Home Inglese L'editoriale. Vadim Furmanov ci racconta la stagione in Ucraina: strapotere Shakhtar e declino della Dynamo, Metalist da Champions
L'editoriale. Vadim Furmanov ci racconta la stagione in Ucraina: strapotere Shakhtar e declino della Dynamo, Metalist da Champions
Alessandro Ignoto 15:18:00 0
Ukrainian Premier League Roundup
Shakhtar Donetsk capped off a near-perfect campaign with their fourth consecutive league title and third consecutive league cup, capturing yet another domestic double. Shakhtar's form in the league was extraordinary; they were top of the table from start to finish, and clinched the title with four matches to spare for their 8th Ukrainian championship. Along the way Shakhtar twice defeated their fierce rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the league and knocked them out of the Ukrainian Cup as well. Having conquered eight of the past twelve editions of the UPL, it is clear that the balance of power in Ukrainian football has shifted from the capital to the Donbass region. Shakhtar lost just once all season long in the league and easily dispatched Chornmorets Odessa in the final of the cup, 3-0, to win their ninth cup, which draws them level with Dynamo. To add insult to Dynamo's injury, Shakhtar's Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan broke the single-season scoring record, having netted 25 times over the course of the 30 match season. The previous record was held by Dynamo's Uzbekistani striker Maksim Shatskikh. Shakhtar were also impressive in the Champions League, escaping a group of death which contained Juventus and Chelsea, and were only knocked about of the competition by eventual losing finalists Borussia Dortmund. Having booked their place in the knockout stages once again, the future looks bright for the Donetsk side.
The same cannot be said for their long-suffering rivals, Dynamo Kyiv. Historically the most succesful side in Ukraine, Dynamo have been surpassed by their nemesis from the East. Dynamo went on a spending spree in the summer in an effort to close the gap, bringing up established internationals such as Miguel Veloso and Niko Kranjcar, but many of the new signings have failed to find a place in the squad. Russian manger Yuri Semin was fired in the fall after a string of bad results including yet another defeat to Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Derby and was replaced with Dynamo legend and Ukraine manager Oleh Blokhin. Dynamo did show signs of improvement, but overall they lacked quality in all areas of the pitch and a defeat to Metalist Kharkiv late in the season condemned them to a third place finish. This is the first time in Dynamo's history that they have finished outside of the top two, and they will be have to settle for a spot in the Europa League qualifiers. It remains to be seen how Dynamo's management will respond to this unprecedented state of affairs, but it is clear that the gulf between them and Shakhtar is massive.
Metalist Kharkiv were the direct beneficiaries of Dynamo's decline, breaking into the top two for the first time after six successive third place finishes. Metalist will now have the opportunity to battle it out with Europe's elite, having qualified for the qualifying round of the Champions League for the first time in their history. Their impressive results are a testament to the managerial aptitude of Myron Markevich, who has been in charge in Kharkiv since 2005 and holds the record for the most matches as a manger in the UPL. His side, which includes now fewer than 11 South Americans, have been mainstays in the UEFA Cup and Europa League over the past several years and have put in some fine performances, but whether they can compete with Europe's best sides remains to be seen.
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk were left disappointed with their fourth place finish and like Dynamo have to resign themselves to a Europa League spot. This is by no means a poor result for Dnipro, but for much of the season they looked like serious contenders for the coveted 2nd spot and a chance at Champions League football. But a slip in form following the resumption of play in March saw them drop from 2nd to 4th, and they were never able to recover. Some fans were calling for the sacking of Juande Ramos following the season, but it seems that the Spaniard will remain at the helm for the time being. With such exciting young stars as Yevhen Konoplyanka and Roman Zozulya, the future nevertheless looks bright for this club.
The other two Europa League spots went to Metalurh Donetsk and Chornomorets Odessa. Metalurh's excellent form in the second half of the season saw them from 10th spot to 5th in a matter of weeks, while Chornomorets were consistently in the European positions but had to fend off late challenges from Kryvbas and Arsenal. However, their position in the table was rendered meaningless by virtue of their appearance in the Ukrainian Cup final, which would have granted them automatic entry into the Europa League qualifying rounds regardless of their league position. This will be Metalurh's 7th appearance in the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup; last season they were knocked out of the third round qualifiers by Norwegian side Tromso. Chornomorets have a longer European pedigree, having made their debut in continental competition in the 1975-76 edition of the UEFA Cup and have also participated in the Cup Winners' Cup on two occasions. This will be their first European appearance since the 2006-07 UEFA Cup.
On the other end of the table, Metalurh Zaporizhya and Hoverla Uzhhorod are the two teams that will be relegated to the First Division. Metalurh were in terrible form all season long, winning only one match and scoring just 12 goals while conceding 64. Their relegation was all but inevitable as early as Novemeber. Hoverla were also favorites to go down but a good spell of form late in the season made fans of Karpaty Lviv nervous, but despite their often impressive performances they simply lacked the quality to pick up points on a regular basis. They will be replaced in the Premier League by FC Sevastopol and Stal Alchevsk.
Overall, the biggest story of the UPL season in 2012-13 was the continued domination of Shakhtar Donetsk and the decline of Dynamo Kyiv. Next season we will see if the gap continues to widen, or if Dynamo can once again become a domestic force.
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