2008–09 Ukrainian Premier League

The 2008–09 Ukrainian Premier League season was the eighteenth since its establishment. The league was restructured and split off from the Professional Football League of Ukraine. It was officially named as the EpiCentre Championship of Ukraine in football.

Ukrainian Premier League
Season2008–09
ChampionsDynamo Kyiv
13th title
RelegatedFC Lviv
FC Kharkiv
Champions LeagueDynamo Kyiv
Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa LeagueMetalist Kharkiv
Metalurh Donetsk
Vorskla Poltava (via Ukrainian Cup)
Matches played240
Goals scored551 (2.3 per match)
Top goalscorerOleksandr Kovpak (17) (Tavriya Simferopol)
Longest winning runDynamo Kyiv (10)
Longest unbeaten runShakhtar Donetsk (15)
Longest losing runFC Kharkiv (8)

Shakhtar Donetsk were the defending champions of the past season, having won their fourth league title. The season began on 16 July 2008 with a scoreless draw between Tavriya Simferopol and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. The last round of matches were played on 26 May 2009. A total of 16 teams participated in the league, 14 of which had contested in the 2007–08 season, and two of which were promoted from the Persha Liha.

Vorskla Poltava's Ahmed Yanuzi scored the first goal of the tournament on 18 July 2008 in the 72nd minute of an away match against FC Kharkiv. Dynamo Kyiv won their title several games before the end of the season after a home win against Tavriya Simferopol. Dynamo finished with a 15-point lead over the defending champions and current runners-up Shakhtar Donetsk.

Teams

Location map
Locations of team home grounds in Ukrainian Premier League 2008–09

Managers and captains
Club Coach Captain Replaced coach
Arsenal Kyiv Oleksandr Zavarov Vitaliy Reva
Chornomorets Odesa Viktor Hryshko Vitaliy Rudenko Vitaliy Shevchenko
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Volodymyr Bezsonov Andriy Rusol Oleh Protasov
Dynamo Kyiv Yuri Semin Badr El Kaddouri
Illichivets Mariupol Ilya Bliznyuk Ihor Shukhovtsev Oleksandr Ischenko
Karpaty Lviv Oleg Kononov Serhiy Pshenychnykh
FC Kharkiv Mykhailo Stelmakh Vitaliy Komarnitskyy Volodymyr Bezsonov
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Oleh Taran Dorian Bylykbashi
FC Lviv Serhiy Kovalets Maryan Marushchak Stepan Yurchyshyn
Metalist Kharkiv Myron Markevych Oleksandr Goryainov
Metalurh Donetsk Nikolay Kostov Vyacheslav Checher
Metalurh Zaporizhya Oleh Lutkov Oleksiy Hodin Anatoly Chantsev
Shakhtar Donetsk Mircea Lucescu Darijo Srna
Tavriya Simferopol Serhiy Puchkov Oleksandr Kovpak Mykhailo Fomenko
Vorskla Poltava Mykola Pavlov Gennadiy Medvediev
Zorya Luhansk Yuri Dudnyk Oleksiy Khramtsov Anatoliy Volobuev

Qualification to European competitions for 2009–10
  • After the 23rd Round, Dynamo Kyiv qualified for European football for the 2009–10 season.
  • After the 26th Round, Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for European football for the 2009–10 season, while Dynamo Kyiv – for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League with an away 1–0 win over Zorya Luhansk.
  • After the 27th Round, Metalist Kharkiv qualified for European football for the 2009–10 season, while Dynamo Kyiv won the League's title with 3–2 home win over Tavriya Simferopol.
  • After the 28th Round, Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League with an away 3–0 win over Zorya Luhansk.
  • After the 30th Round, Metalurh Donetsk qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League with the 0–0 home draw against Arsenal Kyiv.
  • After beating Shakhtar Donetsk in the final of the 2008–09 Ukrainian Cup (1–0), Vorskla qualified for the Europa League play-off round, which qualified Metalist for the Europa League third qualification round and Metalurh for the second qualification round

