Roman Petrenko discusses the prospects of playing in the Donetsk club club's pupils, analyzing their chances to get into the foundation of the team of Paulo Fonseca and singles out the most notable players of the youth team of miners.

Latin roll It has long been an axiom that at the head of modern football is, above all, the result. And it's not just the sports component in the form of victories and prestigious awards, but also in the economic aspect. Of course, Shakhtar, being one of the richest clubs in Eastern Europe, can not but follow the trend trends, and has been targeting not Hispanics for a few years, but for Hispanics. This applies to the attacking line, where the Ukrainians find themselves a difficult task - difficult to fulfill.

After the end of the unforgettable Victor Prokopenko era, the Donetsk club began to look less and less like a member of its own traditions. Generation of fans with experience for sure associates Shakhtar with unbeatable cup character and prevalence in the team of brave Donbass boys. The names of Vitaly Starukhin, Victor Grachev, Yuri Dudinsky and Mikhail Sokolovsky are still closely associated with the Donetsk club, and at the end of the last century the team had their own attack knights. What are only the master of decisive goals Sergei Atelkin, reactive Gennady Zubov, talented Alexei Belik and not long ago completed the playing career Andrew Vorobei! It was at these artists that the cozy Shakhtar Stadium was assembled at that time, and local football fans rejoiced at the success of their fellow countrymen in the full sense of this expression ... The arrival on the training bridge Mircea Lucescu immediately indicated the new tactical direction of the Donetsk team, for which every year the team appeared more and more new foreign players. Some of them did not understand what the exacting Romanian mentor wanted from them, others - corny did not correspond to the increasing level of ambitions of the club. True, sometimes in the attacking clip there is no-no, and shot Alexander Gladky and Eugene Seleznev, but these were, rather, exceptions, which, as is known from all the favorite films about Sherlock Holmes, only confirm the rule. Not so long ago, Andrei Boriachuk had a chance to prove himself in the first team, but his level (at least to date) was not enough for a full-fledged competition with two Argentines, Facundo Ferreira and Gustavo Blanco-Leshchuk. So the young striker left to gain experience in rent along the well-trodden Mariupol route ... About the midfield and at all - there is no need to speak. There are undoubtedly dominated magicians Tyson, Marlos and Bernard, as a result of which the chances to enter the field of Victor Kovalenko and Alexander Zubkov seem to be barely tangible. Yes, Victor at one time, as they say, "shot", but last year became in his career a period of real disappointment: in the club, the 21-year-old midfielder for obvious reasons (having a Brazilian color) was a solid reserve, and in the national team became the object of criticism of the fans. Zubkov's situation is even more complicated. In those matches, when he still got the playing time, the midfielder did not look the best, and Fonseca reasonably used the young football player only in rare rotation cases. Taking into account the miners' tasks on all fronts, little is still believed in changing the personnel policy of the club, after all, whatever one may say, the Brazilians justify the functions and hopes assigned to them, and Shakhtar confidently performs in three tournaments in which he participates ... Than are rich ... For the sake of justice , despite the long-established Latin American landmark for the club, Shakhtar also hosts a place for his pupils. Of course, this applies to the defense and the support zone, however, with some reservations. The center of the field is cemented by Taras Stepanenko and again by the Brazilian Fred. The latter, by the way, is one of the strongest players of our championship and in the near future can change the residence permit. Taras same can always replace the recovered from injury Maxim Malyshev and returning from the lease Dmitry Grechishkin. But the defensive line by tradition consists of our compatriots. Yaroslav Rakitsky acts in pairs alternately with Ivan Ordetz and Sergei Krivtsov: by the way, the first two are inmates of the miners' system. In the conditions of disqualification Dario Srna, Bogdan Butko takes the right side, and in force majeure cases - even the nominal winger (!) Ivan Petryak. It would seem reasonable to give a chance to knocking on the first team of Vladimir Grachev or Yefim Konople? !!. But no, the Donetsk club in this offseason acquired for this position the next Brazilian Dodo. Is it stronger than Ukrainian understudies?. On the opposite curb, the place of Ismaili is not subject to any doubts, and leaving for PAOK his replacement (and again the Brazilian!) Marcio Azevedo is now called upon to replace the returning from the lease Nikolai Matvienko. That's just immediately there is an absolutely adequate question: is it good for the leading left-back of the Ukrainian team such a return? !!.

