The "Ukrainian Classico" will kick off at 18:00. Our website will provide a text broadcast of the match.
Matches between Dynamo and Shakhtar are traditionally intense and vibrant, often transcending mere football rivalry.
Furthermore, the participants in these confrontations frequently compete not only on the football field but also outside of it. If one puts in enough effort, quotes from the key figures of the classic can be compiled into a whole anthology. For now, we will limit ourselves to a top eight, symbolizing infinity and the notion that such a collection can continue indefinitely.
Well, where would we be without the famous hat and the ironically sarcastic praise for the federation? One of the most well-known phrases, not just from the Classico but from all of Ukrainian football, belongs to Mircea Lucescu. Back then, he was still the coach of the miners. Who would have thought that after such vivid verbal performances from Mister, he would eventually lead the Kyiv team? It’s interesting to ponder what odds bookmakers would have offered on that.
The legendary phrase from Lucescu was voiced on November 6, 2006, during the Ukrainian championship match Dynamo – Shakhtar at the Lobanovsky Stadium. That day, the grey hat flew off the head of the Romanian coach. The cause-and-effect relationship is quite simple: Mister was greatly angered by the expulsion of Chyhrynskyi. Interestingly, that match also saw Milevskyi not finish the game, and Srna received a red card after the match for "spicing things up" with the referee.
By the way, the Donetsk team lost 0:1. "The Ukrainian championship has been disgraced!" – summarized the Romanian coach at the post-match press conference.
Another famous phrase came from representatives of Shakhtar. This time, Brazilian Jadson made headlines during the famous semi-final clash in the UEFA Cup. Let’s recall that the miners won 2:1. Jadson, by the way, scored a goal.’ Other goals were scored by Bangura and Ilsinho.
After the final whistle confirming Shakhtar's victory, the midfielder rushed to the cameras and said the famous phrase "Where is Dynamo, where?". Later, the Brazilian explained that he was supposedly just joking.
Now Andriy Yarmolenko and Taras Stepanenko are veterans of the national team, exemplars on the football field and beyond. However, their personal interactions have seen their fair share of drama. In 2016, another Classico ended with a good "brawl," which started with Yarmolenko's tackle on Stepanenko. Many were throwing punches, and Kucher's run from the bench to throw a hook at Yarmolenko was particularly notable. Of course, such events do not reflect well on Ukrainian football, but what happened has happened.
Following this, Stepanenko's comment was quite eloquent and categorical: "A fight at the end of the match? I have no idea what happened. After the third goal, I simply showed the emblem of our club on my shirt. I love Shakhtar and respect our club. I said nothing, provoked no one. After that, I was kicked in the legs, and then someone knocked me down from behind, cowardly. Was it Andriy Yarmolenko? So I declare to all of Ukraine – my friendship with Yarmolenko has ended forever. He could have broken my leg if he had hit me on the supporting one."
Later, for the good of the national team, both leaders publicly reconciled under the watchful eye of the federation's management and journalists.
Andriy Yarmolenko found a way to respond to his counterpart after this match. The leader of the Kyiv team emphasized in his commentary that his club had become champions, despite the heavy defeat by Shakhtar.
"A lost battle, but a won war. Remember this, and then kiss the emblem and beat your chest. Dynamo – is the champion, don't forget that," – Yarmolenko tweeted.
Oleksandr Shovkovskyi always had a rich vocabulary. However, in most cases, the legendary Dynamo goalkeeper and longtime captain of the Kyiv team was quite reserved in his comments. The lost Classico but won championship compelled Sasho to cleverly and in his style mock the fierce rivals:
"For the sake of objectivity, it’s worth saying that after we became champions, our level of motivation was not the same. We couldn’t 'reach out' to the players, set them up for the match. I can say that the result is logical because we made many mistakes. Congratulations to Shakhtar on their victory. Congratulations to them on their silver medals - they deserved them," – said Shovkovskyi.
Oleg Blokhin – certainly not Vitaliy Kvartsyany or Ihor Hamula, but even his quotes can fill a decent quote book. "We will sort it out" or "I don’t speak Nigerian" (a language that doesn't exist) – these and other quotes have already entered history and become memes.
Regarding confrontations with the "miners," the legendary coach has another gem: "I don’t discuss refereeing, but the referee ruined the game." Thus, Oleg Volodymyrovych commented on the defeat by Shakhtar with a score of 1:2 in the 2013 championship.
Blokhin's employer, Ihor Surkis, with whom they ultimately parted ways not as friends, also frequently commented on matches with Shakhtar with a "spicy" touch. In 2016, after a lost match, Ihor Mykhailovych took a jab at the federation and the referee Romanov's performance.
"Believe me, the intrigue will be – I promise you. It’s too early to hang medals on Shakhtar, we will fight. I never talk about refereeing, but if such penalties are not awarded, then let’s line Shakhtar up on the field and let the Federation reward them right away," – Surkis stated while commenting on that match.
Well, what’s a top list without quotes from the legend of the miners, Dario Srna? The defender and longtime captain of Donetsk was never shy to call his team the best in the world, and he made a series of notable comments while still a player, but a more recent quote from the Croatian made it into our collection.
While in an administrative position, he said: "If I moved to Dynamo, my wife would leave me."