FC Shakhtar Donetsk is one of the most decorated football clubs in Ukraine, thirteen-time Ukrainian Premier League Title Holders, thirteen-time Ukrainian Cup Winners, eight-time Ukrainian Super Cup Winners, 2009 UEFA Cup Winners and regular participants in the UEFA Champions League.

The team of Donbas Pitmen was founded in accordance with the decision of the All-Union Soviet (Council) for Physical Culture and Sports on April 3, 1936 and was originally named Stakhanovets. The team played their first competitive match on May 24, 1936. In the mid-1940s, the Sports Club of Donbas Coal Miners changed its name to Shakhtar (Ukrainian for Miner), and in 1960 the club chose its kit colours as orange and black which is a traditional colour combination for the region.

Shakhtar's home ground is Donbas Arena whose seating capacity is 52,898.

The history of the club dates back to 1936 when a team of Donbas Pitmen was formed and named after the pioneer of Stakhanovite movement, coal miner Aleksei Stakhanov. The backbone of the team was formed on the basis of Dynamo Gorlovka and Dynamo Stalino players.

Stakhanovets made its debut on May 12, 1936 in Gorlovka against Dynamo Odessa in the Ukrainian demonstration team league. The Pitmen had the following line-up: goalkeeper - Sergey Razdorozhnyuk, defenders - Mikhail Boychenko, Georgiy Konstantinovskiy, midfielders - Pavel Evtekhov, Konstantin Paschenko, Bespalov, strikers - Adam Korotynskiy, Mikhail Paschenko, Nikolay Naumov, Fedor Manov, Boris Terentyev. The first goal was scored by Mikhail Paschenko, with the final score being 2-3 for the away team.

Stakhanovets played its first official game in the USSR championships on May 24, 1936 in a Group B away game in Kazan, where it lost to the local Dynamo team 4-1 (the Pitmen' first goal was scored by Fedor Manov).

In 1938, Stakhanovets gained the right to represent the Donbas region in the strongest group. The team, strengthened by the best local players, finished 11th and 12th for three years. At the end of the 1940 season, a distinguished title of Master of Sports was awarded to the following players of the team: Nikolay Kuznetsov, Nikolay Kononenko, Georgiy Mazanov, Georgiyi Bikezin, Grigoriy Balaba and Anton Yakovlev.

In June 1941, the Great Patriotic War started. Many of the Stakhanovets' players went to the front or worked at defence plants. Ivan Ustinov, Ivan Putyatov, Ivan Gorobets, Mikhail Vasin and some others were killed in action.

The city of Stalino was liberated on September 8, 1943. Two months later, it hosted the first match in its post-war period.

In 1945, Stakhanovets was included in the second group of the USSR championship. The team had to be virtually rebuilt from scratch. The squad with experienced Nikolay Kuznetsov, Georgiy Bikezin and Petr Yurchenko was joined by Oleg Zhukov, Valentin Liventsev, Evgeniy Shpinev, Nikolay Anisimov, Konstantin Skripchenko, Vasiliy Bryushyn, and Alexander Andrenko.

Shakhtar spent 1946 and 1947 in the second group of the championship. The consequences of the war were still affecting not only the team squad, but also the training process.

In July 1946, Stakhanovets sports club was transformed into Shakhtar club, uniting coal enterprises sports teams of all the country's basins. The strongest Donbas club was named Shakhtar (Stalino).

In 1947, the team was headed by an experienced Moscow coach Alexey Kostylev. Under his leadership, Shakhtar became runners-up among the 13 participants in the Ukrainian area. The Pitmen's consistent results allowed them to claim a place among the best teams in the country, where the Donetsk team was eventually included in 1949.

But their first season after the return was notably unsuccessful. Shakhtar suffered 21 defeats in 34 games. The results led to replacing the coach with Viktor Novikov taking charge of the team. The core of the team included Alexander Alpatov, Dmitriy Ivanov, Yuriy Petrov, Viktor Fomin, Nikolay Samarin Viktor Kolesnikov, Leonid Savinov, Evgeniy Pestov and others. Shakhtar's game improved and was transformed into advancing to the 11th place with 33 points.

1951 saw the team getting the 3rd spot. For the first time in history, the Pitmen made it to the victory podium. That success is greatly attributed to Alexander Ponomarev - a great Soviet striker and Donbas native.

The team also did well in the USSR Cup, reaching the semi-finals. Having signed up several new players, Shakhtar went on its first tour abroad to Bulgaria and Romania in October - November of that year.

All Shakhtar's matches of the 1952 USSR championship were held in Moscow, which greatly affected the results. After the recent triumph this season turned out unsuccessful, and the team started the following season in class B with a new coach - Alexander Ponomarev, who had finished his playing career. Fundamentally refreshed, this squad took two years to return to the top. This period enabled the team performance to become more fluid and consistent.

In the latter half of the 1950s, Shakhtar consistently ranked among the top ten teams of Soviet football. Striving for more led to a change of its coach, but the team's best result during this time was 7th place in the USSR championships 1955 and 1956 and reaching the semi-finals of the USSR Cup 1959/60.

In 1960, Oleg Oshenkov became the new coach of Shakhtar. The experienced professional bet on the local talent and mustered footballers. The leaders of Oshenkov's team were Gennadiy Snegirev, Nikolay Golovko, Vladimir Salkov, Oleg Kolosov, Anatoliy Rodin, Valentin Sapronov, Yuriy Ananchenko, Boris Strelkov, Vyacheslav Alyabyev, and Vitaliy Savelyev.

In 1961, Shakhtar won its first USSR Cup. In the finals the Pitmen beat the USSR champions of the previous season - Torpedo (Moscow) - 3-1 with a goal by Anatoliy Rodin and a brace by Yuriy Ananchenko.

1962 was equally successful. The team headed by Oleg Oshenkov once again won the USSR Cup. In the cup decider, the Pitmen defeated Znamya Truda from Orekhovo-Zuevо. The following year, Shakhtar reached the Cup final for the third time in a row, but this time they lost to Spartak (Moscow) 1-2.

It was during that period that Shakhtar gained the Cup team reputation. The Donetsk squad also confirmed their strength in the USSR championship. In 1964, its outstanding and confident performance culminated in the fifth place in the standings.

In 1966, Shakhtar went undefeated for ten rounds, with the goalkeeper Yuriy Korotkikh keeping a clean sheet for 913 minutes. His record is among the top three clean-sheet streaks of domestic goalkeepers in the USSR history, and was marked at the European level as well.

The team performance level significantly improved with signing up Valeriy Lobanovskiy and Oleg Bazilevich. Lobanovskiy became the Pitmen' top scorer in 1967.

The era of Oshenkov was drawing to an end. In the middle of the 1968 season, Lobanovskiy and Bazilevich finished their respective careers and left Shakhtar, and in October 1969 Oshenkov was replaced by Yuriy Voynov as the head coach.

In the late 1960s, the only trophies that Shakhtar managed to acquire were the gold medals of its second team in 1967 and 1969 (and silver in 1968). The second team was coached by Yuriy Zakharov.

In 1971, the Pitmen left the Higher League. During that time the team went through several coaches including Yuriy Voynov, Artem Falyan, Nikolay Morozov and Oleg Bazilevich.

It was Bazilevich who significantly changed the squad and managed to bring Shakhtar back to the ranks of the strongest Soviet teams. The key players of the time were local trainees, as well as players from various places: Yuriy Degterev, Alexander Vasin, Viktor Zvyagintsev, Anatoliy Konkov, Vladimir Safonov, Mikhail Sokolovskiy, Valeriy Yaremchenko, Yuriy Dudinskiy, Yuri Gubich, Valeriy Gorbunov, Vitaliy Starukhin and others.

In 1974, the Pitmen were headed by a recent coach of their second team Yuriy Zakharov, who was replaced by Vladimir Salkov in August.

