FM12 FC Shakhtar Donetsk Thread - "The Brazilian Colony"

[lfc7]

Welcome to the Football Manager 2012 thread for

Introduction

FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year before the competition was revamped as the Europa League. They are one of only two Ukrainian clubs, the other being Dynamo Kyiv to have won a major UEFA competition.

The clubs draws its history from the very start of the Soviet football league competitions and is one of the oldest clubs in Ukraine. The club was a member of the Soviet Voluntary Sports Society of Shakhtyor having connections with other Soviet teams from Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Soligorsk (Belarus) etc. The Donetsk-based club became culturally entwined with the heavily industrialized and Russified region of Ukraine, Donets Basin, better known as the Donbas hence the name of its stadium. In the late Soviet period Shakhtar was considered a tough mid-table club of the Soviet Top League and a cup competition specialist after winning the Soviet Cup two years in a row (1961 and 1962).

The team has played under the following names: Stakhanovets (1936–1946), Shakhtyor (Shakhtar) (1946–1992) and FC Shakhtar (since 1992).

History

1936-1945

The first USSR league allowed 27 teams to participate in four groups: А, B, C, D.

The USSR Sports Committee let a miners' team from Donbass appeare in Group C. The team was proudly called Stakhanovets after the famous innovator of miners' movement Alexey Stakhanov.

The core players of the team came from Dynamo Gorlovka and Stalino. Stakhanovets played their first match in the Ukrainian Premiership on May 12, 1936 in Gorlovka at Balitsky stadium. FC Dinamo Odessa turned out to be their rivals. 15,000 fans attended the event with the final score being - 2:3.

Having signed the best players of Donbass, Stakhanovets got the right to be among the top-clubs in 1938. Stakhanovets was fifth in the USSR League, when World War II broke out. June 1941 is a special period in club's history. Stakhanovets beat the champion club FC Dinamo Moskva, Minsk and the second club from Moscow then on June 24, two days after the war started, they lost home to Traktor.

Many players joined the army, some worked in the military plants. Ivan Ustinov, Ivan Putyatov, Vladimir Shkurov Ivan Gorobets and Mykhailo Vasin fell in battle.

On September 8, 1943, Donetsk was released from the German occupation and two months later Georgiy Bikezin organized the first after-war match.

In 1945 only three players from the pre-war squad survived - Bikezin, Kuznetsov and Yurchenko. The team had to be re-organized from nothing. That's why Stakhanovets, despite having success in 1945, was included into the second group.

1946-1955

In 1946 as well as 1947 the team played in the second group. The war consequences influenced not only the team itself, but the training process. E.g., Stakhanovets had to contract out for training matches at camp a young keeper of local FC Dinamo Tbilisi Vladimir Margania because Donetsk own goalies were injured.

In July, 1946, the society "Stakhanovets" was re-organized under the name "Shakhtar". The strongest club of Donbass was called now FC Shakhtar Stalino. In 1949 FC Shakhtar was promoted to the first division. The first season turned to be unlucky. FC Shakhtar lost in 24 matches of 34, including 8 matches in a row. The season results were a good footing for the next bronze season 1951. It was the first time for Shakhtar to be among the honourable three.

Alexander Ponomarev, a famous Soviet forward, provided that year success. The players, who played in 50% of the matches and more, received bronze jettons, third-place diplomas and titles "Master of sports".

All matches in 1952 took place in Moscow. It was a collapse year. That's why the next season 1953 the team joined the second Group B ran by a new coach Alexander Ponomarev.

It took them two years to return. In the meanwhile the players gained necessary experience to be among the best.

1956-1965

FC Shakhtar changed six coaches in the late 50-s. This long-lasting mishmash of the coaches made a mess with the squad formation. New coaches brought new players, who often were about to finish their career. The final result was on top, but Ponomarev, Yermilov, Dangulov, Novikov or Shegodsky were not able to provide it momentarily.

It was a common thing for Shakhtar to be in the low ten and in 1959 only league reorganization saved them from the relegation.

FC Shakhtar performance was directly dependant on their key-players - Ivan Boboshko, Alexander Alpatov, Ivan edosov, Valetin Sapronov, Vyacheslav Alabyev and Peter Ponomarenko.

