Ukrainian topflight club Shakhtar Donetsk presented their new manager to the media on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian topflight club Shakhtar Donetsk presented their new manager to the media on Wednesday.
Portuguese Paulo Fonseca replaces Mircea Lucescu, who stepped down earlier this month following 12 years in charge during which time he won 22 trophies including eight league titles.
Due to the political instability in the region Shakhtar play their home games in Lviv and not Donetsk, but Fonseca believes this will not present a problem.
The 43-year-old said: “When I came here, I already knew the working conditions I would find. That will certainly not be an excuse in case I don’t succeed. But I believe we will succeed and that will not be an issue.”
After an unsuccessful year as coach of Porto which ended in his sacking in 2014, Fonseca had brief stints in charge of Paços Ferreira and then Braga.
At Shakhtar he has signed a two-year deal and his principle objective is to help the club recapture the Ukrainian league title from arch rivals and reigning two-time champions Dynamo Kiev.