Shakhtar Donetsk in exile: A stirring fixture for Bayern

It’ll be yet another special Champions League trip for Shakhtar Donetsk’s players when they take on Bayern in the league phase of the Champions League on Tuesday evening. “It takes us a day and a half just to get to Germany,” explained Serhiy Palkin, the club’s general director. From the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which the club from the country’s east has called home for several years due to Russia’s invasion, it’s a 12-hour coach ride to the airport in Poland, from where they then fly to Düsseldorf. The 15-time Ukrainian champions aren’t able to play European fixtures in their own country anymore due to the security situation back home. They’re a football club in exile. Shakhtar have had 10 different ‘home’ venues, including in Hamburg in Germany and now this year at Schalke’s home ground in Gelsenkirchen. Bayern are the latest team to visit this Tuesday.

The Miners in coal country

“We’re pleased to have found a home in Gelsenkirchen and bring Champions League football back to this city after so many years,” said Palkin. “Gelsenkirchen is also a good fit for us because our club is also from a former mining region. We’ve got similar mentalities.” The name Shakhtar means ‘miner’. “We’re pleased we get to play our games in one of the best stadiums in Germany. The positive experiences of last season show that Shakhtar has good support from fans in this country, both from locals and from Ukrainian refugees,” the general director added.

It’s been over 10 years since Shakhtar last got to play in their own ground. The Donbass Arena was opened in 2009, held the highest UEFA category and could host Champions League finals. Five games at Euro 2012 were played in the stadium in Donetsk, including the semi-final between Spain in Portugal. However, the stadium was damaged by shelling in 2014 and hasn’t hosted football since, but has been used to distribute and hand out relief supplies.

Football a welcome distraction

Despite the war, the Ukrainian league recommenced in August 2022. All stadiums currently being used must have a bomb shelter nearby. It’s not uncommon for games to be suspended or postponed due to safety reasons. Despite the severity of the situation, and even with the extra travelling, Shakhtar are excited about their continental adventures. “Football is an excellent ambassador, allowing the situation in Ukraine to be seen more around the world. That’s why our European games are so important to us,” stated Palkin. “But football also helps to create positive emotions back home, where citizens and soldiers want something to distract them.”

Just behind PSG and Real

Shakhtar remain a force on the continental stage as well. They won the last edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009 and have been regulars in the Champions League since then. That includes a 2014/15 round of 16 tie with Bayern. The first leg in Ukraine ended goalless, before a 7-0 thrashing back in Munich. It was just in November last year that Donetsk beat Barcelona 1-0 in Hamburg.

So far in this league phase they have drawn 0-0 away at Bologna, lost 3-0 to Atalanta and 1-0 at Arsenal. The Ukrainian champions have beaten Young Boys 2-1 before a narrow 3-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven last time out. Those results leave the Miners ahead of the likes of VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig in the table, and just one place behind Paris Saint-Germain in 26th with four points from five games – just two shy of Real Madrid and the first play-off spots for the round of 16.

Fernandinho, Willian, Mkhitaryan, Douglas Costa

Shakhtar has long been known for uncovering a number of Brazilian stars. “We really know the Brazilian market and really hold Brazilian youth in high regard. That style of play belongs to our club DNA,” Palkin explained. From Fred, Fernandinho and Willian, to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and domestic products like Mykhailo Mudryk and Anatoliy Trubin, they’ve exported some real gems from Donetsk down the years. Shakhtar also signed a 19-year-old Douglas Costa from Gremio, before he joined Bayern six years later. “His acceleration was incredible,” Palkin recalls. “He could run past every opponent.” The general director also remembers “very friendly discussions” with Bayern over the transfer. “A Bayern delegation then travelled to Kyiv for the signing. I spent a bit of time with board member for finances at the time, Jan-Christian Dreesen. We’ve been friends since and always chat when we see each other. We generally have a very good relationship to the Bayern leadership,” Palkin revealed in an interview with Spox.

Sudakov the new star

However, since the outbreak of war, many foreign players have fled the country, including dozens of Brazilians who were on the books. Shakhtar have had to rediscover themselves. Apart from a few foreigners, the core of the team is now made up of young Ukrainians who may not have got a chance if not for the war.

One of those is Heorhiy Sudakov. The 22-year-old was top scorer at the U21 Euros in 2023, made his Champions League debut against Real Madrid and got his first goal in the aforementioned win over Barcelona. “I see myself as a creative midfielder who loves to control the game, play key passes and help the team both in attack and defence. I look to be a leader on the pitch, a player who sets the tempo of the game,” he recently said of himself in an interview with Spanish magazine Marca. His strengths are accuracy in passing and an understanding of the game. “I always work on improving my finishing and my physical shape to become a more versatile player,” said Sudakov, who Bayern will have to pay close attention to on Tuesday.

Unusual use of transfer fees

The 22-year-old is being courted by a number of clubs around Europe and is seen as the successor to Ukrainian star Mudryk, who joined Chelsea in January 2023 for around €70 million. Some 25 million of that fee went to Ukrainian soldiers and their families, proving that the situation at home is an ever-present concern even for Shakhtar acting in the transfer market.

Read up on the stats ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Shakhtar: