I have been without televised coverage of Liverpool since my move to Kerch and the Ukrainian league are the midst of their 3 month winter break (literally) so I was surprised when Jenya joyously announced that top flight football had returned this week. The Channel 1 Cup is currently being played in Israel with entrants Shakhar Donetsk, Dynamo Kiev, CSKA and Spartak Moscow, Red Star Belgrade and Beitar Jeruselum. The play is high enough quality for me and I have enjoyed the games nearly every night this week at 8pm sharp. I have thus far seen both of the Ukrainian teams play twice each and I have decided who will be my local club...
Shakhtar Donetsk (written Шахтар Донецк in Russian and pronounced Shakhteur Donyetsk) has seized my attention and won't let go. Earlier in the week, they thrashed Beitar 3-0 and tonight have just dismantled CSKA Moscow 3-1. Here is what I love about this club:- They play energetic, coordinated defense with a lot of strong back-line players that make an impact up front on set pieces. These defenders are also terrific passers with a soft touch in controlling the ball.
- Their midfield has many take-aways due to pure guile and hustle. In both games they gave their opponents fits trying to get across the mid-line.
- They are fierce on the counter-attack. Frequently after an opponent's attack is stifled, the central defenders kick the ball the the wide backs who either redirect up the sidelines to their wingers or send a well-placed lob to the central midfielders or strikers.
- The offensive component of their team is almost entirely comprised of young Brazilians. They pass through the midfield fluidly with nifty, one-touches and once they are in the box, they are unselfish and heads-up for available teammates...A thing of beauty!
Add to these the fact they are the Pittsburgh Steelers of Ukrainian football (working class with a storied history) and that I can go see them play in Simferopol this spring for $5-$8 a seat...
If any of you are coming in the spring, maybe I could coordinate seeing a game.
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I think their logo/patch is pretty cool. Is that supposed to be a flame? Go Waxtap Miners! Hey, I don't care who they are - if I can see a team that played in the CL for $5 a game, I would so be there. I also dig the orange color.
ReplyDeleteHey..I ALMOST FORGOT!!! You need to check out the site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.footyhighlights.com/
I know you pay by data transfer, but if you want to see highlights from many of the games they have them here. It appears for the LFC match in the FA Cup it's a compilation of a bunch of You Tube videos that are placed back to back. For other matches, like Spurs 5-1 win over the Gooners, there is actually 20 minutes of high quality highlights to see. It might be a good place for you to keep up with at least the goals. If anything, you should just check out the Spurs highlights of the game on Tuesday. It'll be worth it!
p.s. dibs on a blog re: the FA Cup and LFC's match against H&W yesterday. :)
Thanks for the tip. I just watched the highlights of THFC-Arsenal and man, I still have chills. Robbie Keane's goal in slow-mo may have been foxiest strike I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to see you post!
Also, the badge is brand new this season. I contemplated using the old badge but frankly, it's ugly. I assume that it is supposed to represent a flame because the region is a major source of coal for eastern Europe. You were right about them being the miners...Shaktar means miner in Russian (actually Ukrainian but the difference is minimal to us westerners)
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