Ukrainian derby

Klasychne (Ukrainian: Класичне, as Classico), or the Ukrainian derby is the football match between the two top Ukrainian clubs FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

While both clubs played against each other since 1938, the game between them two turned into the national derby only after 1997 since the teams were two main contenders for the national title. Before 1997 the main contenders for title were Dynamo Kyiv and Chornomorets Odessa, while in the Soviet Union - Dynamo Kiev and Spartak Moscow (see Spartak Moscow–Dynamo Kyiv derby).

Formation of the derby

Dynamo

Shakhtar

Locations of the two teams

Soviet Union

Cover of the Soviet Union. Opening day of the 1960 Soviet Top League season.

The two clubs first met back in 1938 in Kyiv in the Soviet Top League with Dynamo winning it 2-0. At the time, Dynamo Kyiv was the main representative of Ukraine in the Soviet League, while Shakhtar initially had some difficulties to secure their place there. The 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 of Ukraine. 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 success head-to-head. 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 Dynamo's total dominance continued well after the establishment of the Ukrainian Premier League. For several seasons Shakhtar was not even among the main contenders for the league title which was often contested by either Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk or Chornomorets Odessa. On one occasion SC Tavriya Simferopol even managed to pull a surprise, winning the championship in their maiden season, while Shakhtar contesting the bronze medals of that championship.

Rise of Shakhtar

It was not until the early 2000s (decade) when this fixture obtained the status of a true "derby". Since then, as president of Shakhtar was Rinat Akhmetov, his club has not been below the 2nd place and now has 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 had several successful coaches, Mircea Lucescu being the most successful.

The 21st century

Dynamo during this time were still one of the big names in 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; it faced Real Madrid in 1998–99 quarter-finals. After the death of Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Dynamo's manager in two spells, 1974–90 and 1997-2002, success in the Europe competition declined. In the 2008-09 season, the Ukrainian derby was contested in European competition for the first time. Shakhtar defeated Dynamo in a 2008-09 UEFA Cup semi-final and then became the first side in the sovereign Ukraine era to win a European competition.

During the 2015-16 Ukrainian Premier League, on the 16th of October, Shakhtar Donetsk beat FC Dynamo Kiev 0-3 in Kiev and set two new records. One record was that for the first time during a Ukrainian derby game in Kiev a team scored three goals. The other record was that for the first time Shakhtar had more Ukrainian derby victories, 26, than Dynamo.^[2]

Statistics

Fans of Dynamo Kyiv

Scenes from 2011 Derby game in Kyiv

Soviet Union^[3]

Ukraine^[3]

Soviet Union/Ukraine

Ukrainian Premier League progress

The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons.

References

1. ↑ Calendar of the 1938 Soviet championship
2. ↑ http://www.ua-football.com/ukrainian/high/1445016829-shahter-ustanavlivaet-rekord-klassicheskogo-i-obhodit-dinamo.html
3. 1 2 "Динамо" - "Шахтар". Статистика всеукраїнського дербі (Ukrainian)

External links

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