After advancing from the group stage to the Europa League round of 32 for the second time in the club’s history, Maccabi learned the identity of their opponents in the knockout phase following the draw which took place at UEFA’s Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday.
Ukrainian Champions Shakhtar Donetsk and Israeli star midfielder, Manor Solomon, will await Georgios Donis’ side for a two-legged tie in February with the first leg scheduled to take place at Bloomfield stadium (18.2) and the return leg in Kiev (25.2).
The Ukrainian side that won the UEFA Cup in 2009 reached the Champions League Quarter Finals the following season and the Europa League Semi Finals in the 2015/16 season – enjoyed European success before the Even before the arrival of Manor Solomon from Maccabi Petah Tikva. Winning the domestic league championship in the last four seasons, Sahkhtar, who are currently second in their table behind Dynamo Kiev, became the dominant force in Ukraine.
This season, the side coached by Luis Castro, enjoyed a successful Champions League campaign and finished third in a tough group that included Real Madrid, Borussia Monchengladbach and Inter Milan.
Historically, Shakhtar have been attracting Brazilian talents before selling them to various European clubs as former players include: Manchester City’s Fernandinho, Willian of Arsenal, Bayern Munich’s Douglas Costa. At the moment, Shakhtar has no fewer that 13 Brazilian players in their squad with Marlos, Alan Patrick, Taison and Tete some of the names Maccabi’s players will have to watch out from.