FC Shakhtar won their first USSR Cup in the first year under Oshenkov. Donetsk proved their worth again in 1962 and 1963.

A "Cup team" as they called Shakhtar turned to be strong in the league as well. 1961-63 even-level performance promoted Shakhtar to the 5th position in 1964.

1966-1975

FC Shakhtar came trough many tests in a decade. A serene end of 60-s brought Oshenkov's resignation. In 1971 the leading club of Donbass was relegated to the second division. Oleg Bazilevich, FC Shakhtar ex-player, coped with this challenge and the club returned to the elite.

Season 1966 was divided into two parts. Donestk finished the first half among outsiders. But the second one passed like one go. FC Shakhtar played ten consecutive matches without a defeat. Moreover their keeper Yuriy Korotkikh kept his goals unlocked for 913 minutes. Korotkikh's record is among three of the best in the history of domestic football.

"Little gold" won by Shakhtar reserves in 1967 and 1969 (1968 - silverware) was a little relief for Donetsk fans. Yuriy Zakharov coached the second squad of Shakhtar. His boys were a good substitute for the main squad players - Vladimir Pyanykh, Yuriy Dudinskiy, Viktor Zvyagintsev, Vyacheslav Chanov and Anatoliy Konkov.

In 1971 FC Shakhtar dropped down to the second division. Season 1973 was glorious for Shakhtar with the second position in the second division which enabled them to progress for the first. Yuriy Zakharov, ex-coach of reserves, brought Shakhtar silverware in 1975. He didn't occupy the position of the head coach long being substitued by Vladimir Salkov.

A thumping win over Ararat - 3:0 let Donetsk be second in the USSR that year league.

1976-1985

FC Shakhtar was three times below top-10 (1982, 1984 and 1985). But those seasons are not typical for Shakhtar in the best decade for the club. With three time league trophies, two circles of honour around Luzhniki with USSR Cup, successful start in the European tournaments with beaten German, Hungarian, Italian and Swiss clubs.

In 1976 they had two leagues - in sring and autumn. Only one loss was sufficient - Viktor Zvyagintsev switched to FC Dynamo Kyiv. But his team-partners Mikhail Sokolovsky, Nikolay Fedorenko, Vladimir Rogovsky and Viktor Kondratov took the leading positions in the team.

FC Shakhtar's debut in Europe was recognized successful. Donetsk beat Dinamo Berlin on aggregate 4:1 in Round of 16, then Hungarian Honved - 6:2 in Round of 8 and lost only to Juve - 1:3 in Quarterfinals.

In season 1977 FC Shakhtar was fifth in the league. They still won some trophies. Yuriy Degterev was awarded the best keeper's title by Ogonek magazine. "Cup of progress" (for the most rapid progress in the league) came to Donetsk for the second time (first was in 1975).

The successive two season were the apogee of glory for Shakhtar.

In 1978 Donetsk except for the league third place played in the Cup final tie and lost to FC Dynamo Kyiv - 1:2.

1979 was the most successful season for the club and their fans. FC Shakhtar was an inch away from the champions title. Viktor Nosov's team (one of the most titled coach in the history of Shakhtar) was league leader, but finished second. Besides a central forward Vitaliy Starukhin won the award of the daily "Trud" as the player of the year. He was also nominated the top-scorer of USSR League with 26 goal record.

1980 and 1983 brought League Cups to Shakhtar. Donetsk beat in finals FC Dinamo Tbilisi - 2:1 and FC Metalist Kharkiv - 1:0.

It was quite understandable that Donetsk lost their position in the league as they signed young players. In 1980 Shakhtar finished sixth, 1981 - one line lower.

The Cup team focused on the cup ties. It was a good console for the fans that FC Shakhtar was nominated the best club of the USSR 1984. Besides Donetsk showcased brilliant performance in the Cup Winners' Cup season 1983-84 (they managed to repeat this record only in 21 years).

1986-1995

The decade started with a new coach. Oleg Bazilevych was appointed the head coach after team's unsatisfactory results in the previous season (12 position in the league). He managed the team for one year. His successor for the next two years was Anatoliy Konkov and in July 1989 Valeriy Yaryomchenko took charge of the club.

