Ukrainian derby

The Ukrainian derby, or the Ukrainian classico is the football match between the two top Ukrainian clubs FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

Formation of the derby

Soviet Union

The first time both clubs met back in 1938 in Kyiv in the Soviet Top League with Dynamo winning it 2:0. In those times Dynamo Kyiv was the main representative of Ukraine in the Soviet League, while Shakhtar initially had some difficulties to secure their place there. Donbass team, however, was considered to be the main representative of the Ukrainian SSR other than Dynamo representing the most industrialized and heavily urbanized eastern region. In a few occasions Shakhtar even managed to place higher than the Dynamo's "Capitals" in League, but for the most of the time Dynamo had more successes in the head-to-head match-ups. Their meetings were not as popular in the Soviet League outside of Ukraine as the Moscow - Kyiv face off particularly between Dynamo and Spartak.

Ukraine

The trend of the Dynamo's total dominance continued well after the establishment of the Ukrainian own championship. For the first several seasons Shakhtar was not even among the main contenders for the Champion of Ukraine title which was often contested by either Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk or Chornomorets Odessa. On one occasion SC Tavriya Simferopol even managed to pull a surprising season winning the inaugural championship, while Shakhtar contesting the bronze medals of that championship.

Rise of Shakhtar

It was not until the early 2000s when this match-up obtained the status of a true "derby", since the club from Donetsk was a tough competition for Dynamo, thereby terminating its hegemony in the Ukrainian football. Since then, as president of Shakhtar was Rinat Akhmetov, his club has not been below the 2nd place has got its own football academy, one of the best training bases in Europe, the recognition of the fans and won many trophies. This progression started in 1996. During this time the club has been replaced several coaches, Mircea Lucescu being the most successful.

Dynamo in the new millennium

Dynamo during this time things were pretty good, as one of the leaders of Ukrainian football. Despite the successes of the club in the Soviet era, at the present time Dynamo, it was not the last club in the UEFA Champions League, playing with Real Madrid in 1998–99 quarter-finals. After the death of Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Dynamo's manager in two spells, 1974-90 and 1997-2002, successes in the European competition went down. Shakhtar defeated Dynamo in a semi-final for 2008-09 UEFA Cup and then become the first side to win a European competition in the sovereign Ukraine era.

Statistics

Soviet Union

Ukraine

Soviet Union/Ukraine

Ukrainian Premier League progress

The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons. All figures are correct through the 2010-11 season.

References

1. ^ Calendar of the 1938 Soviet championship

External links

• FC Shakhtar Donetsk official site
• FC Dynamo Kyiv official site