Introducing opponents: Debreceni
Monday, February 6, 2017
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On February 7, the Pitmen will take on Debreceni VSC in the Atlantic Cup third-place decider
The club from the city in Eastern Hungary having the same name, was founded in 1902. At the end of the past century, Debreceni made significant progress, becoming one of the Hungarian football giants. In 1999, they raised their first Hungarian Cup, currently being the six-time Cup winners. From 2005 to 2014, Loki claimed 7 domestic titles and won 5 Super Cups.
The Red-and-Whites completed their 2015/16 season campaign in the third place to make it to the Europa League qualifying stage, only to fail to advance to the second qualifying round. In the current Hungarian League edition, Debreceni’s performance has not been very successful: after 19 rounds, they hover just above the relegation zone.
The team’s head coach is a 44-year-old Leonel Pontes. The Portuguese – previously employed with Sporting CP and the national team, as well as with Panetolikos FC, Greece and Al-Ittihad, Egypt – has taken charge of the Red-and-Whites in August 2016.
Let us remind you that Shakhtar already faced Debreceni earlier. It happened in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round one. Back then, the Orange-and-Blacks won 6-1 on aggregate.
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Shakhtar already faced Debreceni in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round one. Back then, the Orange-and-Blacks won 6-1 on aggregate
The Shakhtar vs Debreceni game kicks off at 21:45 Kyiv time (EET). Watch the live broadcast on Futbol 1 TV channel, also read the text commentary on shakhtar.com.