FC Shakhtar performed abruptly, which caused coach's resignation as all those coaches failed to establish a team with likeminded people.

In 1986 Shakhtar managed to repeat previous year success and played in the final tie of the USSR Cup, but afterwards Donetsk didn't attain any results of the kind till the last USSR league. Cup ties went hard as well. It's quite clear that European arena was closed for Shakhtar.

Early 1989 was significant for Shakhtar. On January 2 Donetsk authorities signed up the Resolution 1 about creating a football club Shakhtar on self-supporting basis. In four days a constitutive conference sanctioned the statute and the Supervisory board of the club.

The political changes in the country, desire of the Soviet Republics to separate didn't pass over football. FC Shakhtar didn't lose in any match of the last Soviet league and only once they were beaten by Dnipro.

First three leagues in independent Ukraine Shakhtar's coach was Valeriy Yaryomchenko. The squad changed dramatically. Best players left the club.

FC Shakhtar could rival for the League gold in the first Ukrainian League. But a nettlesome home draw against FC Tavriya Simferopol secured only 3 standing, but Shakhtar lost to FC Dynamo - 2:3 in the third place match.

FC Shakhtar won their first League silverware in Season 1994-95.

Ukrainian League 1994-95 brought to Shakhtar fourth position and the next season 1995-96 was the most disappointing one - 10th position in the league. Though Donetsk won the Ukrainian Cup in 1995.

The symbols of 90-s in Shakhtar - Shutkov, Yashenko, Petrov, Sergey Onopko, Smigunov, young players - Zubov, Kriventsov, Orbu, Matvyeyev, Voskoboynik, Kovalev, Popov.

1996-2006

On 11 October 1996, Rinat Akhmetov – whose name is closely associated with the club’s further development and success - was appointed the president of FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Having set the goal of forming the team of high European level, the president has been doing his utmost to attain the above goal year on year.

In the late 90s, European encounters were Shakhtar’s Achilles' heel. After being relatively ‘successful’ and reaching the Round of 16 of CWC in 1997, FC Shakhtar were defeated by Italian Vicenze in both legs. Later, FC Shakhtar found it challenging even to confront quite regular clubs like Swiss Zurich and Dutch Roda.

In 2000, managed by the head coach Viktor Prokopenko, for the first time in their history FC Shakhtar made it to the Champions League group stage. The Pitmen defeated SK Slavia Praga on aggregate then. In the return leg, a goal scored by Andrey Vorobey lead to the extra time in which Sergey Atelkin drew the line by hammering in the winner. The Pitmen finished third in the group featuring SS Lazio, Arsenal FC and AC Sparta Praha.

Meanwhile, the club was developing the infrastructure at high pace. In 1999 FC Shakhtar opened their Football Academy for youth. In the same year they finished reconstruction of Kirsha training facility to unveil one of Europe’s best and most advanced training centres. The central stadium Shakhtar underwent refurbishment to meet UEFA requirements.

Let us note that a foreign coach led the team to winning their first Ukrainian League Title (in 2002). It took Nevio Scala - the expert renowned throughout Europe - half a year to enable Shakhtar to hop to the top step of the podium. After the Italian, the team was coached by Valeriy Yaryomchenko, Bernd Schuster from Germany and since May 2004 – by Mircea Lucescu from Romania.

From March 2004, the team started playing the home matches at RSC Olympiyskyi stadium. And in June 2006, construction of FC Shakhtar’s new stadium kicked off in Leninskoho Komsomolu recreation & leisure park in the vicinity of RSC Olympiyskyi.

The decade was marked by the Pitmen’s numerous landmark achievements in the domestic arena. In 2005, under the guidance of Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar won the domestic championship again. The year 2006 was particularly memorable to Donetsk dwellers. Shakhtar finished the Premier League season being on par with Dynamo on points. Therefore, under the tournament regulations a ‘gold decider’ was held in Kryvyi Rih. The extra-time winner netted by Julius Aghahowa brought the Pitmen an impressive 2-1 win. This was the third League Title earned by Shakhtar.

