Shakhtar prepare for title defence

FC Shakhtar Donetsk are bracing themselves to defend their Ukrainian Premier League title when the 2002/03 season begins on Sunday.

Shakhtar reinforce ranks
The division has been expanded to include 16 teams, and Shakhtar take on FC Arsenal Kyiv in their opening fixture. With half an eye on their UEFA Champions League campaign, which will begin in the third qualifying round, Shakhtar have reinforced their ranks in pre-season with coach Nevio Scala bringing in several high-profile players, including Ururguayan international defender Damian Rodriguez and Brazilian forward Brandão.

Medal ceremony
The Donetsk club, who clinched their first title in 65 years in June, were officially awarded with gold medals last Friday in front of a packed home stadium. "I am happy to coach such a team," Scala said at the ceremony. "My gratitude goes to the fans, who have supported us with incredible enthusiasm. We will do everything possible to become champions again." At the same ceremony Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov received a state award from president Leonid Kuchma.

Ambitious Arsenal
Shakhtar's opponents in the opening match have also had a fruitful pre-season, spending €10m on 30 new signings. The club are also said to be closing in on former Russian international Oleh Salenko, who was joint-top scorer at the FIFA World Cup finals in 1994. Ambitious Vyacheslav Grozny has taken reigns of Arsenal, after a spell as an assistant to Oleg Romantsev in FC Spartak Moscow and they look set to provide the champions with a stern opening examination.

Injury worries for Dynamo
The other capital city club, FC Dynamo Kyiv, will travel to take on FC Metalist Kharkiv. The coming season could be a tough one for coach Olexiy Mykhaylichenko, who took over following the death of Valeriy Lobanovskiy in the spring. Dynamo's fans expect them to progress to UEFA Champions League group stages from second qualification round, as well as regain the title. However, they look likely to begin their campaign without Olexander Holovko, Oleh Kardash and Vitaly Kosovkiy who are all injured while new signing Badr Kaddouri is still settling in.

Grounds for optimism
Despite all that, Mykhaylichenko has grounds for optimism as well - as he has managed to bring in several talented youngsters, having signed four Ukrainian players who participated in the 2001/02 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Denmark. Highly-rated 18-year old Vitaly Nesin has also been loaned from FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. "We have to retain the title and win the cup. We realise we need to break to a new level," Mykhaylichenko said.

Metalurh arrivals
FC Metalurh Donetsk, who finished third last season to qualify for the UEFA Cup, will start their campaign against new boys FC Obolon Kyiv. Experienced goalkeeper Yury Virt and forward Serhiy Atelkin have moved across town to strengthen Metalurh's ranks. Fellow UEFA Cup hopefuls, FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhya will kick off against FC Tavriya Simferopol, who will be hoping for a successful debut from striker Alexander Brdanin, who recently arrived from OFK Belgrade. Aside from Obolon, SK Volyn Lutsk and FC Chornomorets Odesa will also be debuting in the Ukrainian top flight on Sunday.