Kiev (AFP) – Shakhtar Donetsk have named Portuguese Paulo Fonseca as their new coach, the Ukrainian club confirmed on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old, who won the Portuguese Cup this season with Braga and the 2013 Portuguese Supercup with Porto, signed a two-year deal to succeed veteran Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu.
Shakhtar, who have played away from their home city Donetsk for two years because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, reached the semi-finals of this season’s Europa League.
Earlier this month Shakhtar won their 10th Ukrainian Cup, but the club finished as league runners-up to Dynamo Kiev for the second consecutive year, before Lucescu left to coach Russian club Zenit Saint-Petersburg.
“First of all, I am very happy to become a part of this club Shakhtar,” Fonseca, who has also coached Aves and Pacos de Ferreira, told Shakhtar’s official website.
“Working for this club is a huge privilege for any coach.
“We are very ambitious, and we will turn all our ambitions into spectacular and quality football,” added the coach, who will lead his new team in the Champions League qualifying round.
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