During the above period Shakhtar lifted the Cup of Ukraine four times. Following their wins in 1997 and 2001, the Pitmen made it again to the Cup final in 2002, in which they snatched a 3-2 extra-time win against Dynamo Kyiv. In 2004, Shakhtar secured the Ukrainian Cup title once again. It was Shakhtar’s first achievement under new coach Mircea Lucescu.

Another first-time event in the club history – winning the Ukrainian Super Cup – marked the period of 1996-2006. In the Super Cup encounter against Dynamo in the summer 2005, Shakhtar defeated their archrivals (1-1, 4-3 after a penalty shoot-out).

2007-2011

After the season 2006-07 which was not quite successful in terms of the national competitions (just silver medals of the Ukrainian League and the country’s Cup runners-up) the impressive season 2007–08 followed. In 2008 FC Shakhtar won the home treble: the Country’s League, the Cup and the Super Cup. Fernandinho added another record to the club’s collection – he scored the 1000th goal in the Ukrainian League match played against FC Kharkiv.

Nevertheless, the first half of the season 2008–09 cannot be called a fairy tale. In the UKrainian League FC Shakhtar was second to Dynamo Kyiv, its major competitor; the club also missed out on the play-off stage of the UEFA Champions League (in spite of perfect chances to become the group winner instead of the club’s actual third position and its being entitled to claim the UEFA Cup). Though, as it turned out later, the year 2009 became the landmark after the history-making win of the Miners in the European arena.

After FC Shakhtar cleared the French Olimpique from the last UEFA Cup tournament (it was rearranged into the UEFA Europa League the following year), the Miners from Donetsk faced their arch rival, Dynamo Kyiv, in the semifinal. The 1:1 away tie and the 2:1 home win opened the doors for the Miners to reach the EUFA Cup final. FC Shakhtar had to measure its strength against Werder Bremen. The Miners won deservedly with the 2:1 score. The two goals were scored by Luiz Adriano and Jadson (extra time). For the first time in its history FC Shakhtar Donetsk won a European club tournament! It happened in the spring. And in the autumn…

The Grand Opening of the team’s new home ground located in Leninskogo Komsomola recreation and leisure park took place on 29 August 2009. The stadium received the name of the Donbass Arena. The construction and landscaping cost about USD 400m. The state-of-the-art arena can seat 51,504 spectators being ranked among the elite football stadia that makes it possible for the venue to host international matches.

The first official match at the Donbass Arena was played on 27 September 2009. It was the Ukrainian League match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Obolon’ Kyiv which ended in the whitewashing win of the Miners – 4:0.

In the season 2009/10 FC Shakhtar bid for the championship against FC Dynamo. Everything became clear on the next-to-last matchday, when the Pitmen beat Dynamo 1-0 on the Donbass Arena pitch. The Champions title has been their fourth one over the past 6 years. The men from Donetsk managed to enter the European cup spring, though they failed to get an aggregate win against Fulham London in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

The Donetsk-based team opened the next season by earning a dramatic 7-1 win over Tavriya in the Super Cup of Ukraine match. The FC Shakhtar Museum – the largest sports museum in Ukraine - opened at the Donbass Arena on 14 July 2010. For the first time ever Shakhtar gained automatic entry to the group stage of the Champions League.

The Pitmen’s victorious start in the season 2010/11 extended to both the national and the European arenas. Despite the fact that not everything ran smoothly, the team managed to prove their top caliber. Shakhtar finished the season’s first half at the top of the Premier League table, being 12 points clear of their nearest rivals Dynamo. FC Shakhtar also won the UEFA Champions League group H, after defeating the big-name Arsenal FC (London) and ultimately reaching the knockout phase of the most prestigious European club tournament for the first time. According to the draw results the Pitmen will make their first last-16 appearance against Italian AS Roma.

Following the two legs’ results, FC Shakhtar beat the opposition and won 6-2 on aggregate. For the quarterfinals our team was drawn against Spanish Barcelona, the toughest of the last eight sides. The Pitmen failed to outplay them then. In the domestic Premier League the Pitmen won the championship title two Matchdays ahead of the final. The Ukrainian Cup final was an unquestioned highlight of the season. In the Cup decider Shakhtar outperformed Dynamo 2-0 in a spectacular and convincing way. This victory enabled FC Shakhtar to secure the third ‘golden double’ in their history: both the Premier League and the domestic Cup titles.

