh Mkhitaryan became the league's top scorer, setting a new Ukrainian championship record with 25 goals.
Player Changes and the Impact of War
Before the 2013–14 season, many of the club's top players were sold for high prices. Shakhtar then focused on bringing in new young players. Even after selling key players, Shakhtar set a new record for Eastern Europe in season ticket sales before the 2013–14 season.
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Shakhtar won the Ukraine Premier League and the 2014 Ukrainian Super Cup.
Because of the war in Donbas, Shakhtar had to move and play its games temporarily in Arena Lviv. This led to much lower attendance at their matches. In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, Shakhtar finished second in their group and moved to the next stage. Striker Luiz Adriano set records for goals scored in a Champions League match and in the group stage. Shakhtar finished second in the 2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League.
In the 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League, Shakhtar beat Dynamo Kyiv 3–0 in Kyiv, setting two new records for the "Klasychne derby" (the rivalry between these two teams). After the 2015–16 season, long-time manager Mircea Lucescu left, and Paulo Fonseca became the new coach.
In the 2016–17 season, the club won the league, the cup, and the supercup. They then moved their home games to the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv. In 2017–18, they won the league and cup again. In the 2018–19 season, the club won the Ukrainian Premier League for the third time in a row. In 2019–20, Shakhtar won their fourth league title in a row and reached the semi-finals of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
Club Facilities
Until 2009, Shakhtar played most of its games at the RSC Olimpiyskyi stadium in Donetsk. On August 29, 2009, their new stadium, Donbas Arena, was opened. It is located in the City Park of Culture and Recreation and can hold 50,149 people. It has a UEFA five-star rating, which is the highest possible.
Shakhtar's old home, the central Shakhtar Stadium, built in 1936, is now used by the club's reserve teams.
A mascot mole (since "moles" is a nickname for the club) entertains fans during home matches. Before the 2013–14 season, Shakhtar sold 27,000 season tickets, a record for Eastern Europe.
From 2014 until the end of 2016, because of the war, Shakhtar played its home matches at the Arena Lviv. After the winter break of the 2016–17 season, the club moved to the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv. Shakhtar played their 2022–23 matches in the Champions League and Europa League at Stadion Wojska Polskiego in Warsaw because of the 2022 invasion. They are set to play their 2023–24 UEFA Champions League matches at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany.
Training Centre
Shakhtar Donetsk has its own training facilities for its main team, reserve team, and youth academy at the Kirsha Training Centre.
Because of the war in eastern Ukraine, Shakhtar's temporary home for matches has changed several times. Their training facility is now the Olympic Preparation Training Base "Sviatoshyn", located about 20 miles from Kyiv.
Youth Academy and Reserve Teams
The club used to have several reserve teams that played professionally. By 2015, these teams were no longer in professional competitions. However, the club still has its youth Shakhtar U-21 team, which plays in the Ukrainian Premier League youth championship. Shakhtar also has a football academy with four teams for teenagers. Since 2012, they also have a team for the U-19 championship.
During the Soviet times, the club had a youth team called Shakhter-D Donetsk. This team later became FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk and joined the Ukrainian First League.
Due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the youth academy has moved to Split, Croatia.
Club Crests and Colours
The club's first logo was designed in 1936. It was a blue hexagon with a red 'S' in the middle and a jackhammer. In 1946, the logo changed to black and white and included the club's name. In the mid-1960s, the logo showed two crossed hammers with "Shakhtar Donetsk" written in a circle. This crest was added to the team's uniform and has been there ever since, except for a few seasons in the early 1990s.
In 2007, when the club's new stadium was presented, Shakhtar's new logo was revealed. For the first time in over 30 years, the crossed hammers, which are traditional symbols of the club, were back on the crest. Also, for the first time, the name was written in Ukrainian instead of Russian.
Since 1961, the official colours of the club have been black and orange.