Timeline of qualification

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dynamo Kyiv (C) 30 26 1 3 71 19 +52 79 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Shakhtar Donetsk 30 19 7 4 47 16 +31 64 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3 Metalist Kharkiv 30 17 8 5 44 25 +19 59 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Metalurh Donetsk 30 14 7 9 36 27 +9 49 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
5 Vorskla Poltava 30 14 7 9 32 26 +6 49 Qualification to Europa League play-off round
6 Dnipro 30 13 9 8 34 25 +9 48
7 Metalurh Zaporizhya 30 12 9 9 29 30 −1 45
8 Tavriya Simferopol 30 10 7 13 41 45 −4 37
9 Karpaty Lviv 30 8 10 12 33 39 −6 34
10 Chornomorets Odesa 30 12 2 16 34 42 −8 32[lower-alpha 1]
11 Arsenal Kyiv 30 8 8 14 26 33 −7 32
12 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 30 8 8 14 21 36 −15 32
13 Zorya Luhansk 30 8 7 15 29 45 −16 31
14 Illichivets Mariupol 30 7 5 18 31 54 −23 26
15 FC Lviv (R) 30 6 8 16 24 39 −15 26 Relegation to Ukrainian First League
16 FC Kharkiv (R) 30 2 9 19 19 50 −31 12[lower-alpha 2]
Source: Premier League website (in Ukrainian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd overall wins; 3rd goal difference; 4th goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Chornomorets were docked 6 points for failing to satisfy contractual obligations with the Bosnian player Đorđe Inđić.[1]
  2. On 6 May 2009 FC Kharkiv were docked 3 points by the Disciplinary Committee of the FPL (application fees).[2]

Results
Home \ Away ARK CHO DNI DYN ILL KAR KHA KRY LVI MET MDO MZA SHA TAV VOR ZOR
Arsenal Kyiv 1–0 0–1 0–2 4–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–1
Chornomorets Odesa 0–1 1–1 0–3 3–2 3–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–3 0–2 0–1 1–3
Dnipro 2–1 4–1 1–3 0–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–1
Dynamo Kyiv 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 4–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–2 4–1 5–0
Illichivets Mariupol 2–1 1–0 1–2 3–4 1–5 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 3–3 1–3 1–0
Karpaty Lviv 3–1 3–0 0–0 1–4 1–0 0–2 3–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1
FC Kharkiv 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–4 1–2 1–1 0–1 2–3 1–2 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–3 0–1 2–3
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih 1–0 0–2 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–3 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–1
FC Lviv 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–4 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1[lower-alpha 1] 1–2[lower-alpha 2] 2–0 2–4 0–0 3–1
Metalist Kharkiv 3–1 2–0 3–2 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–3 3–0 3–1 2–1
Metalurh Donetsk 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 3–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 3–0
Metalurh Zaporizhya 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–1
Shakhtar Donetsk 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 4–2 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 3–1
Tavriya Simferopol 3–1 1–3 0–0 1–3 3–2 1–4 1–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 4–1 2–0 0–2 1–3 2–1
Vorskla Poltava 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–2 2–3 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1
Zorya Luhansk 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–2
Source: Premier League website (in Ukrainian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. The game was played in Kiev.
  2. The game was played in Lutsk as the Lviv's home ground was temporarily suspended due to its poor pitch conditions (see Stadiums).

Round by round

The following table is a historic representation of the team's position in the standings after the completion of each round.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Arsenal Kyiv345681110109111212131313121211101113121212121314121011
Chornomorets Odesa1116105686878999101010912121011131313131212111210
Dnipro91391056578766656677887777676556
Dynamo Kyiv113322221111111111111111111111
Illichivets Mariupol15712141516161613141313121212141415151515141414151515151414
Karpaty Lviv1110151313121212121211111199910877888910101010119
FC Kharkiv111113151615141515151616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih3481211108910910101011111111101112109988999912
FC Lviv1711111013131316161414151515151514141414151515141413141515
Metalist Kharkiv732233443333223222233233333333
Metalurh Donetsk321111112222332334544444444444
Metalurh Zaporizhya1111149127966555567766666666757777
Shakhtar Donetsk151378791111111088775555322322222222
Tavriya Simferopol91516161414151414131515141414131313131312111111988888
Vorskla Poltava394444334444444443455555565665
Zorya Luhansk746795755677888889999101010111111131313
Source: kicker.de (in German)

Top scorers
Kovpak in 2009
# Scorer Goals (Pen.) Team
1 Oleksandr Kovpak 17 (6) Tavriya Simferopol
2 Ismaël Bangoura 13 (1) Dynamo Kyiv
Oleksandr Aliev 13 (3) Dynamo Kyiv
4 Jajá 11 (1) Metalist Kharkiv
5 Serhiy Kuznetsov 10 Karpaty Lviv
Parid Xhihani 10 Zorya Luhansk
Artem Milevskyi 10 (1) Dynamo Kyiv
8 Tiberiu Ghioane 9 Dynamo Kyiv
9 Oleksandr Kosyrin 8 Chornomorets Odesa
Marko Dević 8 (2) Metalist Kharkiv
Ricardo Fernandes 8 (6) Metalurh Donetsk