A Grand Show dedicated to celebrating the 75th Anniversary of FC Shakhtar Donetsk took place at the Donbass Arena on 14 May 2011.

Honours

UEFA Cup Winners 2009

Premier League Champions 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011

USSR Championship runners up 1975, 1979

Premier League runners up 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009

USSR Championship third place 1951, 1978

USSR Cup Winners 1961, 1962, 1980, 1983

Ukraine Cup Winners 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011

USSR Super Cup Winners 1984

Super Cup Winners 2005, 2008, 2010

USSR Cup runners up 1963, 1978, 1985, 1986

Ukraine Cup runners up 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009

*Taken From the Official Shakhtar Website

The Kirsha Training Centre

Stadium

Donbass Arena

[lfc7]

75 Years of Shakhtar

Club Information

Facilities

Season Expectations

Finances

Balance - £81,075,719

Sponsors - 1 Year general sponsorship deal at £30M per season. Ends 2012

5 Year kit sponsorship deal at £1.56M per season. Ends 2013

90% of Transfer revenue made available

[lfc7]

Tactics

The assistant recommended i use either a 4-2-3-1/4-1-2-1-2/4-3-1-2 but i chose a 4-5-1

Staff

[lfc7]

Squad Analysis

Goalkeepers

Andriy Pyatov is your No 1 with Olexandr Rybka providing good backup. You also have Yuriy Virt who isnt good enough and should be sold straight away. I would suggest bringing Artem Tetenko up from the Under 21's in place of Virt. No major changes needed at the moment unless you want to bring some short term cover in as Pyatov is injured for 2 months, although he should be back after the first league game.

Central Defence

The Centre of defence is not bad with Dmytro Chygrynskyi being your No 1 defender. Yaroslav Rakitskyi is a good prospect who can play in the first team straight away. You also have Tomas Hubschman providing good competition. Olexandr Kucher is a good option but only if your using a stopper in your defence as he has 9 composure, 7 concentration and is 28.

As am not using a stopper he shall be sold, so that leaves Sergiy Kryvtsov who although lacking in 1 or 2 stats could improve so shall either give him game time or loan him out and Chyzhov who seems to have a random CA so see how he turns out first. Overall if you plan on using stoppers in the centre of defence you wont really need to bring anyone in, although Chygrynski is injured for 3 months so you may need to bring one or two new faces in if you sell anyone.

Full Backs

On the Right Darjo Srna is the obvious stand out player with some great stats, i also have him as my captain. Vasyl Kobin is the backup with some good stats , but seems to have a random CA so see how he turns out before deciding to sell or you could get someone younger in. Kucher, Chygrynski, Hubschman and Kryvtsov could cover here if you wish, but i would rather use Kobin or bring someone in.

As for the Left Razvan Rat and Olexiy Gai Could do a job for the time being but you might want to get a younger player in to replace them over the next year or so. Vyacheslav Shevchuk should be sold but you may want to keep hold of him, unless you plan to buy someone as Rat is out injured for 2 months. Overall you may need to bring one or two faces in depending if you want better/younger players.

Midfielders

If your using Defensive Midfielders Taras Stepanenko is a good prospect and should be given game time to progress. Fernandinho could be used here, but am going to use him at MC so you should look on bringing someone in if you plan to do the same . Hubschman, Kucher, Kryvtsov, Rakitskyi and Chyzhov could also be used here.

As for central midfielders you are sorted for years if like me you are using two. Obvious starters are the quality of Jadson and Fernandinho with two great prospects providing backup in Alan Patrick and Henrik Mkhitaryan. Willian, Costa and Teixeira could also be used here. So overall a very healthy midfield with maybe an addition to the DM area if your using any, or MC if using three MC's

Wingers/Attacking Midfielders

Like Midfield there is a lot of talent with the likes of Douglas Costa, Willian, Alex Teixeira and Dentinho. Costa, Willian and Teixeira's main position is AMC but they are just as comfortable on the wings and that is where i plan to use them. Dentinho is mainly a striker, but with me using 1 upfront i have decided he will be a nightmare like the other 3 on the wings. Patrick can also play on the left wing if necessary.

