Snap shot: Schalke v Shakhtar, 11 years on
Sunday, February 14, 2016
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As Shakhtar Donetsk prepare to host Schalke, we turn the clock back to their only previous meeting in 2005 and discover a big-money Brazilian and a forward allergic to grass.
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Darijo Srna was on the right, Mircea Lucescu was coach – but that is pretty much all that remains unchanged from the round of 32 tie between Shakhtar Donetsk and Schalke in February 2005. As the teams reunite at the same stage of this season's UEFA Europa League, we look back at a second leg ultimately decided by Julius Aghahowa's first-half goal and ask what happened to the players?
1. Matuzalém
After five years in Italy, Matuzalém moved from Brescia to Shakhtar in 2004 in a reported €14m deal – then a Ukrainian transfer-record fee. He helped Shakhtar win the Premier-Liha in his first season and again in 2005/06, leaving for a short spell at Real Zaragoza in 2007. The Brazilian midfielder has since represented Lazio, Genoa and Bologna and is currently with Serie A strugglers Verona.
2. Jan Laštůvka
The 2004/05 campaign was the Czech Republic goalkeeper's first with the Pitmen. He remained on their books until 2009, albeit with limited playing time. After loan periods with Fulham, VfL Bochum and West Ham United, he returned to Ukraine with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in August 2009. Still at Dnipro today, he was an unused substitute in the 2015 UEFA Europa League final, Myron Markevych's side losing to Sevilla.
3. Mike Hanke
A forward who suffered for his art, Hanke's grass allergy meant he often finished games with rashes and blisters. It did not stop him spending over a decade in the Bundesliga – never scoring more than ten in a season – or winning 12 Germany caps. He famously scored direct from a restart in 2004 as Leverkusen keeper Jörg Butt made his way back to his goal after converting a penalty. Hanke retired in December 2014 following a brief stint in China.
4. João Batista
Matuzalém's compatriot joined Shakhtar in summer 2004 from Galatasaray yet made just 14 appearances in his sole season in Donetsk. The midfielder went back to Turkey, seeing out his career with Konyaspor.
5. Tomáš Hübschman
Another summer 2004 signing, though a more significant one, the Czech international had ten years with Shakhtar, helping them win the last edition of the UEFA Cup in 2008/09. Hübschman was a key defender as Shakhtar claimed eight league titles and four national cups. A free agent come summer 2014, he inked a three-year deal with Jablonec in his homeland.
6. Mariusz Lewandowski
Like Hübschman, the erstwhile Poland midfielder collected plenty of silverware with Shakhtar – four championships, three domestic cups and the UEFA Cup to be exact. The 2009 Polish footballer of the year featured in both legs against Schalke. After nine campaigns in Donetsk, he headed to Sevastopol in 2010, retiring three years later.
7. Gerald Asamoah
Born in Ghana, Asamoah emerged at Hannover before making his name with Schalke. He was never a prolific forward but his industry made up for it despite a long-diagnosed heart defect. He earned 43 caps for his adopted Germany, figuring as a substitute in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final. Twice a German Cup winner, the ebullient Asamoah hung up his boots in November following a testimonial that attracted an adoring 60,000 crowd.
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