FM21 Shakhtar Donetsk tactic and team guide. Club culture and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers.
Football Manager 2021 Shakhtar Donetsk tactic and team guide. Club culture
and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential
transfers in FM21.
Here is a brief analysis of the Shakhtar squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM21 manager can use.
About the club
Shakhtar are a professional football club that ply their trade in the Ukrainian Premier League. Along with Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar is one of the biggest clubs from Ukraine and is often the league’s representative in the Champion’s League.
Shakhtar are one of Ukraine’s oldest football clubs and one of the most followed football clubs from Ukraine. They have won 13 Ukrainian league titles and 25 domestic cups. Shakhtar are the first club in independent Ukraine to win a European competition, they won the UEFA Cup (Europa League) in 2009. Previously, the club played its home matches in Donbas Arena but owing to the Russo-Ukrainian war, they are currently playing their home games at Kyiv.
Board Requirements
Shakhtar are the defending champions of the Ukranian Premier League and have qualified for the Champion’s League as a result. The minimum board requirements once you take over will be,
1. Win the Ukrainian League
2. Win the Ukrainian Cup.
3. Be competitive in the Champion’s League.
You will additionally be asked to play an attacking style of football and develop players using the club’s youth system.
Shakhtar have very good training and youth facilities, however, there is definite room for improvement. They also have good youth recruitment and their scouts have the ability to spot several young stars from an early age.
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Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
Shakhtar are generally an attacking team and one of the best teams out of Ukraine. Vertical tiki-taka is best suited for the squad, especially in league games. You can opt for a more conservative counterattacking style in European competitions.
A 4-3-3 is probably the best-suited formation to the available squad of players. This is incidentally how they line up in real life as well.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-3-3 formation is as follows,
Andriy Pyatov as a sweeper keeper.
Mykola Matvienko & Serhiy Kryvtsov as the 2 Ball Playing central defenders.
Dodo & Ismailly as the 2 wingbacks, Dodo can be more attacking of the two as he is naturally more adventurous.
Tarek Stepanenko, Maycon & Marcos Antonio make up the 3 man midfield. Stepanenko to be played as a ball winning midfielder, Maycon as a deep playmaker and Antonio as a box to box midfielder.
Tayson & Marlos as the 2 wide players with the former operating as an inside forward and the latter as an inverted winger.
Junior Moraes as the lone striker in a deep lying forward role.
Alternatively, you can move to a 4-2-3-1 formation if you want to be more expressive and move Antonio to a more attacking role.
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Key Players
1. Tarek Stepanenko
Stepanenko is a very important player in midfield for Shakhtar. He is vastly experienced and one of the best players in the team.
2. Ismailly
Ismailly is a very underrated wing-back in the game and has the ability to pick out superb crosses. He is also extremely rapid and a very difficult player to mark.
3. Marlos
Marlos is one of the best-attacking players at the club. The winger has an incredible 55 league goals in just over 140 games for Shakhtar and is a constant source of goals from the right-wing.
Weaknesses
1. The quality of backups in the squad may not be up to the quality and could prove fatal if your squad is affected by injuries.
2. You run the risk of some talents being poached by other clubs especially in search of higher wages.
3. The core of the squad is old and ageing, replacements of the same quality may be very hard to find.
4. Although this is a very good squad for the Ukrainian league, you will need to bolster your squad to compete with the tougher teams of Europe in the UCL.
Potential Transfers (in)
Shakhtar are not the best squad in the league with respect to squad depth, these players could be welcome additions to the side.
· Joao Pedro
· Everton Soares
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
· Dentinho
· Davit Khocholava
Youth Prospects
There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,
1. Marcos Antonio
Already an important part of the squad, Antonio is one of the best young midfielders in the game. He has the ability to be one of Shakhtar’s best-ever players in the future.
2. Tete
The young winger is already making heads turn with his performances and can be a star for Shakhtar in the future years.
3. Dodo
Despite being just 21, Dodo is a regular for Shakhtar and will only get better with time. His pace and ability to get forward and chip in with goals will be crucial to your save.
Summary
To Summarize, Shakhtar are like a big fish in a small pond being the strongest squad in the Ukrainian Premier League but not so competitive outside. Can you take over and make them win trophies in European competitions?