As for anyone using an AMC in there tactics can use the above 3 mentioned, Jadson and Mkhitaryan can be used here if needed. Overall no investment needed depending on your formation.

Strikers

Upfront there is only two stand out players in Dentinho and Eduardo. Luiz Adriano has some good stats but is let down by poor Decision, Composure and Finishing stats so would sell. Marcelo Moreno is another who i would sell as i dont think he is good enough.

That just leaves Seleznyov who i would keep for the time being until he can be replaced by a better Ukranian player or just play him against really weak teams. Overall i would look to bring players in even more so if you sell the other two. Eduardo will miss most of pre season and Seleznyov is out for three months

Shakhtar have 31 players out on loan, so shall add them in to the overall squad review when they return

Youth Players

M.Pysko

S.Vakulenko

M.Zhychykov

V.Yurchenko

V.Churko

Key Players

Darjo Srna

Dmytro Chygrynskyi

Douglas Costa

Willian

[lfc7]

Key Players Continued

Jadson

Alex Teixeira

Fernandinho

Eduardo

There was a few others i could of put in aswell.

On my save i am going to stick with the title "The Brazilian Colony" and sign Brazilian's. Will also sign the odd Ukrainian aswell.

[stevie_G_32201]

Excellent thread

[Purefun]

Love that stadium pic at night.

[Staf9]

Smashing thread LFC. Stadium pic is class.

[lfc7]

Cheers lads Cant wait to get the full game so i can finish the thread

[Suggy33]

Shall be here at some point for my annual Shakhtar save, good stuff so far.

[el sid]

Stadium looks WOW

[TioPatinhax]

Magnificent stadium!

[Staf9]

good job. might have to look at willian and costa for my LFC save

[lfc7]

I have Willian on the right wing in this save and my Liverpool one. He's unstoppable

[stevie_G_32201]

Excellent thread as always, might have to scout willian for season 2

[lfc7]

You want to I got him for Liverpool in season 1 for £8M a steal

[rich74]

i love shakhtar they are my 2nd team i have watched them progress over the years to become in my opinion the biggest team in eastern europe, Shakhtar for life

[lfc7]

Started my Shakhtar save and am looking to carry on what Shakhtar have been doing in buying Brazilians, but buying only Brazilians and Ukrainians if I can. My aim is to win the CL and be a force in the competition. It to also my aim to overtake Kyiv in most times winner of the Premier League.

Kyiv have won the League 13 times (Including 9 in a row) Shakhtar have won the League 6 times

[lfc7]

Got rid of my assistant manager and a few coaches thinking I would pick better ones up but am struggling to find a decent assistant manager

Edit: Got Sidnei Lobo, Carlinhos Neves and one or two Ukrainian staff in so sorted

[lfc7]

Ive just spent the last 2 hrs sorting out transfers and staff I then press continue and get a crash dump looks like I will have to start again

[rich74]

you guys keep faith with Luiz Adriano he brings a lot to the team, i play eduardo on the right he and douglas costa compete for that positon

[lfc7]

Been on my Liverpool save for a while, but going to try an get some time on me Shakhtar save. Am still in pre season and have so far have signed club favourite A.Tymoschuk £3M, L.Damiäo £25M and G.Silva £3.7M all my transfers were upfront as I don like doing any over 48 months as it makes the game too easy IMO.

Sales so far are: Y.Virt free, V.Shevchuk 450k, J.Aghahowa £1.9M and Moreno £3.9M. I am trying to sell L.Adriano due to his low Composure, finishing, decisions and concentration although am not getting any takers

[lfc7]

I have £6M left to spend and am trying to sign a Brazilian DC. Am looking at the likes of Toloi, Saimon and Dede

[lfc7]

Decided to sign Tolói for £7.75M don't think I'll be signing anyone else

[tomtuck01]

Have just started a save with Shakhtar myself.

Can't believe you didn't get any takers for Luiz Adriano - I had teams queing up for him. Could have had £10million from Milan for him, but that was over 48months, so instead I took £7million all up front from Bayern. I also got £4.2million from Porto for Marcelo Moreno.