On November 9, in the final match of the 1975 season, Shakhtar beat the then current Cup Winners Ararat (Yerevan) 3-0 and claimed the 2nd spot.

That decade became one of the most successful in Shakhtar's Soviet history. In 1976, the team made its debut in European club competitions. In the UEFA Cup round of 64, the Pitmen defeated German Dynamo, in the round of 32 - Hungary's Honvéd SE, and in the Last 16, the team was defeated by the future competition winners Juventus, Italy.

The leading roles in Shakhtar belonged to Nikolay Fedorenko, Vladimir Rogovskiy, Viktor Kondratov, Mikhail Sokolovskiy and other players. In 1977, the team finished fifth in the championship, and Yuriy Degterev was named the Goalkeeper of the Year.

The following years were marked by major successes. Shakhtar retained the top spot for two consecutive seasons. In 1978, the Pitmen took 3rd place in the championship and reached the USSR Cup final. In 1979, head coach Viktor Nosov led the team to becoming the league runners-up with Vitaliy Starukhin being the top scorer with 26 goals, and voted Footballer of the Year.

During the squad's refreshment period, Shakhtar had dropped in the championship standings. Nevertheless, the team won the USSR Cup twice during that time. In the Cup final 1980, the Pitmen beat Dynamo (Tbilisi) (with goals scored by Starukhin and Pyanykh), and in 1983 - Metallist (Kharkov) (the winning goal was scored by Sergey Yaschenko).

A prominent result of the decade was Shakhtar's successful performance in the Cup Winners' Cup 1983/84, where the team reached the quarterfinals. The same year, the Pitmen also won the USSR Super Cup. The following season, the Donetsk squad reiterated its Cup team status, reaching the competition final.

In 1986, Shakhtar managed to repeat its previous year's success, reaching the domestic Cup final, but consequent seasons did not bring about any significant achievements.

1989 became a milestone year in the team's life. On January 2, the Donetsk Oblast Executive Committee, and Oblast Union of Trade Unions and Lenin Communist Union of Ukrainian Youth Oblast Committee adopted a resolution on the establishment of the oblast self-sustaining experimental football club Shakhtar (Donetsk).

The first three and a half seasons in the Premier League of independent Ukraine, Shakhtar was headed by Valeriy Yaremchenko. The team leaders of the early 1990s included Dmytro Shutkov, Serhiy Yashchenko, Ihor Petrov, Serhiy Onopko, Yevhen Drahunov, Henadiy Orbu, Valeriy Kryventsov, Oleh Matveyev and Serhiy Popov.

During the first Ukrainian Premier League season, the Pitmen fought for the third spot. In the deciding match, the Donetsk team lost 2-3 to Dnipro. Shakhtar became runners-up in the 1993/94 season for the first time. In the 1994/95 season, the Pitmen finished fourth in the standings and won their first Ukrainian Cup beating Dnipro 7-6 in the penalty shoot-out (1-1 after normal time). The victory of the Donetsk team was achieved under the leadership of Vladimir Salkov, who was appointed the head coach.

Rinat Akhmetov became the president of Shakhtar on October 11, 1996. His name is closely associated with the further growth and prosperity of the club. Having set the goal of creating a European class team in Donetsk, the new president has done everything possible to achieve it year after year.

The orange-and-black team performance in Europe in the late 1990s was rather unsuccessful. But in the year 2000, coach Viktor Prokopenko led the team to a group stage of the Champions League for the first time in history, after the Pitmen beat SK Slavia Prague on aggregate. Grouped with Italy's Lazio, England's Arsenal and Czech Sparta, the Donetsk team finished third.

In 1999, a modern Children and Youth School of FC Shakhtar was created and it became one of the best sports training facilities in Europe. It was named Kirsha and had been erected on the site of the old training base. The Shakhtar Central Stadium was also upgraded in accordance with UEFA requirements.

