As Ukraine’s two big-name clubs – Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv – have tumbled out of European competitions this season, a new force has emerged that could break their monopoly on international and domestic success.
Metalist Kharkiv won its group in the Europa League, the continent’s second most prestigious club competition, and is just five points behind Ukrainian Premier League leaders Dynamo.
Metalist has suffered only two defeats so far this season in all competitions, and even triumphed over reigning champion Shakhtar at its Donbas Arena fortress.
The Yellow-Blues will play Austria’s Salzburg in February in the Europa League’s round of 32 after a favorable draw on Dec. 16.
Metalist has been propelled from relative obscurity by the riches of Kharkiv billionaire Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, who purchased the club in 2004. Back then, they were languishing in Ukraine’s second tier.
But Yaroslavsky’s financial support lifted the club back into the Premier League and secured a top coach in Myron Markevych, poached from Karpaty Lviv.
By the 2006-7 season, Metalist was a force to be reckoned with, taking third place in the league, a result it has repeated every year since. Success also came in Europe, including a quarterfinal appearance in 2009.
In the same season, the renovation of the club’s stadium was completed, providing the team with a modern, 38,000-seat location for their matches.
The team has stepped up to match the quality of the new stadium by starting to challenge heavyweights Shakhtar and Dynamo.
In many ways, Metalist’s success has mirrored that of Shakhtar. Like Yaroslavsky, Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov has plowed millions into the club and a new stadium.
Metalist has also followed another trend in Donetsk – buying foreign players, particularly South Americans. The Kharkiv team has taken this to an extreme, buying in foreign defenders as well as attackers.
The team’s captain, Papa Gueye from Senegal, plays in defense alongside Argentina’s Marco Torsiglieri; the midfield is full of Argentinians, with Jose Sosa, Juan Torres and Sebastian Blanco as well as Brazil’s Cleiton Xavier; Argentina’s Jonathan Cristaldo and Brazil’s Taison lead the attacking line.
Among the few regular starters with Ukrainian passports are three players who were born abroad – midfielder Edmar (Brazil), goalkeeper Vladimir Disljenkovic (Serbia) and striker Marko Devic (Serbia).
The foreign talent didn’t come cheap. Taison and Xavier cost a combined 10 million euros in summer 2010, and Blanco and Cristaldo set Metalist back 15 million euros in January this year.
Markevych said the main reason for signing so many foreign players is the lack of local options.
“In Ukraine there are almost no young players. We’re ready to buy any such player, but there aren’t any. And when there are in some teams, they are not for sale,” he said earlier this month.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, financing for sports programs also tumbled, and only in recent years has it started being built up again. “We are seriously working on our school. We changed almost all the coaches,” Markevych said. “The school has been working for three years: Pitches were built, the guys have somewhere to play, there are uniforms and balls.”
Although the club is sometimes criticized for its reliance on foreigners – even by its own fans – it has helped the team raise its level significantly this year.
Metalist has blown away opponents in Europe, thrashing French side Sochaux 4-0 to reach the group stages of the Europa League, before finishing top of a group including Dutch team AZ, Austria Wien and Sweden’s Malmo.
“Metalist can beat anyone in the Europa League. Also in Ukraine, the Kharkiv team is looking good and proved that in the match in Donetsk against Shakhtar,” said Oleksandr Zavarov, a former Metalist coach and legendary Soviet footballer. “Now Metalist just has to learn not to lose points against weaker teams, but that will come with experience.”
Metalist is solid in defense with full-backs that like to get forward. The team’s biggest strength is going forward, particularly the improvisation and quick brains and feet of Xavier and Taison. Up front, Devic and Cristaldo cause problems with their pace and dribbling, along with their strength and positional play.
International “interest in the club is growing, as the team is winning and leading its group in the Europa League,” said Danish journalist Poul Funder Larsen, who writes about football in Eastern Europe.
He added that Europe’s interest in Ukrainian football will grow in connection with the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, which the country will co-host with Poland, “and then it’s possible that they will find out more about Metallist.”
There are hurdles on the horizon. The team will have to pick up its games quickly in February after the winter break for the Europa League’s round of 32.
“Metalist has a very competent and skilled coach who knows which positions have to be strengthened and how to maintain the team’s playing level from the fall,” Zavarov said.
The club’s biggest threat is off the field. On Feb. 28, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland will begin hearing the case of an alleged fixed match between Metalist and Karpaty Lviv in 2008.
In fall 2010, Ukrainian soccer authorities declared the match fixed, stripping Metalist of its third-place finish in 2008 and deducting nine points, which will come into effect next season, unless CAS rules against the Ukrainian Football Federation’s decision.
A number of players and club officials were also disqualified from soccer activities, including Yaroslavsky’s right-hand man at Metalist, former deputy general director Yevhen Krasnikov.
The scandal also led coach Markevych to quit his job as head coach of the Ukrainian national side, which he had combined with his duties at Metalist.
“The players have to think about the possible points loss as little as possible,” Zavarov said. “Their job is to play.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Kostya Dovgan can be reached at [email protected]