Season awards

The laureates of the 2008–09 UPL season were:[3]

Stadiums

FC Kharkiv played in Sumy, because Dynamo Stadium in Kharkiv which was recently bought by the club requires major renovations. The club returned to their home ground in April for their 24th Round game against Tavriya. Arsenal Kyiv, who also has a chronic problem with obtaining its own home ground, shared three stadiums in the first half of the season. Initially allowed to play at Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Arsenal was forced to seek another home venue during its times financial hardship. Arsenal was spotted by Obolon Kyiv that let the club utilize the Obolon Stadium. As the problem continues to be unresolved with Arsenal's home field, they could possibly relocate from Kiev, with some speculations of moving to Sumy Oblast.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk has moved this season to the newly built Dnipro Stadium, but still played some of its games at Stadium Meteor on occasion. Also Shakhtar Donetsk plans to move to the newly built Donbass Arena once it is completely built. FC Chornomorets Odessa, due to renovations at Chornomorets Stadium played its games in the second half of the season at Spartak Stadium.

Newly promoted FC Lviv decided to use Ukraina Stadium expecting to attract extra fans in Lviv. However, economic factors as well as poor performances and lack of support in the area the club decided after the winter break to return to their original home ground Kniazha Arena in Dobromyl. After one home game in atrocious conditions in early spring which damaged the pitch the club was forced to look to other venues (including Avanhard Stadium in Lutsk and Bannikov Stadium in Kiev).[4] Late in April FC Lviv returned for home fixtures at Kniazha Arena.

List of home stadiums
Rank Stadium Capacity Club Notes
1Dnipro Stadium31,003Dnipro DnipropetrovskMoved from Stadium Meteor (12 games)[5]
2Metalurh Stadium29,783Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
3Ukraina Stadium28,051Karpaty LvivStadium under renovations
4RSK Olimpiyskiy25,831Shakhtar Donetsk
5Vorskla Stadium25,000Vorskla Poltava
6OSK Metalist22,757Metalist KharkivStadium under renovations
7Avanhard Stadium22,320Zorya Luhansk
8Lokomotiv Stadium19,978Tavriya Simferopol
9Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium16,873Dynamo Kyiv
Arsenal Kyiv		Temporarily leased to FC Arsenal
10Illichivets Stadium12,680Illichivets Mariupol
11Slavutych Arena11,983Metalurh Zaporizhya
12Dynamo Stadium (Kharkiv)[6]9,000FC KharkivFC Kharkiv played only its last four games (all lost)[7]
13Metalurh Stadium5,300Metalurh Donetsk
14Spartak Stadium[8]5,000Chornomorets OdesaChornomorets' secondary home ground.
15Kniazha Arena3,220FC LvivFC Lviv's home ground in Dobromyl

Auxiliary or former home stadiums
Rank Stadium Capacity Club Notes
1Chornomorets Stadium34,362Chornomorets OdesaHome ground for the first half (9 games)[9]
2Yuvileiny Stadium (Sumy)29,300FC KharkivFC Kharkiv lease until April 2009 (11 games)
3Ukraina Stadium28,051FC LvivLent to FC Lviv in the first half.
4Stadium Meteor24,381Dnipro DnipropetrovskPlayed only first three games
5Avanhard Stadium[10]11,574FC LvivLent to FC Lviv for a single game
6Dynamo Stadium (Kharkiv)9,000Metalist KharkivPlayed the last game of season against Kryvbas[11]
7Obolon Stadium[12]4,300Arsenal KyivLent to Arsenal Kyiv by Obolon Kyiv
8Bannikov Stadium1,678Arsenal Kyiv,[13] FC Lviv[14]Lent to Arsenal Kyiv and FC Lviv by FFU
9Dynamo Club Stadium[15]750Arsenal KyivLent to Arsenal Kyiv by Dynamo Kyiv

Medal squads

(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)

