Pitmen dig deep for glory in Istanbul
As the UEFA Cup drew to a close with its 38th and last final FC Shakhtar Donetsk could look to the future and the start of a new era after winning their first European trophy...
As the UEFA Cup drew to a close with its 38th and last final FC Shakhtar Donetsk could look to the future and the start of a new era after winning their first European trophy, securing Ukraine`s maiden continental silverware side since independence in 1991.
Victory for Ukraine
Made in BrazilTalk before the game had been focused on the one Brazilian who was certain not to play, Bremen`s suspended Diego. By the end it was about match-winner Jadson. Lucescu had selected no fewer than five Brazilians in his team – compared to three Ukrainians – and they ultimately proved the difference, Luiz Adriano and Jadson, the latter in extra time, scoring the goals that won the UEFA Cup. Of the 14 goals Shakhtar scored in the competition en route to victory in Istanbul, 12 came from Brazilians while in the UEFA Champions League group stage eight of their eleven strikes came from either Fernandinho, Jadson, Ilsinho, Willian or Adriano.
Dig for victoryBut the team from the Donbass mining district of Ukraine had to dig deep for victory, with Ukrainian Olexandr Gladkiy and Serbian Igor Duljaj coming on to shore things up as Lucescu`s side tired in extra time. As Bremen and Shakhtar contested the last edition of the UEFA Cup perhaps it was fitting that they should combine to push the competition to its limit. Both were attempting to win the trophy for the first time and in the process become the last side to do so in its current guise before the competition transforms into the UEFA Europa League next season. Having waited this long to get here, they stretched the tension at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium to the maximum. The release for Shakhtar and Ukraine at the final whistle was immense.