Donetsk provides Pitmen with fitting welcome

FC Shakhtar Donetsk's UEFA Cup triumph was feted all across Ukraine but nowhere were the celebrations more fervent than in the Pitmen's home city, where tens of thousands of people greeted the team at the airport.

Delayed return
Shakhtar's return was scheduled for midday local time on Thursday, but with the team's arrival delayed for four hours there was plenty of time for locals to gather at the airport and provide a fitting welcome for the players who saw off Werder Bremen 2-1 after extra time in Istanbul. Finally, at 16.25, captain Darijo Srna presented the prestigious trophy to the assembled crowd and supporters filled the air with cries of "well done", "champions" and "the cup is in Donetsk".

Presidential prediction
"Some time ago, the president of the club, Rinat Akhmetov, promised that we would play in the final," said Srna. "Not many people believed it could happen so quickly, but we've kept our word and won at the first attempt. Let's congratulate each other and all the people linked to this great victory – both the club and its fans, as this is our shared achievement."

Fan zones
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, who made a mistake for Bremen's equaliser, said: "Surprisingly, no one has criticised me." He also underlined the importance of Shakhtar's fans, with 8,000 having travelled to Istanbul and people cheering on Mircea Lucescu's charges all over Ukraine. Special fan zones were constructed throughout the nation and Shakhtar's victory was toasted well into the early hours of the morning.

Official congratulations
Not long after the parties died down, official congratulations began pouring in to mark the first European trophy lifted by a Ukrainian club since independence in 1991. "You gave joy to millions of your compatriots," read the telegram from the country's president Viktor Yushchenko. "We are celebrating this victory together with you." Prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko added: "Up until yesterday evening I couldn't even imagine how hard it is to be a fan. Now I know the Shakhtar players as well as the members of my own cabinet."

Television records
Shakhtar's return home was shown live on television while the final itself attracted a record audience. According to match broadcasters Inter, 17.8m people watched Shakhtar's historic win, providing the channel with the highest market share since Ukrainian television records began."We haven't thought about the next stage for Shakhtar yet," added club president Akhmetov. "We need some time to get used to our new status." He has nonetheless laid plans for a big celebration to mark the achievement – but only after the Ukrainian Cup final against FC Vorskla Poltava on 31 May. "We cannot relax before that," explained Lucescu. "We have to play our last three matches at a high level to make this unique time in Shakhtar's history shine even brighter."