Major game
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
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While football games have been suspended, we have been recalling all of Shakhtar's title-winning seasons
The 2005/06 season gave the fans some bright competition and plot that lasted until the last round. It also went down in the history of Ukrainian football as the first and only season with the championship medals’ future being decided in the golden game.
Staffing decisions
After the debut title-winning season, Mircea Lucescu formed the backbone of the team that needed just some pinpoint strengthening. The transfers held in the summer of 2005 proved very successful: some players benefited the team immediately, while others proved themselves later. Fernandinho managed to do both things. The talented Brazilian blended in the Miners’ play so vividly that in the first season he made 23 league appearances, subsequently becoming one of the strongest foreign players in the club’s history. Another great example is the returning Vyacheslav Shevchuk who eventually stayed in the team for the following 11 plus years and won 20 trophies. We want to mention the moves to Shakhtar of the goalkeeper Bohdan Shust (he competed with Jan Lashtuvka and Dmytro Shutkov in this role), of the young defender Dmytro Chygrynskyy (11 apps, 3 goals) and of the experienced Turkish centreback Tolga Seyhan (15 apps).
Neck and neck
The title race again unfolded between Shakhtar and Dynamo. The archrivals were competing neck and neck throughout the season without paying attention to any other opponents, eventually getting 30 (!) points clear of the third-spot Chornomorets.
The Miners took the lead by winning 7 opening games, but the Kyiv team gradually reduced the gap, starting the next stage at the table top after winning the head-to-head meeting (1-0). In the spring, Mircea Lucescu's team were just catching up. After 25 rounds, the opponents were only 3 points apart, with neither side managing to finish the season without any losses. First, Dynamo suffered a defeat at the hands of Dnipro (0-2), with the Donetsk team returning to the top spot. A week later, the Miners failed to beat the 20-year-old Andriy Pyatov in the match against Vorskla (0-0), followed by the Kyiv outfit’s tie with Tavria in the penultimate round (0-0).
Shakhtar and Dynamo approached the final round having the same number of points and the need to solve everything in the head-to-head encounter on the Kyiv field. The match turned out to be as dramatic as the season itself: the hosts got off to a powerful start, and in the 10th minute Maksym Shatskikh opened the scoring, with Artem Milevskyi netting the second goal. But after the break, the Orange-and-Blacks showcased their famous character and managed to recoup. Dmytro Chygrynskyy scored one in the 53rd minute, and Jadson levelled it in the 65th one. 2-2 - both teams gained 75 points and had to decide the title’s future in the golden match for the first time in the Ukrainian League history.
The Golden Match
The decisive league title battle took place in Kryvyi Rih on May 14, 2006. This game saw every kind of things: 120 minutes of tense fighting, an incredibly twisted plot and a bright denouement. The first half turned out to be very cautious, with both teams being afraid to make a mistake and paying more attention to defensive action - 0-0 before the break.
Staffing decisions
After the debut title-winning season, Mircea Lucescu formed the backbone of the team that needed just some pinpoint strengthening. The transfers held in the summer of 2005 proved very successful: some players benefited the team immediately, while others proved themselves later. Fernandinho managed to do both things. The talented Brazilian blended in the Miners’ play so vividly that in the first season he made 23 league appearances, subsequently becoming one of the strongest foreign players in the club’s history. Another great example is the returning Vyacheslav Shevchuk who eventually stayed in the team for the following 11 plus years and won 20 trophies. We want to mention the moves to Shakhtar of the goalkeeper Bohdan Shust (he competed with Jan Lashtuvka and Dmytro Shutkov in this role), of the young defender Dmytro Chygrynskyy (11 apps, 3 goals) and of the experienced Turkish centreback Tolga Seyhan (15 apps).
Neck and neck
The title race again unfolded between Shakhtar and Dynamo. The archrivals were competing neck and neck throughout the season without paying attention to any other opponents, eventually getting 30 (!) points clear of the third-spot Chornomorets.
