“If Stepanov had stayed at Shakhtar, he would not have played: there are Brazilians at his position for whom a lot was paid,” —

Journalist Serhiy Tyshchenko commented on the current problems of Donetsk «Shakhtar».

“LNZ has become a real nightmare for 'Shakhtar' (8th round of the Ukrainian championship, 'Shakhtar' — LNZ — 1:4, — ed. note). The club from Cherkasy left no stone unturned from the 'miners'. Prior to that, two age categories — 2010 and 2012 won against their peers from 'Shakhtar' in the League of the Future.

While a lot has been said about the first team of 'Shakhtar' (the main problem lies with those who appoint coaches and select the squad), the problems of youth football within the 'miners' are less media-covered.

Okay, this season 'Shakhtar' will win the championship title for the first time in five years. Some age category may win in the League of the Future. The main problem is that 'Shakhtar' prepares players for 'Borussia' (Dortmund), 'Bayer', AZ, possibly even 'Barcelona', 'Oleksandriya', 'Chornomorets' and even 'Dynamo' but not for themselves.

If Artem Stepanov (a forward for 'Bayer' who is currently on loan at 'Nuremberg', — ed. note) had stayed at 'Shakhtar', he would not have played for the first team of the 'miners'. In his position, there are young Brazilians for whom a lot was paid. Krevsun, Budko, and others on the list would also have no chances. The homegrown talents are simply not needed by the first team. Earlier, there was at least 'Mariupol', which gave character-filled boys a way into football, but now everything ends at the U-19 level,” — Tyshchenko wrote in his Telegram channel.