Brazilian core central to Shakhtar breakthrough

Despite their comprehensive loss to FC Barcelona last week, FC Shakhtar Donetsk have enjoyed a breakthrough season in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time – and much of their success can be attributed to a clutch of attack-minded Brazilians.

Shakhtar may have won the UEFA Cup in 2009, yet it was only this term, after several near-misses, that they finally achieved the milestone of qualifying for the last 16 of the continent's top competition. In this video feature, coach Mircea Lucescu recognises the impact his six Brazilian players have made, telling UEFA.com "our advantage is we bought these players when they were very young", while one of the crop, Jadson, adds: "The quality of our football combined with the European style has worked."

Watch the full video above.