1. FC Dynamo Kyiv

Goalkeepers: Stanislav Bohush (20), Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (10).
Defenders: Betão (24), Badr El Kaddouri (23 / 1), Andriy Nesmachny (22 / 2), Taras Mykhalyk (18 / 2), Pape Diakhaté (13 / 1), Goran Sablić (7), Vitaliy Mandziuk (6), Oleksandr Romanchuk (5), Oleh Dopilka (1).
Midfielders: Ognjen Vukojević (27 / 2), Oleksandr Aliyev (25 / 13), Tiberiu Ghioane (21 / 9), Miloš Ninković (20 / 5), Roman Eremenko (19 / 1), Corrêa (11 / 1), Malkhaz Asatiani (11), Atanda Yussuf (11), Serhiy Kravchenko (9 / 1), Oleh Husiev (9), Mykola Moroziuk (5), Florin Cernat (3 / 1), Frank Temile (1).
Forwards: Ismaël Bangoura (26 / 13), Artem Milevskyi (24 / 10), Artem Kravets (12 / 4), Roman Zozulya (11 / 1), Andriy Yarmolenko (10), Maksim Shatskikh (6), Guilherme (2 / 3).

Manager: Yuriy Semin.

Transferred out during the season: ?.

2. FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov (24), Rustam Khudzhamov (6).
Defenders: Darijo Srna (25 / 4), Dmytro Chyhrynsky (23 / 1), Răzvan Raț (17), Oleksandr Kucher (15), Vyacheslav Shevchuk (14), Mykola Ishchenko (13), Oleksandr Chyzhov (9), Volodymyr Yezersky (8).
Midfielders: Willian (29 / 5), Jádson (26 / 1), Tomáš Hübschman (22 / 1), Fernandinho (20 / 5), Oleksiy Hay (16 / 2), Mariusz Lewandowski (16 / 1), Ilsinho (13 / 1), Igor Duljaj (13 / 1), Kostiantyn Kravchenko (6), Artem Fedetsky (5 / 1), Oleksiy Poliansky (3).
Forwards: Yevhen Selezniov (26 / 7), Oleksandr Hladkyy (26 / 4), Marcelo Moreno (14 / 2), Luiz Adriano (12 / 4), Nery Castillo (4 / 1), Ruslan Fomin (2).

Manager: Mircea Lucescu.

Transferred out during the season: ?.

3. FC Metalist Kharkiv

Goalkeepers: Oleksandr Horiainov (23), Ihor Bazhan (7).
Defenders: Milan Obradović (28 / 5), Vitalie Bordian (27 / 1), Papa Gueye (24), Seweryn Gancarczyk (23 / 2), Jonathan Maidana (20), Andriy Koniushenko (15 / 1), Yevhen Selin (2), Maksym Yakhno (1).
Midfielders: Valentyn Sliusar (29 / 3), Edmar (27 / 4), Serhiy Valiayev (26 / 2), Oleksandr Rykun (17), Walter Acevedo (12), Andriy Berezovchuk (9 / 1), Anton Postupalenko (6), Serhiy Barilko (3).
Forwards: Marko Dević (24 / 8), Jajá (23 / 11), Venance Zeze (14 / 1), Dmytro Semochko (9), Roman Butenko (1).

Manager: Myron Markevich.

Transferred out during the season: ?.

Note: Players in italic are those whose playing position is uncertain.

See also

References
  1. "Chornomorets deducted 6 points" (in Russian). UA Football. 2009-03-02. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  2. С ФК "Харьков" сняли три очка [FC Kharkiv deducted three points)] (in Russian). UA Football. 2009-05-13. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  3. Клуби ПЛ визначили лауреатів сезону
  4. Тепер у Луцьку! (Now in Lutsk) (in Ukrainian)
  5. [September 14, 2008]
  6. FPL: Game Report – Venue Dynamo Stadium used as home ground by FC Kharkiv Archived 2009-04-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  7. At Dynamo, Kharkiv played against Tavria, Lviv, Metalurh Donetsk and Metalist.
  8. FPL: Game Report – Venue Spartak Stadium used as home ground Archived 2009-03-17 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  9. Renovations in preparation for UEFA Euro 2012 since the start of 2009
  10. FPL: Game Report – Venue Avanhard Stadium (Lutsk) used as home ground Archived 2009-04-19 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  11. "Metalist-Kryvbas match report". Fpl.ua. 2009-05-23. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  12. FPL: Game Report – Venue Obolon Stadium used as home ground Archived 2012-10-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  13. FPL: Game Report – Venue Bannikov Stadion used as home ground by Arsenal Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  14. FPL: Game Report – Venue Bannikov Stadion used as home ground by FC Lviv Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
  15. FPL: Game Report – Venue Dynamo Club Stadion used as home ground Archived 2012-10-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Ukrainian)
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