Vitalii
Starukhin

Vitalii Starukhin is the best striker of the Soviet period Shakhtar, a symbol of the Pitmen and master of headers, who left a bright mark in the history of the Donetsk club.

The striker transferred to Donetsk from Stroitel Poltava. Since his first matches he made the local public fall in love with himself. He seamlessly fit into the Donetsk team’s play and became the perfect complement to their ranks. Fans affectionately called him Babushka. And Starukhin repaid them with goals for the team. While not being the perfect fit for a striker, he was able to pick the right position in the opponents’ penalty area and send the ball exactly where the goalkeeper could not reach it. During his time with Shakhtar, he appeared in 270 matches and scored 110 goals.

The peak of the footballer’s career coincided with one of the most successful seasons in the Soviet history of Shakhtar. In the 1979 championship, the Pitmen headed by Viktor Nosov were unmatched, beating any team, and aimed to claim the gold medals until the end of the championship. That year, Vitalii scored 26 times, and was named the top scorer of the season, with all the leading media naming him the country’ player of the year.

After finishing his career, Vitalii Starukhin started working in the Pitmen’s children and youth school. He gave all his talent and skill to the Donetsk club, and was rightly immortalized with a star on Shakhtar’s Walk of Fame on May 8, 2011.