Kit Suppliers and Shirt Sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1992–98 | Adidas | Carlsberg |
| 1998–05 | DCC | |
| 2005–06 | Lifecell | |
| 2006–07 | SCM | |
| 2008–21 | Nike | |
| 2021– | Puma |
Supporters and Rivalries
Shakhtar has a passionate fan base. In the early 2000s, a more intense style of fan support, similar to "hooliganism" from England, became common at Ukrainian stadiums. In 2003, during the final of the Ukrainian Cup, there was a big clash between fans of Dynamo and Shakhtar.
Another rivalry was with Metalurh Donetsk. This was another local club, and games between the two Donetsk teams were called the Donetsk derby. However, Metalurh stopped existing in July 2015.
In Soviet times, Shakhtar also had rivalries with Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Tbilisi from Georgia. Another interesting rivalry, the Donbas Derby, is with Zorya Luhansk. In the early Ukrainian championships, there was also a rivalry with Chornomorets Odesa, known as "Miners vs. Sailors."
Club Achievements
Ukrainian Competitions
Soviet Competitions
European Competitions
UEFA Club Ranking
UEFA Rankings since 2004
Football Club Elo Ranking
Friendly Competitions
Team Awards
|
Individual Player AwardsMany players have won individual awards while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk. Soviet Footballer of the Year
Footballer of the Year in Baltic and Commonwealth of Independent States
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year
Ukraine Premier League MVP
Armenian Footballer of the Year
Polish Footballer of the Year
Soviet Goalkeeper of the Year
Club Loyalty Award
Romania Coach of the Year
|
Current Players
First Team Squad
|
|
|
Players on Loan
|
|
Retired Numbers
| No. | Player | Nationality | Position | Shakhtar debut | Last match | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Darijo Srna |  Croatia |
Right back | 12 July 2003 | 13 September 2017 |
Coaches and Club Management
| Administration | Coaching (senior team) | Coaching (U-19 team) |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Presidents and Other Officials
Presidents
- 1989–1994: Ivan Haivoronskyi
- 1992–1995: Akhat Bragin
- 1996–present: Rinat Akhmetov
Chairmen of the Board
- 1990–1992: Oleksandr Kosevych (chair of the board)
- 2006–present: Oleh Popov (chair of council of directors)
Vice Presidents
- 1994–1995: Ivan Haivoronskyi
- 1994–2000: Ravil Safiullin
- 1998–present: Borys Kolesnikov
General Directors
- 2004–present: Serhiy Palkin (financial director in 2003–2004)
Director of Football
- 2020–present:
Darijo Srna
Player Records
Top Goalscorers
As of 21 May 2016
| # | Name | Years | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Luiz Adriano |
2007–2015 | 77 | 16 | 32 | 3 | 128 |
| 2 |  Andriy Vorobey |
1998–2007 | 80 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 114 |
| 3 |  Vitaliy Starukhin |
1973–1981 | 84 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 110 |
| 4 | Mykhaylo Sokolovskyi |
1974–1987 | 87 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 105 |
| 5 | Brandão |
2002–2008 | 65 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 91 |
| 6 | Alex Teixeira |
2010–2016 | 67 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 89 |
| 7 | Ihor Petrov |
1982–1991 1994–1996 1998 |
70 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 84 |
| 8 | Serhiy Atelkin |
1990–1995 1996–1997 2000–2002 |
61 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 82 |
| 9 | Template:Flagname Viktor Hrachov |
1980–1981 1982–1990 1994 |
65 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 80 |
| 10 | Oleh Matvyeyev |
1992–1995 1996–2000 |
61 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 78 |
