Sharp Schuster targets Ukraine crown

As the Ukrainian season resumes this weekend, it looks like a straightforward race to the wire between Olexiy Mikhailichenko's FC Dynamo Kyiv and the FC Shakhtar Donetsk side coached by German Bernd Schuster.

Schuster success
Schuster joined Shakhtar last summer and made a great start there, taking his side into the winter break with a three-point advantage over Dynamo. However, he will face strong resistance from Mikhailichenko, who is determined to carry on in the same successful vein as last season, when his side won the league and cup double.

Dynamo wilting
However, the ten-times Ukrainian champions are not necessarily in the best form, as a 2-0 defeat against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first leg of their Ukrainian Cup semi-final demonstrated. They may have spent €11m on eight new players during the winter break, but the general concensus is they were fortunate to lose only 2-0 against Dnipro.

Frail defence
The main problem is at the back where they have been without the injured Serhiy Fedorov, Yuriy Dmytrulin and Andriy Nesmachniy in recent friendly games, As a consequence their defence has looked extremely frail and Mikhailichenko must find a solution very quickly or his team struggle to keep pace with Shakhtar.

Decisive encounter
The decisive moment for Dynamo may come on 10 April when they travel to Donetsk to play Shakhtar. Having not won a game at their fierce rivals' home in four seasons, the odds look to be stacked against Mikhailichenko's men and the coach will be well aware that his side's season may be on the line.

Shakhtar hunger
For their part, Shakhtar will be every bit as hungry for success, having drawn a blank since winning the double in 2001/02, and while many of their mid-winter signings were ones for the future, FC Dinamo Bucuresti defender Flavius Stoican is likely to make an immediate impact on Schuster's first-team selection. The coach has dedicated himself to improving Shakhtar's displays in Europe, but scooping the domestic title on the way would not do his reputation any harm.

Dnipro devilry
Third in the table, nine points adrift of Shakhtar, Dnipro are the only other side who look capable of challenging for the title. Their progress to the third round of this season's UEFA Cup was a positive sign but whether the team coached by the 62-year-old Yevgen Kucherevskyy will be able to haul themselves into the top two placings, and take a UEFA Champions League berth, remains to be seen. Still with the Ukrainian Cup also to play for, Dnipro can make plenty of trouble for the big two in the spring.