Fans
23.02.24
Shakhtar’s European journey comes to an end
Shakhtar Donetsk have been eliminated from the Europa League after a 3-1 defeat away at Olympique Marseille in the second leg of their play-off tie. The Ukrainian side had delivered four special European nights at the Volksparkstadion in front of a total audience of 171,156.
The Ukrainian champions exited the Europa League after a 3-1 loss at Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome on Thursday evening (February 22nd). A week earlier, Shakhtar had played their fourth European home game of the season at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, drawing 2-2 with the French outfit. 28,795 fans turned out for the most recent European game at HSV’s home ground, where Donetsk had previously played Champions League home games against Porto (3-1 loss), Barcelona (1-0 win) and Antwerp (1-1 draw). 46,707, 49,089 and 47,209 spectators streamed into the Volksparkstadion for those fixtures, making Donetsk’s games true footballing spectacles.
More than 170,000 fans in total
The 171,156 fans who attended Shakhtar’s games at the Volksparkstadion were not only able to enjoy top-class European football, but also show solidarity with the Ukrainian side and their compatriots, who have now been living under the shadow of Russia’s war on their country for two years. “It has been an honour for us to be able to provide Shakhtar Donetsk with a venue for the Champions League and Europa League. Many HSV fans, and many of my colleagues at the club, were in attendance at the games at the Volksparkstadion, really got involved and got behind the team,” said Dr. Eric Huwer, board member at HSV. He continued: “We would have liked to provide further support – especially for the Ukrainian community in our city. We wish our friends at Shakhtar the very best for the second half of their domestic league campaign, which starts on Monday. Our sympathy and thoughts go out to those suffering from the war in Ukraine, especially this weekend, which marks the second anniversary of Russia’s terrible invasion.”
The delegation from the 14-time Ukrainian champions, led by Oleksandr Muradov (Head of the Sales Department at Shakhtar) not only felt welcome in Hamburg over the past few weeks and months, but also received professional support with holding their European games at the Volksparkstadion. While they may now have been knocked out of the competition, the connection between Shakhtar and HSV is one that will remain for years to come.