The Miners took the lead by winning 7 opening games, but the Kyiv team gradually reduced the gap, starting the next stage at the table top after winning the head-to-head meeting (1-0). In the spring, Mircea Lucescu's team were just catching up. After 25 rounds, the opponents were only 3 points apart, with neither side managing to finish the season without any losses. First, Dynamo suffered a defeat at the hands of Dnipro (0-2), with the Donetsk team returning to the top spot. A week later, the Miners failed to beat the 20-year-old Andriy Pyatov in the match against Vorskla (0-0), followed by the Kyiv outfit’s tie with Tavria in the penultimate round (0-0).
Shakhtar and Dynamo approached the final round having the same number of points and the need to solve everything in the head-to-head encounter on the Kyiv field. The match turned out to be as dramatic as the season itself: the hosts got off to a powerful start, and in the 10th minute Maksym Shatskikh opened the scoring, with Artem Milevskyi netting the second goal. But after the break, the Orange-and-Blacks showcased their famous character and managed to recoup. Dmytro Chygrynskyy scored one in the 53rd minute, and Jadson levelled it in the 65th one. 2-2 - both teams gained 75 points and had to decide the title’s future in the golden match for the first time in the Ukrainian League history.
The Golden Match
The decisive league title battle took place in Kryvyi Rih on May 14, 2006. This game saw every kind of things: 120 minutes of tense fighting, an incredibly twisted plot and a bright denouement. The first half turned out to be very cautious, with both teams being afraid to make a mistake and paying more attention to defensive action - 0-0 before the break.
Early in the second half, the Miners attacked more actively, carrying out a protracted attack in the 60th minute that was finished off by Ciprian Marica heading it home - 1-0
Early in the second half, the Miners attacked more actively, carrying out a protracted attack in the 60th minute that was finished off by Ciprian Marica heading it home - 1-0. The Kyivans immediately seized the initiative and put pressure on the goal of Bohdan Shust using long-range attempts and flank deliveries, with Rodolfo equalizing in the 80th minute. Normal time saw no winner, so everything was decided in extra time. The Orange-and-Blacks earned a corner down the left flank, Fernandinho delivered the ball to the centre of the goal area, and Aghahowa was the first on the ball and headed the ball into the roof of the net. 2-1 - the bright finish to the season and Shakhtar’s third championship!
League heroes
One of the undoubted heroes of the 2005/06 season for the fans was Julius Aghahowa: the forward made 14 appearances and scored only 1 goal, but the most important one! The Nigerian forever went down in history as the scorer of the golden goal that brought the club the league title.
A huge contribution to that success was made by other players. For the Brazilian striker Brandao, this is the most productive season in Donetsk - with 15 goals he was recognized as the league’s top scorer. The role of the second striker was successfully shared between Oleksii Belik (7 goals) and Ciprian Marica (5). It was an excellent year for midfield leaders Francelino Matuzalem (28 apps and 10 goals) and captain Anatolii Tymoshchuk (27 apps and 5 goals).
The main victor was Mircea Lucescu. By claiming 2 league titles in 2 seasons he confirmed his high coaching level and finally made it clear that he came to join Shakhtar with serious intentions and for long.
Legend’s memories
League heroes
One of the undoubted heroes of the 2005/06 season for the fans was Julius Aghahowa: the forward made 14 appearances and scored only 1 goal, but the most important one! The Nigerian forever went down in history as the scorer of the golden goal that brought the club the league title.
A huge contribution to that success was made by other players. For the Brazilian striker Brandao, this is the most productive season in Donetsk - with 15 goals he was recognized as the league’s top scorer. The role of the second striker was successfully shared between Oleksii Belik (7 goals) and Ciprian Marica (5). It was an excellent year for midfield leaders Francelino Matuzalem (28 apps and 10 goals) and captain Anatolii Tymoshchuk (27 apps and 5 goals).
The main victor was Mircea Lucescu. By claiming 2 league titles in 2 seasons he confirmed his high coaching level and finally made it clear that he came to join Shakhtar with serious intentions and for long.
Legend’s memories
We have been one and felt the fantastic support of our fans!
Anatolii Tymoshchuk, Shakhtar captain back in the 2005/06 season:
“Today, we have been a real team! From a player on the field to an ordinary club employee, we all have been one. We also felt the fantastic support of our fans, plus we had additional strength to win this super-important golden match.”
“Today, we have been a real team! From a player on the field to an ordinary club employee, we all have been one. We also felt the fantastic support of our fans, plus we had additional strength to win this super-important golden match.”
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