When Ukraine voted for self-government from the Soviet Union in 1991, Dynamo kyiv emerged as the country’s football powerhouse, winning 11 of the first 13 Ukrainian Premier League titles.
Shakhtar’s first name came in 2002, but since Palkin’s arrival in 2004, they have become Ukraine’s main force at home and abroad, winning the league 15 times and the UEFA Cup in 2009.
Being prolific in the Brazilian market helped. Between 2005 and 2009, Fernandinho, Jadson, Willian, Ilsinho, Elano and Luiz Adriano arrived and thrived in Donetsk, although the late Elano no longer features in the UEFA Cup-winning team.
Douglas Costa and Alex Teixeira joined as Shakhtar’s recruitment continued in order, complementing the South American acquisitions with closer-to-home skills such as those of Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
“When we were in Donetsk it was quite easy to implement this transfer policy,” explains Palkin. “We had peace in our country, an incredible football infrastructure and for us to sign any talent from any country was very easy.
“When we invite a player, when he sees what kind of stadium we have, our training ground, the city, they all point to the future.
“Our success was making decisions fairly quickly. Many times we won [despite] “We have competition with Manchester United, Arsenal and many of the top European clubs, because we make decisions very quickly when we spot talent and make the decision to buy.”
In August 2009, with Beyonce appearing on opening night, Shakhtar unveiled its state-of-the-art 52,000-seat Donbas Arena. Just a few months after their historic continental triumph, the club was establishing itself as one of the leaders in Europe, both on and off the farmland.
The stadium was also a key venue in the 2012 EU Championship, where Spain’s semi-final win over Portugal was played. But two years later, it was empty.
In July 2014, six Shakhtar players refused to return to Donetsk after a visit to France and then pro-Russian rebels took control of the city. Among them have been Costa, Teixeira and Fred.
They eventually returned once Shakhtar made the decision to move more than 600 miles west to use kyiv as a training base, a month playing games in Lviv.
On the other hand, there were a handful of former players who had to remain in Donetsk under the DPR, including former captain Viktor Zvyagintsev, who was on an online list on the Ukrainian government’s website of people it accused of terrorism based on affiliation. with separatist groups. rebels
“When we left Donetsk, it was very difficult,” explains Palkin, who ended his visit eight years ago. “We lost our home fans, we lost our beautiful stadium, because at that time it was one of the best stadiums in Europe. We lost our city, we lost our [training] camp.
“The situation is becoming more and more difficult. Nowadays it is almost inconceivable to keep in touch with the people there.”
