Metalurh Donetsk
Full nameFootball Club Metalurh Donetsk
Nickname(s)Methadone (MetaDon)
Founded17 June 1996 (1996-06-17)
Dissolved10 July 2015[1]
GroundMetalurh Stadium (until 2014)
Obolon Arena (2014–15 season; due to war in Donbas)
Capacity5,094
PresidentSerhiy Taruta
LeagueUkrainian Premier League
2014–158th
WebsiteClub website

Football Club Metalurh Donetsk (Ukrainian: Футбо́льний клуб «Металу́рг» Доне́цьк, pronounced [metɐˈlurɦ doˈnɛtsʲk]) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Donetsk that went bankrupt in July 2015.[2]

History

Club predecessor

Football came to the Donetsk region in the time of the Russian Empire when the industrialization of the country began. Numerous foreigners, particularly British workers, were forming their own football teams. In September 1911, at the factory of Novorossiysk Association (currently the Donetsk Steel Works Factory – DMZ) owned by John Hughes has created the Yuzovka Sports Society (YuSO) which contained a football club as well. The football club became one of the founders of the Donbas football league based out of Kramatorsk in 1913. The football team existed until 1919 and was liquidated due to the Russian Civil War. In the 1920s, the factory (known at time as Lenin Steel Works) revived the club as part of its own Lenin Sports Club which later carried the name of FC Metalists Stalino. One of the most prominent players of that period was Viktor Shylovsky[3] who later became famous, however, playing for Dynamo Kyiv.

In 1929 based on the team in Stalino (today Donetsk) was created FC Dynamo Stalino. In 1936 based on FC Dynamo Stalino and FC Dynamo Horlivka there was created a united team of Donbas Vuhilnyky Stalino that participated in a spring football championship of 1936 in Group V (precursor of the Soviet Second League). During the season the club moved to Stalino (Donetsk) and changed its name to FC Stakhanovets Stalino.

Shakhtar Shakhtarsk

Metalurh takes its roots from the Football Club Prometei Shakhtarsk that was allowed to participate on the non-amateur level once Ukraine attained its independence. After a disappointing first season in the Second League, in the 1993 season Promotei placed fifth in the Third League and was promoted back to the Second League when the third place Antratsyt withdrew from competitions. Due to being sponsored by a Medita health clinic of Oleksandr Opryshchenko, in 1993 the club was renamed as Medita Shakhtarsk. However, in 1995 the club's owner was killed and Promotei returned under ownership of the state coal-mining company "Shakhtarantratsyt" under the name of Shakhtar Shakhtarsk.

Metalurh Donetsk

In 1996 a team of the Donetsk Metallurgical Factory replaced the insolvent FC Shakhtar Shakhtarsk during the 1995–96 season under the name of Shakhtar. In summer 1996 the Donetsk Regional Football Federation agreed to hand over the Shakhtar's past season achievements to the newly formed and already widely accepted Football Club Metalurh Donetsk. After placing second in the Druha Liha Group C, the club gained the promotion to the Persha Liha. In the next season, 1996–97, Metalurh won the Persha Liha championship and were promoted to the Vyscha Liha.

The club successfully started in the Top League and also improved significantly at the domestic Cup competition. Metalurh has obtained a few bronze medals in the league and since 1998 made through to at least the quarter-finals of the Ukrainian Cup. The club financially struggled between 1999 and 2001 being kept afloat by individual efforts of Mykhailo Lyashko and Vladyslav Helzin, who both in 2001 decided to create their own club (see FC Olimpik Donetsk).

Metalurh Training Center, Avdotine
47°55′59.03″N 37°48′59.74″E / 47.9330639°N 37.8165944°E / 47.9330639; 37.8165944

In 2001 Metalurh was purchased by ISD, Ukrainian industrial corporation owned by Serhiy Taruta, one of the most wealthy businessmen in Ukraine and Europe. Throughout majority of the first decade of the new millennium, Metalurh's owners developed a close working relationship with well-known Ukrainian agent Dmytro Sylyuk, who soon became club's acting chairman and who gained much bad publicity for bringing so many foreign players into the club that they outnumbered domestic players. Many were brought in without the manager's consent, and were given overly generous pay, among them Yaya Touré, Andrés Mendoza, and Jordi Cruyff. Furthermore, while working with Metalurh, Selyuk lived in Barcelona and was a rare visitor to Ukraine. After Sylyuk's questionable signings, he was dismissed from his position and the majority of the players brought in by him also left. It later appeared that many of them had contracts with Sylyuk and not directly with the club.

After the era of Sylyuk ended, Metalurh's performance declined and a hunt for medals turned into a struggle for survival. However, in 2008, Bulgarian specialist Nikolay Kostov was brought in to rebuild the team. In his first season with the club, Kostov turned Metalurh's performance around and the club finished fourth in the league, which won them a spot in newly formed UEFA Europa League.

Bankruptcy and merger

Because of the war situation in the East Ukraine, on 17 June 2015, the Industrial Union of Donbas decided to merge both its clubs FC Metalurh Donetsk and FC Stal Kamianske.[2] The new club was to be primarily based on the Kamianske team and to continue its participation under the name of FC Stal Kamianske.[2] A number of Metalurh players, including Đorđe Lazić, Gabriel Araújo Carvalho, and Oleksandr Bandura, as well as members of the club's staff, such as Erik van der Meer and Vardan Israeltian, moved to Stal. However, on 11 July 2015 Metalurh declared bankruptcy, citing the economic difficulties caused by the fighting,[2] although FC Stal Kamianske did indeed take its place in the Ukrainian Premier League.[2]

Stadium

Metalurh has its own small stadium named after the club, Metalurh Stadium. For most domestic matches the club played at this stadium, which has a capacity barely in excess of 5,000. For games expected to draw a significantly larger crowd, Metalurh played at Shakhtar Stadium, owned by Shakhtar Donetsk, and mostly used for European competitions. A new stadium for Metalurh with a capacity of 17,500 was planned to be built in Makiivka, near Donetsk.

