Akhmetov’s decision to fire Jovichevich is a surprise, but it can be understood

Shakhtar has not yet officially confirmed the information about the resignation of head coach Igor Jovicevich, who held this position for one season and managed to add another UPL title to the Pitmen’s collection. But, judging by the insiders from various sources, as well as the comments of the mentor himself to the Croatian media, this issue can be considered closed. Of course, such a decision of the club’s management was unexpected for the Ukrainian football community, because from the outside it seemed that the union of Shakhtar and Jovičević clearly deserves at least one more season and cannot end so quickly.

The Croatian mentor led the Donetsk team in a difficult period not only for the club itself, but for the entire Ukrainian football as a whole. Therefore, the decision to fire him after all the difficulties and victory in the Ukrainian championship can already be safely called the main negative moment in this whole story from an ethical point of view. Last summer, Jovicevich left the ambitious project in Dnepr-1 with a scandal for the opportunity to work at the best club in Ukraine, and at that time he clearly expected to stay at Shakhtar as long as possible. The dismissal certainly came as a surprise to the Croat himself, who definitely had his own plans for the development of the team and its further progress.

Before the start of last season, Shakhtar lost almost all of their leading foreign players and it was interesting to see how the club is going to cope with such a difficult situation. Given the current realities, the miners managed to put together a good and high-quality squad, the backbone of which was made up of Ukrainian football players – both active players of the Donetsk team and performers whose services the club refused in the past, but returned to Ukraine to replace the departed legionnaires.

Under the leadership of Jovičević, Shakhtar completed the main tasks for the season: secured the league title in the Ukrainian Championship, and also reached the playoffs of the Europa League, where they managed to get through one round. It was frankly difficult for either the club’s management, or the coaching staff, or the team’s players, or even the fans to count on more in the current conditions, so in general, the Pitmen can put last season into their asset. Yes, the victory in the UPL was not as convincing as in previous league years. Yes, there was a nightmarish defeat from Feyenoord in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League. But there were also positive moments: the team made some noise in the group stage of the Champions League, played on equal terms against Real Madrid, and the Ukrainian football players Gornyakov were finally in the leading roles, and not in the shadow of the Brazilian legionnaires.

So why did Rinat Akhmetov decide to refuse the services of a Croatian coach? It seems that the president of Shakhtar simply does not believe in the ability of Jovićević to return the team to its previous level and ensure its further progress. High standards have been created at Shakhtar over the past twenty years, and even in the face of Russian military aggression, the club will try to live up to them. Akhmetov taught the Pitmen’s fans to convincing victories and dominance both on and off the football field. That is why Shakhtar has always been able to sell players on its own terms, which was confirmed by the winter saga with the transfer of Mikhail Mudrik to Chelsea.

The management of the Donetsk club will look for an experienced coach, with his own playing style and system, new ideas that will allow the team to go further and not remain at the current level. In addition, the new mentor will most likely have to be responsible not only for the training process and management of the Pitmen’s first team, but will have broader powers to manage its development, as it was under Mircea Lucescu, and under Paulo Fonseca, and under Luis Castro, and under Roberto De Zerbi. Shakhtar now has a very talented generation of young Ukrainian football players who need to get into the right hands and get the perfect mentor for further progress. And, according to the Pitmen’s management, Igor Jovicevich is not suitable for such a role.

Jovicevich is a good coach by Ukrainian standards, with his own view on football, who likes to talk a lot about the tactics and principles of the game of his teams, but still relies on the emotional component. Shakhtar’s players were morally well-prepared last season, they could not be accused of lack of character or dedication on the football field. Rinat Akhmetov also likes to get emotions from the game of his team, but these feelings are primarily caused by the high level of play of the Pitmen’s players, their total advantage over their rivals in the Ukrainian championship, as well as successful performances in the Champions League. In the last campaign, Shakhtar did not have this superiority, and this is precisely the main reason for the dismissal of Jovićević from the Donetsk club.

The victory in the championship of Ukraine and the European Cup experience, of course, will add weight to Jovićević’s resume, which means that the Croat should not have problems with future employment. He will still be in demand in Ukraine, but after working at Shakhtar, he will certainly want to take a new step in his career and work in one of the foreign clubs with European Cup ambitions. Therefore, the Croat should only wait for the appropriate offer after being fired from Shakhtar, and also adequately survive what happened.

Shakhtar really should thank Jovićević for the past year, because in addition to sporting success, the Croatian mentor added color to the club, and also showed a patriotic position and always supported Ukraine in one of the most difficult periods in the history of the country. The Pitmen have a very busy summer ahead, and this time Shakhtar must take a much more responsible approach to choosing a new head coach who will match the team in absolutely all aspects.