For the last 20 years, Shakhtar Donetsk has been one of the main gateways for players from Brazil with the dream of playing in European football. Currently, the Ukrainian club has 13 athletes from the country.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in the early hours of Thursday (24), they began to ask for the support of the Brazilian government to be able to leave Ukrainian territory. Some of them appear in the video in which athletes and their families make an appeal for help.
The video was recorded in a hotel in Kiev, a city that Shakhtar recently adopted as its new home. The club has not played in Donetsk, its hometown, since 2014, precisely because of military conflicts.
Eight years ago, the Russian government of Vladimir Putin made the first attacks on Ukrainian territory and the team had to leave their home, as the Donbass Arena stadium was bombed in armed clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatist forces.
The team was then forced to move. First, he started playing in Lviv, about 1,000 km from Donetsk. Then, in 2017, he went to Kharkiv. And, from the 2019/20 season, he started to send games in the capital Kiev.
Why do Shakhtar have so many Brazilians?
Over the last few years, the club has always had players from Brazil in its squad. The tradition gained strength from 2004, when the Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu, who commanded the team for 12 years, until 2016, started to indicate the hiring of athletes from the country.
Currently at Dynamo Kiev, he became a fan of Brazilian football when, as captain of Romania, he faced the Brazilian team of 1970, with names like Pelé, Tostão and Jairzinho.
As a coach, he first bet on lesser-known athletes in the country. With the arrival of Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, who started to sponsor the club, he redirected his sights on the players with the most potential, such as Jadson, Willian, Fred and Douglas Costa, just to name a few examples.
Even after Lucescu’s departure, the tradition continued, helping Shakhtar to become one of the most winning clubs in his country, where they have won the national championship 13 times, in addition to being champions of the Uefa Cup (currently Europa League). of 2008/09.
Meet Shakhtar’s 13 Brazilian players
Junior Moraes, striker, 34 years old
Naturalized Ukrainian, he began his career at Santos in 2007, the year he was champion of São Paulo. In Brazilian football, he also played for Ponte Preta and Santo André, before leaving the country in 2010.
He has passed through Romania, Bulgaria and China. He was more successful, however, playing in Ukraine, where he played for Dynamo Kiev before becoming an athlete for Shakhtar in 2018. He won the Ukrainian Championship three times.
Fernando, striker, 22 years old
Created from the base of Palmeiras, he had few opportunities to play in the alviverde team between 2017 and 2018, before leaving the club for Shakhtar. In the 2019/20 season, he spent a brief spell on loan at Sporting before returning to Russian football, where he has twice won the national championship and once the Ukrainian Cup.
Pedrinho, midfielder, 23 years old
Formed by Corinthians, for which he won four professional titles — the 2017 Brazilian, in addition to the São Paulo tri (2017, 2018 and 2019) —, the midfielder arrived at the club last season, after spending time with Benfica, from Portugal, a team for which he transferred when leaving Parque São Jorge. The Ukraine team paid 18 million euros (R$ 104 million at the current price) for him.
In 2021, the player won his first title in European football, the Ukrainian Super Cup.
Tete, striker, 22 years old
Mateus Cardoso Lemos Martins, better known as Tetê, was revealed at the base of Grêmio, but left the club in 2019, without playing in the professional team. He caught the attention of the European team after standing out in the South American Under-20 Championship that year.
With Shakhtar, he won the national championship twice and the Ukrainian Cup once.
David Neres, striker, 24 years old
Created from the base of São Paulo, the player arrived this season in Ukraine football after standing out in Europe wearing the Ajax shirt. He left Brazilian football in 2017, having made only eight matches for the tricolor team.
With Ajax, he won the Dutch League and the Dutch Cup twice. In the 2018/19 season, he was also included by UEFA in the “Champions League selection” for his performances in the edition of the tournament in which the club reached the semi-finals.
Alan Patrick, midfielder, 30 years old
Revealed by Santos in 2009, the player left Brazilian football early, two years later, when he was bought by Shakhtar in 2011. Linked to the Ukrainian club since then, he has already had loan spells at Internacional, Palmeiras and Flamengo.
In all, he has accumulated 18 important titles in his career, including the 2011 Libertadores with Santos and the 2015 Copa do Brasil with Palmeiras.
​Maycon, steering wheel, 24 years old
Formed by Corinthians, he turned professional in 2016, the year in which he had a brief period on loan at Ponte Preta. Back at Parque São Jorge, he was one of the team’s main players in the conquests of two Paulistas (2017 and 2018) and the 2017 Brazilian Championship.
With Shakhtar since 2018, he won the Ukrainian Championship twice, in addition to the Ukrainian Cup and the Ukrainian Supercup.
Marcos Antônio, midfielder, 21 years old
The player emerged at Athletico’s base, but left Brazilian football without even playing professionally in Brazil, in 2018. At the time, he transferred to Estoril, from Portugal. The following year, he moved to Shakhtar, for which he has won three titles.
Vinicius Tobias, winger, 18 years old
Another Brazilian gem that left Brazil without making his professional debut, the player revealed by Internacional hit a deal with Shakhtar in January this year, after the club paid 6 million euros (R$ 34 million) for him.
Dodo, side, 23 years old
The player started his career at Coritiba in 2016, but left Brazilian football two years later, in 2018, when he aroused the interest of the Ukrainian team. He had a brief spell on loan at Vitória de Guimarães, from Portugal, but returned to Shakhtar.
Ismaily, side, 32 years old
The experienced player started his career at the modest Ivinhema, from Mato Grosso do Sul, and did not play for any big club in the country. In 2009, he arrived in European football when he was bought by Estoril from Portugal, where he also played for Olhanense and Braga, before moving to Ukraine.
He joined Shakhtar in 2013 and has already won 13 titles for the club.
Vitão, defender, 22 years old
Formed at the base of Palmeiras and promoted to the professional team by Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2018, the player played only one game as a professional for the alviverde team. In 2019, he was sold to the Ukrainian team, for which he managed to have a streak, in addition to winning two titles.
Marlon, defender, 26 years old
The player started his career at Fluminense, in 2014, and soon caught the attention of Barcelona. In 2016, he was loaned to the Spanish club, but to play in the B team. In the same year, he had the chance to play three matches in the first team, before being loaned again, this time to Nice, from France. After standing out, he went to play in Italy, signed by Sassuolo, for which he played three seasons.
He has been with Shakhtar since June 2021.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
