FC Olimpik Donetsk have a really interesting story. They are a young club, founded in 2001 in Donetsk. They play in the top tier since 2014, while the two ties against PAOK will be their maiden European encounters. They boast a meteoric rise, establishing themselves in the midst of Ukraine’s powerhouses, earning a ticket for the UEFA Europa League and once making it all the way to the domestic cup semi-finals.

They rely mainly on home-grown players from their own academies –and that speaks volumes about their tightly-knit roster. However they don’t play in their own home ground, as the situation in Donetsk forced them to seek a new venue for their fixtures.

The architect of success

They also have a home-grown coach. Roman Sanzhar, former player of FC Olimpik Donetsk, is at the helm of the squad.

Sanzhar played for them from 2004 to 2012 and, as soon as he hung up his football boots, he joined the coaching staff as assistant of head coach Roman Pylypchuk. The latter was fired in 2013 and the administration decided to hand the reins to Sanzhar.

The Ukrainian coach took over at the age of 34 and has been very successful: after getting them promoted to the top flight in his first season, he guaranteed them a comfortable stay there and then led them to a European ticket.

Revamped roster

It has been a tough summer for the Ukrainian side. They parted ways with 12 players. Their biggest losses are unarguably the two top scorers, Postupalenko and Matiaz, who spearheaded the attack in the previous season. Olimpik also lost on defensive experience, after the departure of Dmytro Grishko.

They signed five new players, with Anton Kravchenko standing out. He is a centre back who joined them from FC Stal on a free transfer.

The star

FC Olimpik Donetsk’s strong suit is their team work, meaning that only a few players stand out. Goalkeeper Zauri Makharadze provides security at the back and lined up many good performances last season. Left full back Dmytro Nyemchaninov also had a stellar season, topping the assist charts with 6 to his name.

But Andriy Bohdanov is the one capable of making a difference. The Ukrainian holding midfielder joined FC Olimpik Donetsk from FC Volyn Lutsk and has proved a great signing. He is the team’s brains on the pitch, holding the lines together and has an eye for goal. He conjured up 4 goals and 1 assist in 23 encounters last season.

The venue

FC Olimpik are not using their own ground in Donetsk, but have moved to Kiev instead, using Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium. It was built in 1934 and can accommodate 16.873 spectators. The stadium suffered extensive damage in January 2014 during the street battles of the Euromaidan revolution, sparked by the government’s decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union.

Their performance in friendly matches / Fixtures

The Ukrainians have already wrapped up their preseason, as the domestic league kicks off this Sunday (16 July). In the opening match, FC Olimpik face FC Oleksandriya away. On matchday 2, five days before the first leg against PAOK, they travel to Kropyvnytskyi for the match against local Zirka.

Since the end of June, FC Olimpik have played three friendly encounters and lost them all: 1-0 to Kolos Kovalivka, 3-1 to Illichivets’ Mariupol’ and 2-1 to Helios.