UEFA Cup Final: Consider Shakhtar the Favorites

By: Dan | May 19th, 2009

It took a couple of abortive attempts to write a preview primarily focused on Werder Bremen before I reached an important realization: Shakhtar Donetsk are the favorites in the UEFA Cup final. The difference between Bremen and Donetsk is hardly a titanic one, but every time I started to examine a different aspect of the two teams, it would end up as an obstacle for Werder to overcome. Why should I have been so surprised by this? Was I subconsciously casting Shakhtar as the underdog for no good reason?

Even in the brave new world of modern football (and post cold war politics for that matter) Eastern European teams have retained their enigmatic quality. The ominous men in dark suits and listening devices in lighting fixtures may have gone, and people are definitely more aware of the Dynamos and Lokomotivs of the world than they were in the past, but the fact remains that most people don’t see these teams very often.

This unfamiliarity, combined with the comparatively light media exposure they receive promotes an ingrained tendency to place their matches against Western European competition into an outmoded establishment versus outsider framework that doesn’t necessarily apply. I caught myself thinking about the UEFA Cup final in the same way. Donetsk is, after all, a distinctly unglamorous locale. Until 1961, there was not even a Donetsk to speak of; like many Soviet cities, it was forced to take on Joesph Stalin’s name. Before that, Donetsk-Stalino was known as Yuzovka.

Shakhtar’s footballing history is no more star studded than the city’s history. Although they have always boasted a fervent base of supporters, their status as one of the stronger provincial Soviet clubs might be summed up as solid, if unspectacular. They were certainly no threat to usurp the position of Dynamo Kiev. With the end of the Soviet Union came private investment into football clubs like Shakhtar Donetsk. Fast forward to present day, and the current incarnation of Shakhtar represents money well spent. Present assets include an aviary, fishing lake, and improving youth system, but their most important financial output lies in keeping their own players. Key players, including Răzvan Raţ and Darijo Srna, have been with the club for five or six years, gaining valuable experience in European campaigns. It should go without saying that this is a seriously good team, regardless of location.

Werder Bremen, of course, are not paupers or slouches. For the past ten years under Thomas Schaaf, Werder have, on a comparatively tight budget, become a regular championship candidate in the Bundesliga, and a fixture in European competition, all while remaining committed to an attacking approach to the game that sometimes borders on the suicidal.

Ultimately, Shakhtar’s greatest advantage will be on the pitch. They showed composure against Dynamo’s attacks, especially in the frantic second leg, to suggest that they will be quite capable of dealing with a Bremen side lacking Diego (suspension) and Hugo Almeida (injury). I also have doubts about Bremen’s defensive ability at the best of times, so Per Mertesacker missing through injury is, to say the least, not good. I would not be shocked to see Mira Lucescu, who has already acknowledged Werder’s physicality and attacking play, adopt a pragmatic approach to this game and attempt to hit Bremen on the counter.

But, to paraphrase Will Ferrell as Harry Caray, who the hell knows? It’s a crazy game Norm.