So far, I have brought Anatoliy Tymoschuk back to the club from Bayern for £3.1million, and also signed Jonathan Zongo from Almeria for £1.2million and Ivan Bandalovski from Levski Sofia ofr £120k. Paulo Henrique Ganso will koin in summer 2012 for a fee worth up to £22.5million.

I tried to sign Carlos Tevez, but I could only offer him £89k p/w and loyalty bonus/agent fee of £2.7million, so the deal didn't happen.

[rich74]

luiz adriano is fantastic before when i have managed shakhtar i have sold him, but now i have kept faith with him and he bangs in goals for fun, dont let his poor finishing stat put you off, he has plenty of other good stats that make up for that

[lfc7]

Going to load my Shakhtar save up for a bit, I havent found much time to play it lately as any freetime has been taken up by MW3 or my Liverpool save. As ive finished season 1 on my Liverpool save i thought i'd finish the season off on my Shakhtar save.

Am in the middle of Sep at the moment with the table looking like this:

I play very attacking so that is why ive conceded a few, but as long as am scoring i aint worried

Here's My Champions League Group:

A tough group and as you can see started off with a great result, although i have R.Madrid next at Home

Tranfers:

Sticking to my policy of Brazilian's and Ukrainian's, Also at the end of August Damiao broke his foot and is on the sidelines for 5 months

[tomtuck01]

luiz adriano is fantastic before when i have managed shakhtar i have sold him, but now i have kept faith with him and he bangs in goals for fun, dont let his poor finishing stat put you off, he has plenty of other good stats that make up for that

I didn't actually want to sell him, but I rejected a bid of £4million that came in from Napoli, and then he asked for a new deal. I refused, and he threw a paddy, handing in a transfer request.

[lfc7]

Due to Damiäo getting injured and missing for a few more months yet, Eduardo (his replacement) not doing enough, I put Dentinho upfront and wish I had done it sooner tbh

Think in Jan I may sell Eduardo as I only use 1 upfront and rotate between Damiäo, Dentinho and Seleznyov

[lfc7]

Forgot to say welcome to the thread and good luck

[tomtuck01]

So far I have only played Dentinho upfront, and he's bagged 7 goals in 8 games. Works well as a poacher in a 4-2-3-1 system.

Also, why dont any of my players have information regarding how long they have been in the country/how long they have to stay to gain citizenship? Is it a known bug or something?

[lfc7]

So far I have only played Dentinho upfront, and he's bagged 7 goals in 8 games. Works well as a poacher in a 4-2-3-1 system.

Also, why dont any of my players have information regarding how long they have been in the country/how long they have to stay to gain citizenship? Is it a known bug or something?

That's funny I play a poacher aswell regarding how long they have been in the country I was wondering that myself

[tomtuck01]

Dont worry, just found out from google;

There is no "Green Card" route. You cannot hope to get permanent residency just by spending years studying or working in Ukraine. You'll have to keep getting visas and going through standard paperwork no matter how many years you've been in Ukraine.

[lfc7]

Ah yes I remember reading something where it said they would have to become a resident of Ukraine, so I.e change there nationality to Ukrainian. At least Costa is going be trained at club next year

[tomtuck01]

The ways to change nationality is by marrying a Ukraine citizen, to be a descendent of a Ukrainian, and a couple of other ways.

But unlike other countries, players cant gain natinality just by living there for x-number of years. Kind of sucks really.

[lfc7]

Loading up for a bit. Rybka has complained about not getting enough games and the conversation never went too well so he asked to be placed on the TL, I accepted

[lfc7]

Jut suffered a home defeat to Dnipro with old Shakhtar player Gladkyi getting the only goal. Really disappointed with that performance, am still 2 points clear of them though

[lfc7]

I've reached the winter break with my last match played on 10th dec and my next on the 25th feb, so am wondering how many friendlies should I organise ? And from when ?

[tomtuck01]

I would definiely have a couple in mid January to early February, just to get some match fitness back.

[lfc7]

Thanks tomtuck how many would you suggest ?

Am also finding it hard to stick to my policy of buying just Brazilian's and Ukrainian's, may make one or two exceptions

[tomtuck01]

Not many really, mayve two or three, just to get some of their sharpness back.

