Ukraine Manager Travel Guide

Added on 08/02/2007

History...
Formed in 1991, as a direct result of the break up of the Soviet Union and its football structure, the Ukrainian league is still relatively young and currently running its 16th season during 2006/07. This short history has been dominated by Ukraine's two largest clubs; Dinamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Of the 15 league seasons completed Dinamo Kiev have won eleven titles and Shakhtar three, with Tavria Simferopol having the claim of being the only other team to win the Ukrainian league. In fact, so dominant have Dinamo and Shakhtar been, the last time another team finished in the top two was back in the 1994/95 season.

The Ukrainian Cup is a similar story, with Dinamo (8) and Shakhtar (5) again the dominant teams, while Chornomorets Odesa managed to claim two cup wins in the early nineties. For any manager of a team outside the top two, claiming silverware is certainly a very big challenge within this nation. Clubs...
One of the most famous Soviet clubs in the past and now the most illustrious and successful Ukrainian team now is Dinamo Kiev. Having won the greatest number of Ukrainian leagues and cups to date, Dinamo are also the only Ukrainian team to have succeeded in claiming a European trophy. They became the first Soviet club to win a European competition when they conquered the Cup Winner's Cup in 1975, reproducing this feat eleven years later by winning the same trophy in 1986.

Dinamo have produced some great players in the past including Igor Belanov, Oleg Blokhin and one of the best strikers in recent times; Andriy Shevchenko. It was the attacking partnership of Shevchenko and Rebrov that propelled Dinamo Kiev into the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1999, the best performance of any Ukrainian club in Europe since its independence from the Soviet Union. Although Dinamo's squad may not be as strong as it has been in recent years, good finances and youth system give potential for improvements on an already solid squad. Having won the past two league titles, Shakhtar are arguably the strongest Ukrainian club at present. With a very good squad, extremely healthy finances and high attendances by Ukrainian standards, winning the league is a must for both fans and chairman alike. Progress in European competition should be the main aim for managers of both Shakhtar and Dinamo. Three clubs with the potential to break the dominance of the top two are Chornomorets, Dnipro and Metalurg Donetsk. Each of these clubs owns a decent squad whilst their attendances and finances are good by Ukrainian standards. With a few shrewd signings and decent cup runs in Europe, these clubs have the possibility of success at a domestic level and beyond within a couple of seasons. If you really fancy a challenge, try managing the £75k valued Stal Dniprodzergyns'k in the First League. Once you have mastered pronouncing the name, the challenge is about avoiding relegation using a small 2250 capacity stadium, a tiny transfer budget and the use of absolutely no training facilities. Foreigners...
The past few years have seen an influx of foreign talent into the Ukrainian High League, especially those hailing from Brazil and other South American countries. The flair and wonderful skills of such players have added a new and exciting element to Ukrainian football and the majority of High League teams can now boast at least one South American player within their ranks. The presence of a large number of Africans as well as Eastern Europeans has also helped to dramatically change the face of Ukrainian football over recent years. But beware, the Ukrainian league rules dictate that no more than 12 foreigners can be named in the usual 18 man squad. However, unless you have an Arsène Wenger type approach to local talent development, these rules should provide no problems to your match-day squad, with a number of bright Ukrainian prospects in the game. It should also be noted that it takes 5 years to become a Ukrainian national and as a result a number of top class South Americans and Africans are often eligible for citizenship in the future, very useful for managers of the national team. League Structure...
Football Manager has two playable divisions within the Ukraine, the High League being the top division and the First League the division below. The Ukrainian High League consists of 16 teams playing each other twice over a 30 game season.

The current coefficients mean the top two teams gain entry into the European Cup whilst the Cup Winner/ 3rd placed league team enters the EURO Cup. The team finishing 1st enters the 3rd qualifying round, whilst runner-up in the league starts from the 2nd qualifying round of the European Cup. The bottom two teams are relegated in a straight swap with the two top teams of the First League, while the last four teams of the First League are also relegated. The running dates of the Ukrainian league are quite unique operating from late July until June the following summer. Half way through the season, the league takes an extensive three month winter break from early December through to early March due to the harsh winter conditions experienced throughout the country. This results in a summer break of only a few weeks between seasons, which can become even shorter when involved in the Ukrainian Super Cup. Promising Young Players
Denys Dedechko - Dinamo Kiev
Vitaliy Fedoriv - Dinamo Kiev
Volodomyr Lysenko - Dinamo Kiev
Artem Milevskiy - Dinamo Kiev
Olexandr Rybka - Dinamo Kiev
Denys Mosyakin - Nyva Vinnytsya
Dmytro Chygrynskyi - Shakhtar Donetsk
Artem Fedetskyi - Shakhtar Donetsk
Bogdan Shust - Shakhtar Donetsk
Ciprian Andrei Marica - Shakhtar Donetsk
Fernandinho - Shakhtar Donetsk
Andriy Pyatov - Vorskla
Dmytro Brovkin - No Club
Dmytro Baranov - No Club Best Players
Goran Gavrancic - Dinamo Kiev
Correa - Dinamo Kiev
Oleg Husyev - Dinamo Kiev
Rodrigo - Dinamo Kiev
Andriy Rusol - Dnipro
Sérgio - Metalurg Donetsk
Andrés Mendoza - Metalurg Donetsk
Elano - Shakhtar Donetsk
Matuzalém - Shakhtar Donetsk
Anatoliy Tymoshuk - Shakhtar Donetsk
Darijo Srna - Shakhtar Donetsk AUTHOR: Ross Macaulay

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