In the 2014–15 season, the club played their home games at Obolon Arena in Kiev due to the war in Donbas.

Rivalry

Henrikh Mkhitaryan playing for Metalurh. He later joined their rivals Shakhtar Donetsk

Metalurh's top rival is the neighboring club, and one of Ukraine's most successful teams, Shakhtar Donetsk. The two clubs have not only had a close history since the formation of Metalurh, but Metalurh has also played home games at Shakhtar's former venue, Shakhtar Stadium. The games between the two clubs have been dubbed by the fans and the media as the Donbass Derby. Shakhtar has been dominant in the rivalry from 1996 to 2006, winning all 18 matches between them.

Honours

Champions (1): 1996–97
Runners-up (2): 2009–10, 2011–12
Runners-up (1): 2011–12

Football kits and sponsors

Years[4] Football kit Shirt sponsor
2000–2001 Umbro РУТЕКС[5]
2001–2002 Lotto  
2001–2002 Umbro ИСД
2002–2003 Adidas
2003–2007 Lotto
2007–2009 Puma
2009–2014 Umbro

League and Cup history

Information since Ukrainian independence

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes
1995–96 3rd 2 38 24 7 7 53 27 94 1/32 finals Promoted (in first half as Shakhtar Shakhtarsk)
1996–97 2nd 1 46 32 5 9 77 39 101 1/16 finals Promoted
1997–98 1st 6 30 11 7 12 28 27 40 Semi-finals
1998–99 14 30 7 7 16 27 51 28 ¼ finals
1999–00 7 30 11 10 9 39 35 43 ¼ finals
2000–01 5 26 11 9 6 30 24 42 Semi-finals
2001–02 3 26 12 6 8 38 28 42 Semi-finals
2002–03 3 30 18 6 6 44 26 60 ¼ finals UC 1R Lost to Germany Werder Bremen 10–2
2003–04 4 30 14 10 6 51 34 52 ¼ finals UC 1R Lost to Italy Parma 4–1
2004–05 3 30 14 7 9 38 35 49 ¼ finals UC 1R Lost to Italy Lazio 6–0
2005–06 9 30 10 9 11 35 35 39 Semi-finals UC 1R Lost to Greece PAOK 3–3 (away goal)
2006–07 9 30 9 9 12 26 35 36 ¼ finals
2007–08 12 30 6 13 11 34 39 31 Semi-finals
2008–09 4 30 14 7 9 36 27 49 ¼ finals
2009–10 8 30 11 7 12 41 33 40 Runners Up EL Play-off round Lost to Austria Austria Vienna 5–4 (aet)
2010–11 8 30 11 5 14 36 45 38 1/16 finals
2011–12 7 30 12 6 12 35 34 42 Runners Up
2012–13 5 30 14 7 9 45 35 49 1/16 finals EL 3rd qual. round Lost to Norway Tromsø 2–1
2013–14 6 28 12 7 9 45 42 43 1/16 finals EL 3rd qual. round Lost to Albania Kukësi 2–1
2014–15 10 26 6 10 10 27 38 22 1/16 finals Excluded from European competitions,[6] −6 points

FC Metalurh Donetsk in European Competition

Metalurh Donetsk made its debut in European tournaments at the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, losing in the first round to Werder Bremen. The club has been back to the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League a total of seven times, the most successful being a run to the playoff round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2002–03 UEFA Cup First round Germany Werder Bremen 2–2 0–8 2–10
2003–04 UEFA Cup First Round Italy Parma F.C. 1–1 0–3 1–4
2004–05 UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round Moldova FC Tiraspol 3–0 2–1 5–1
First Round Italy S.S. Lazio 0–3 0–3 0–6
2005–06 UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round Hungary FC Sopron 2–1 3–0 5–1
First Round Greece PAOK 2–2 1–1 3–3 (a)
2009–10 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round Belarus MTZ-RIPO Minsk 3–0 2–1 5–1
Third Qualifying Round Slovenia NK Interblock 2–0 3–0 5–0
Playoff Round Austria FK Austria Wien 2–2 2–3 (a.e.t.) 4–5
2012–13 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round Montenegro FK Čelik Nikšić 7–0 4–2 11–2
Third Qualifying Round Norway Tromsø IL 0–1 1–1 1–2
2013–14 UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round Albania FK Kukësi 1–0 0–2 1–2

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 06.06.2015 (no ranking since 2015), Source:

RankTeamPoints
158Turkey Konyaspor7.980
159Ukraine FC Oleksandriya10.575
160Ukraine FC Metalurh Donetsk7.786
161Portugal C.S. Marítimo7.783
162Azerbaijan Gabala FK7.650

Presidents and other officials

Presidents

Vice-presidents

General directors

  • 2001 – 2005 Yuriy Hriadushchiy
  • 2005 – 2015 Yevhen Haiduk

Sports directors

Managers

See also

References

  1. Металлург Д объявляет о банкротстве
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk – A Poor State Of Affairs, Futbolgrad (16 July 2015)
  3. "Shylovsky's profile". Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. Jerseys of Ukrainian clubs Archived 25 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Ruteks website Archived 24 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Club was to play in UEFA Europa League but was barred by UEFA from European competitions for three years for failing to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations."Protecting The Game: Metalurh, Skonto excluded; Petrolul cleared". UEFA. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  7. Гельзин: "Дополнительные эмоции есть". football.ua. 7 September 2014
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