As for your issue getting players to come in, I would agree it could be difficult, as the standard of the young Ukranians isn't great. It may be best to look at your reserve players when they coma back at the end of the season.

Also, brininging in Brazilians will be problematic if you manage to keep hold of all the ones you already have! I'm going to have that problem in season two as I have Ganso and Leandro Damiao arriving. It's going to be difficuly to keep everyone happy if I keep hold of all the current Brazilians.

[lfc7]

I can get Brazilian's in no problem but have my eye on one or two others who are neither Brazilian or Ukrainian. There is one or two Ukrainian's at Kyiv I would like but I doubt they would join

[Mush Bakenga]

I just wanted to say that I find offensive potential (CA/PA) attributed to the Brazilian players who arrive every year to the Ukrainian league, it seems that the assumption that any player from Brazil, has to be the reincarnation of Pele or Ronaldinho. William, Douglas Costa, and other compatriots are the most overrated players in the game, or the Brazilian research is blind. What's wrong with Shaktar Donetsk in the Champions League this year? Where are these aliens? They need a healthy dose of modesty ...

Since when Douglas Costa is a promise greater than Hulk or Lucas? Leave it in your head ...

What would happen, if a case, a ukranian club bought Neymar, Hulk and Lucas, in the next years? Neymar would be better than Messi, Hulk better than Ronaldo and Lucas the new Kaká? I'm afraid that until it does happen, Neymar would have a PA of 195, Hulk and Lucas 190 ...

Why are these Brazilians aliens are not holders in "Escrete" are not even called up regularly ... I simply refuse to train me in the Ukrainian league, and ignore the players from there, it is an exaggeration that alters reality in the game.

But I have seen a lot of people having fun, thankfully ...

[lfc7]

The likes of Willian, Costa etc do have lots of potential and I wouldn't be surprised in the near future if they arent snapped up by bigger clubs.

[tomtuck01]

In real life, all these players were tracked and of interest to some of Europes biggest clubs.

The fact of the matter is that these players tend to choose to go play for Shakhtar and other Eastern European clubs because of the financial rewards on offer. It is not that they are overrated in game, they are well represented.

[tomtuck01]

This is quite definitely my greatest win on FM12, maybe on any FM;

To be down to ten men after just three minutes at the Bernabeu and somehow manage to win, is, in my opinion, amazing.

[ReggaeBwoy]

Why is it that Neymar is not interested in joining in this FM. How have players managed to get Ganso and Leandro when their teams want so much for their players?

Edit: I am in a bit of a dilemma, Neymar is not interested in joining at all but as the policy irl is to get many Brazilans I loaded the Brazilian league. If I load this I have realised I have to pay around £45m for Leandro Damaio and over £40m for Ganso, if I don't upload the Brazilian league Ganso can be bought for a bargain fee around £6m according to scout reports and Damaio for almost £20m. What do people do and reccomend?

Feedback would be very useful, thanks.

[lfc7]

This is quite definitely my greatest win on FM12, maybe on any FM;

To be down to ten men after just three minutes at the Bernabeu and somehow manage to win, is, in my opinion, amazing.

Amazing win tomtuck I drew 0-0 at the Donbass and lost 2-0 away in the group stage. After finishing 2nd in the group who do I get ? BARCA, wish me luck

Why is it that Neymar is not interested in joining in this FM. How have players managed to get Ganso and Leandro when their teams want so much for their players?

Edit: I am in a bit of a dilemma, Neymar is not interested in joining at all but as the policy irl is to get many Brazilans I loaded the Brazilian league. If I load this I have realised I have to pay around £45m for Leandro Damaio and over £40m for Ganso, if I don't upload the Brazilian league Ganso can be bought for a bargain fee around £6m according to scout reports and Damaio for almost £20m. What do people do and reccomend?

Feedback would be very useful, thanks.

I only loaded all players of national and continental rep from brazil as my computer isn't good enough to load all players from Brazil and I got Damiäo for £25M all upfront

[ReggaeBwoy]

How do you upload players of national and continental rep without choosing the Brazilian League?

[lfc7]

When you select the Ukrainian league instead of picking small, medium or large database use custom and from there you can add extra players etc