In 2002, the Pitmen headed by Italian coach Nevio Scala won the Ukrainian Premier League title for the first time. The team was subsequently coached by Valeriy Yaremchenko, Germany's Bernd Schuster, and starting May 2004 - Romania's Mircea Lucescu.

Shakhtar won the domestic Cup in 1997, 2001, and 2002. The victory in the final match of the tournament marked the Pitmen's first major achievement with Mircea Lucescu at the helm.

In 2005, the Donetsk club once again won the domestic league title. That same summer, the team beat Dynamo Kyiv 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out for the orange-and-black team's first ever Ukrainian Super Cup.

In the 2006/07 season, the Pitmen became the runners-up in the domestic league and lost the Cup final game. But in 2008, Shakhtar claimed the domestic treble: the Premier League, the Cup and the Super Cup. And in a match against FC Kharkiv, Fernandinho scored Shakhtar's 1,000th Ukrainian Premier League goal.

In the 2008/09 season, Shakhtar did not make it to the Champions League knockout stage and continued in the UEFA Cup. The Donetsk team played against Dynamo Kyiv in the semifinals of the tournament. An away draw (1-1) and a home win (2-1) paved the way to the Cup final, with Werder Bremen as opponents. The Pitmen claimed a 2-1 win with goals scored by Luiz Adriano and Jadson in extra time.

The opening of Donbass Arena took place on August 29, 2009. The cost of the project is about US $ 400 million. This modern arena with the seating capacity of 52,898, falls into the Elite category of football stadiums.

The first official game at the Donbass Arena was held on September 27, 2009. The opening football match at the stadium was a Premier League game between Shakhtar and Kyiv's Obolon, which ended in a major 4-0 victory for the Pitmen. The first goal at the Donetsk Arena was scored by Jadson.

In the 2009/10 season, Shakhtar once again claimed the Ukrainian league title, its fourth in six years. The Donetsk team started their next football season with a 7-1 Super Cup of Ukraine victory over Tavriya.

In the 2010/11 season, the Orange-and-Black reached the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in history, and lost to Barcelona in the quarterfinals.

The Pitmen celebrated their Premier League triumph two games away from the season end, also defeating Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 in the Ukrainian Cup final. Thus, Shakhtar claimed its third golden double in history.

In the 2011/12 season, Shakhtar finished fourth in the Champions League group stage, once again becoming the domestic league winnners and beating Metalurh Donetsk in the Cup final.

The 2012/13 season was a record one for Shakhtar. The team became the Super Cup winners and won all the matches in the first half of the season (enjoying the longest winning streak of 24 games and longest scoring streak of 34 games).

The Donetsk team secured its championship title four rounds before the end of the season, beating their closest opponents by a wide margin. Furthermore, the team won their ninth Ukrainian Cup, matching the domestic record. Shakhtar also reached the Champions League round of 16.

In the 2013/14 season, the Pitmen finished third in their Champions League group, failing to make it past the Europa League round of 32. However, one round before the end of the season, Shakhtar won the Premier League title for the fifth consecutive time, their ninth in history.

Due to the military conflict in the Donbas, the team relocated to Kyiv for the 2014/15 season, hosting most of its nominal home games at the Arena Lviv.

Despite the lack of a home field and their fans, the Pitmen reached the Champions League round of 16. At the domestic level, Shakhtar won the Ukrainian Super Cup, and became the runners-up of the domestic Cup and League.

The same season saw the team's Champions League record scoring performance against BATE (7-0 in Belarus, and 5-0 in Lviv), with Luiz Adriano grabbing the Donetsk team's first ever European club cup ‘penta-trick’.

Shakhtar started the 2015/16 season with a 2-0 Ukrainian Super Cup victory over Dynamo. The Pitmen finished the league’s autumn part in the top spot, winning 14 matches out of 16. Shakhtar also beat Dynamo 3-0, being the biggest away win against the Kyiv team. After passing two qualifying rounds, the team advanced to the Champions League group stage, where they competed with PSG, Real Madrid and Malmo. Based on the Champions League group stage performance, the Pitmen continued playing in the Europa League.