Speaking about the defense of miners, immediately recalled the past fall, when due to the injuries of Krivtsov and Rakitsky had not only to pull up the basis of ex-sailor David Khocholava, and even to dispatch to the center of protection of the breakwater to the bones of Taras Stepanenko. But after all, in the first team, a very long period of training was very promising centerbanks Daniil Sagutkin and Sergei Chobotenko. Both are almost two-meter guys, perfectly operating on the second floor. The last, by the way, not so long ago replenished Donetsk club, having moved from the camp ... Dynamo. Fonseke already now it is worth thinking about the potential replacement of the mentioned Fred. The Brazilian has been sleeping for a long time and sees himself in the top club and top championship (moreover, in one bottle), and there is no equivalent replacement for him. This may well be one of the placers of promising pupils of the Zaporozhye school of football Danil Ignatenko, who already has experience in playing in the elite division and possesses the necessary set of football qualities for the central midfielder. Only will the 20-year-old grenadier get a chance to prove himself? !!.

The closest to the first team (not counting Kovalenko and Zubkov) is now seen attacking midfielder Alexander Pihalenok and goalkeeper Oleg Kudrik. Both had time to make their debut in the Premier League, but the real chances are now to play in the basis of their minimum. Pihalenok has long been training with the best of the best, but only gets into the official protocols for the matches only in case of injuries or disqualifications of the leading performers. The presence of the Brazilian "fantasist" in fact neutralizes Alexander's hopes to join the foundation. Kudrik's situation is similar. Andrey Pyatov plays regularly, and in case of force majeure Nikita Shevchenko replaces him. In such a company, even getting into the application is already an achievement, but after all the young goalkeeper needs to develop and play now ... There are in the club structure of Donetsk and very interesting attacking characters. The name of the 17-year-old Alexei Kashchuk is not the first year heard by the football community, because the striker regularly punches goals for Ukraine's youth teams. Immediately came to the court Kashchuk and in the double of the miners, where he also noted an enviable performance and in his years is considered one of the most gifted attackers of the country. Not the first year gives huge hopes and his colleague in the field Denis Gereyruk. It's a pity if they, like many of their predecessors, never get the opportunity to realize themselves in the first team. However, we will be optimists ... Instead of P. S or Once again about football patriotism We should not forget and already fairly "wiped out" the notion of football patriotism. Empty stands in Ukrainian stadiums are explained not only by the economic crisis, but by a number of other factors. In the political situation in which our country is now, the optimal is seen as the increase in the fan interest in football in the performance of our compatriots, diluted, of course, only by two more powerful legionaries. Realities are such that numerous agents employ foreigners masters of a very controversial level for the places of homegrown boys, dreaming of themselves in a T-shirt club from their native country and even the city. The recent example of the Carpathians is the brightest confirmation of this. The summer Spanish version of the Lviv people quickly and loudly failed, and only in the winter in the leadership of the club began to realize the full scale of the transfer catastrophe.

Undoubtedly, Shakhtar's situation is somewhat different. Despite the fact that the "miners" have long been taking their rivals in Kiev, then in Lviv, then in Kharkov, the interest of fans to their matches, to a greater extent, is due to the participation of the champion of Ukraine in the main club tournament of the Old World. For the matches of the domestic championship, only the most loyal fans of the "orange-black". Appealing face to own pupils could in the future increase interest in the team of a large proportion of football fans, and this applies not only to the Donetsk club ... Author: Roman Petrenko.