GENEVA (AP) — If ever a European soccer club deserves the good fortune of gaining a favorable position in the Champions League, it certainly is. Shakhtar Donetsk.
Not only in the recent Champions League, but also in the Greek League and League scottish The weekend’s league matches gave Shakhtar the advantage in what can be a complicated qualifying round for football’s most coveted club competition.
Ukraine’s new champions will bypass the danger of three Champions League qualifying rounds in July and August and go straight to the elite 36-team main competition starting in September.
This should result in UEFA awards of at least 35 million euros (approximately $41 million) for clubs deprived of income during matches. Russia’s war against Ukraine Now in my 5th year. Shakhtar since 2014 expelled from Donetsk by the first wave of the Russian-backed conflict.
“I think we deserve to be in the Champions League,” Shakhtar CEO Sergey Palkin told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Tuesday. “We are sending a message that our club will continue to represent Ukrainian football with dignity.”
Palkin said Shakhtar’s success was both a “declaration from the club” and a “moment of pride” for the Ukrainian people.
Therefore, we would like to express a big thank you from Ukraine to Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as AEK Athens, Heart of Midlothian and Celtic.
How Shakhtar made it to the Champions League
Short version: Shakhtar had to win the Ukrainian Premier League. Neither Olympiakos nor Rangers could win the domestic title. The winner of the Champions League had to have already qualified for next season.
By Sunday, the three pieces were in place.
In Greece, Olympiakos drew and leaders AEK Athens won to clinch the championship.
In Scotland, Rangers’ hopes of winning the title ended with a loss to Celtic, who were in a head-to-head with Hearts.
Shakhtar won their 16th league title with a 4-0 victory over Poltava. However, direct qualification to the Champions League, which was usually available before the war when Ukrainian football was stronger and richer, is no longer available.
Ukraine next season Ranked 23rd among UEFA member countries For club team performance. As a result, entries to European contests will be reduced and the level will be lower.
There was an entrance from the back door. When a team that has already qualified for next season wins the Champions League — e.g. PSG or Arsenal? May 30 — Entries held for title holders will be reassigned to national champions in the qualifying round. Highest in UEFA club rankings.
That was Shakhtar, who ranked 45th with 56.25 ranking points and improved their place by advancing to the semi-finals of the conference league, but Olympiakos, who ranked 36th, and Rangers, who ranked 38th, failed to win the domestic league.
The wait for the club was tense.
“It’s been almost a month trying to understand what we’ve been tracking in the Greek and Scottish leagues,” Palkin said.
Brazil regains power
Shakhtar’s past success, winning the UEFA Cup in 2009 and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2011, has been with a core of Brazilian talent including Willian, Luiz Adriano, Fernandinho and Fred.
Some of the next generation left in 2022. FIFA relaxes restrictive rules Regarding player contracts. There are currently 12 Brazilians in Shakhtar’s squad, with Marlon and Pedrinho the only ones over 23 years old.
“We’re not selling them any comfort, and they understand that,” Palkin said of the team, which plays its domestic games in Lviv and its UEFA games on neutral soil in neighboring Poland’s Krakow.
Palkin claims it’s like being with a Brazilian family in Ukraine. “They will be in their own environment, their own language and culture.”
coach arda turan
Arda Turan, 39, a former Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona midfielder, arrived to revive a Shakhtar team that finished a surprising third in the league a year ago.
“He is a coach with our DNA. We understood the kind of football he plays,” Palkin said, praising Turan as a good motivator for his young team.
Air raid warning during the match
The Ukraine match was played in an empty stadium at the time. League will resume in August 2022. To this day, spectators are still restricted for safety reasons, with no shelter available to protect them from Russian missile attacks.
“For us, it’s normal life,” Palkin said.
Shaktar drew around 2,500 spectators to Lviv at the start of the season, and around 4,200 spectators in November when Shakhtar defeated defending champions Dynamo Kiev 3-1.
Champions League home of Nomad Club
club Owned by Rinat Akhmetov have not yet decided where they will play their four ‘home’ Champions League matches between September and January. Previous works were played in Germany.
“Our strategy is to increase the geography of the game,” Palkin said. “10 million people left Ukraine and our fans are everywhere.”
Shakhtar still hopes to return to Donbas Arena, a state-of-the-art stadium. game hosting Although it won the European Championship in 2012, it appears to have been abandoned for 12 years under Russian occupation.
“All the information we receive is from newspapers,” Palkin admitted, expressing a desire to return someday.
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