Newbies to face Champions League perennials

Did you know that…

… this is the 13th time that Donetsk will take part in the Champions League? 

Since the season of 2000/01, Shakhtar Donetsk has featured 13 times in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The Ukrainians have survived the group stage a total of four times, to make it out into the knock-out phase. In the previous year, Shakhtar were unluckily knocked out by AS Roma in the Round of 16 due to the away-goal rule. (2-1, 0-1).

… Shakhtar won the UEFA Cup in 2009?

In the UEFA Europa League's predecessor, the UEFA Cup, Donetsk triumphed against Werder Bremen to win 2-1 extra-time, in the final of 2009. 

… that a lot of Portuguese is spoken at Shakhtar?

In Shakhtar Donetsk's current squad, 10 players are Brazillian nationals. The manager, Paulo Fonseca, does not have too many issues with the language barrier though.. he is Portuguese! 

… this will be the first competitive match that TSG will play against a Ukrainian team?

For the first time in TSG club history, Hoffenheim will face a Ukrainian team in a competitive match fixture.

… Shakhtar plays its UEFA Champions League home matches in Kharkiv?

Due to the Eastern Ukraine conflict, Shakhtar Donetsk's home games in the UEFA Champions League will not take place in Donetsk itself, they will actually be played approximately 190 miles away in Kharkiv.

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