In the winter of 2016, Shakhtar made a historic transfer: the league’s top scorer Alex Teixeira (22 goals) moved to Jiangsu Suning, China for a record sum of 50 million euros. Shakhtar had a successful Europa League campaign. After making it past Schalke 04, Anderlecht and Braga, the Donetsk team ended up in the semi-finals.

In the domestic league, the Orange-and-Blacks whitewashed Dynamo (3-0) for the third time that season, still finishing in the second spot. Darijo Srna made 492 apps, beating the record of Mikhail Sokolovskiy in terms of the number of appearances for the Donetsk team. Shakhtar marked the club’s 80th anniversary as the Ukrainian Cup Winners, defeating Zorya in the final (2-0).

The end of Mircea Lucescu’s era coincided with the season completion. He coached the Miners for 12 years, winning 22 trophies and appearing in 573 games.

On June 1, 2016, a Portuguese specialist Paulo Fonseca took charge of the team. With him at the helm, Shakhtar secured a golden double, having won the league title and the Ukrainian cup. The championship is the landmark 10th title in the history of Shakhtar. In the Premier League, they finished 13 points clear of the second spot side, also claiming a 1-0 Cup final win over Dynamo through a goal by Marlos.

Shakhtar’s European club cup campaign kicked off with the Champions League qualifying stage, with them failing to advance to the main competition. In the Europa League, Shakhtar reached the Round of 32 and were recognized by UEFA as the group stage’s top club: the Donetsk team won all 6 games in that stage and showcased the top scoring performance by notching 21 goals.

In the 2017/18 season, Shakhtar won three domestic titles. Paulo Fonseca’s men began with the Ukrainian Super Cup triumph (a brace by Ferreyra helped the team defeat Dynamo 2-0). In the Premier League, the Miners were leading throughout the title race and secured the championship a round away from the season end, again proving stronger than the Kyiv side in the domestic Cup final 2-0 win.

The Champions League campaign was also successful. In the tough group featuring Manchester City, Napoli and Feyenoord, the Donetsk outfit won four games (including three home wins) and reached the knockout stage. In the Round of 16, the Orange-and-Blacks met with Roma, Italy: they claimed a 2-1 home win, but suffered a narrow away defeat.

In May 2018, Shakhtar and Paulo Fonseca signed a new two-year deal. 

In the 2018/19 season, Shakhtar secured the golden double and became the most decorated club in Ukrainian history (34 trophies). The forward Junior Moraes was recognized as the league’s top scorer, with the team as a whole delivering the safest defensive performance (11 goals conceded) and really strong offensive play (73 goals scored).

The absolute Ukrainian Cup triumph allowed the Miners to update the domestic record for the number of wins (13). The Orange-and-Blacks won this trophy for the fourth time in a row. And in the UEFA Champions League, Paulo Fonseca’s men advanced from the group featuring Manchester City, Lyon, and Hoffenheim, to the UEFA Europa League knockout phase - the club has made it to the spring part of European competitions for the seventh year in a row.

On 12 June 2019, Luis Castro took charge of Shakhtar as its manager.
 
In the very first season with him at the helm, the team won the league title - the 13th in their history and the fourth in a row. The Miners secured their earliest gold medals (five rounds away from the league season end) and again became the most decorated club during Ukraine’s independence period (35 trophies).

Season 2020/21 was at the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic: matches were held behind closed doors and the teams had to observe strict quarantine restrictions. Shakhtar won 2 times over Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage (3-2 and 2-0), but did not manage to advance to play-offs. The Miners took the second spot in the UPL.

In May 2021, the Italian Roberto De Zerbi became the head coach of Shakhtar. The team qualified for the Champions League group stage and won the Ukrainian Super Cup under his management defeating Dynamo Kyiv at the NSC Olimpiyskiy (3-0).

Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The Ukrainian League was completed without the preschedule winner. Shakhtar have led the UPL at the moment of the season stoppage and received a direct pass to the 2022/23 Champions League.