- Other – National Super Cup
Most Appearances
| # | Name | Years | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darijo Srna |
2003–2018 | 339 | 48 | 137 | 12 | 536 |
| 2 | Mykhaylo Sokolovskyi |
1974–1987 | 400 | 63 | 18 | 4 | 485 |
| 3 | Andriy Pyatov |
2007–2023 | 301 | 39 | 131 | 11 | 482 |
| 4 | Serhiy Yashchenko |
1982–1995 | 384 | 51 | 8 | 1 | 444 |
| 5 | Taras Stepanenko |
2010– | 260 | 31 | 91 | 11 | 393 |
| 6 | Yuriy Dehteryov |
1967–1983 | 321 | 47 | 10 | 0 | 378 |
| 7 | Dmytro Shutkov |
1991–2008 | 267 | 56 | 24 | 0 | 347 |
| 8 | Valeriy Rudakov |
1974–1986 | 277 | 44 | 16 | 3 | 340 |
| 9 | Valeriy Yaremchenko |
1966–1978 | 297 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 337 |
| 10 | Viktor Hrachov |
1980–1981 1982–1990 1994 |
282 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 331 |
- Other – National Super Cup
Notable Coaches
| Years | Name | Trophies |
|---|---|---|
| 1952–56 | Aleksandr Ponomarev |
1 Soviet First League |
| 1960–69 | Oleg Oshenkov |
2 Soviet Cup |
| 1979–85 | Viktor Nosov |
2 Soviet Cup 1 USSR Super Cup |
| 1995 |  Vladimir Salkov |
1 Ukrainian Cup |
| 1 August 1996 – 30 March 1999 | Valeriy Yaremchenko |
1 Ukrainian Cup |
| 30 November 1999 – 12 October 2001 | Viktor Prokopenko |
1 Ukrainian Cup |
| 1 January 2002 – 18 September 2002 |  Nevio Scala |
1 Ukrainian Premier League 1 Ukrainian Cup |
| 17 May 2004 – 21 May 2016 |  Mircea Lucescu |
8 Ukrainian Premier League 6 Ukrainian Cup 7 Ukrainian Super Cup 1 UEFA Cup |
| 31 May 2016 – 11 June 2019 |  Paulo Fonseca |
3 Ukrainian Premier League 3 Ukrainian Cup 1 Ukrainian Super Cup |
| 12 June 2019 – 12 May 2021 | Luís Castro |
1 Ukrainian Premier League |
| 22 September 2021 – 11 July 2022 | Roberto De Zerbi |
1 Ukrainian Super Cup |
| 14 July 2022 – 8 June 2023 | Igor Jovićević |
1 Ukrainian Premier League |
League and Cup History
| Tier | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top League (tier 1) | 44 | 1991 | 5 times to Europe |  3 (1971) |
| First League (tier 2) | 7 | 1972 |  3 (1972) |
never |
| Group V (tier 3) | 3 | 1937 | 1 (1937) |
never |
| 56 years of professional football in Soviet Union since 1936 | ||||
| Tier | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League (tier 1) | 33 | 2023–24 | 28 times to Europe | never |
| 33 years of professional national football in Ukraine since 1992 | ||||
Soviet Union League Performance
Ukraine League Performance
European History
Shakhtar Donetsk has played in European competitions since 1976. They played their first European game against Berliner FC Dynamo in the UEFA Cup. Since 1997, the club has played in UEFA competitions every year. They first took part in the UEFA Champions League in 2000. Shakhtar Donetsk played against Arsenal, Lazio, and Sparta Prague when they first reached the group stage in 2000–01.
| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup / UEFA Champions League | |||
| 2010–11 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by  Barcelona 1–5 in Barcelona, 0–1 in Donetsk |
|
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | |||
| 2008–09 | Winners | defeated  Werder Bremen 2–1 in Istanbul |
|
| 2015–16 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Sevilla 1–3 in Seville, 2–2 in Lviv |
|
| 2019–20 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Inter Milan 0–5 in Düsseldorf |
|
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | |||
| 1983–84 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Porto 2–3 in Porto, 1–1 in Donetsk |
|
| UEFA Super Cup | |||
| 2009 | Runners-up | defeated by Barcelona 0–1 in Monaco |
|
See also
In Spanish: FK Shajtar Donetsk para niños
