Shakhtar Donetsk 2010/12 Away Shirt (XL)

Shakhtar entered this era as UEFA Cup winners, but they still had something important left to prove: that they could compete deep into the Champions League.

That changed in 2010/11. Mircea Lucescu’s side topped a group containing Arsenal, Braga and Partizan before beating Roma 6–2 on aggregate in the last 16. It took Shakhtar into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s history. 

The team had developed a very recognisable identity. Experienced Ukrainian players such as Darijo Srna and Andriy Pyatov played alongside a group of young Brazilian talents including Willian, Douglas Costa, Fernandinho, Jadson and Luiz Adriano. Several of them later became major names elsewhere in Europe, but this was the period when they were developing together in Donetsk.

Shakhtar also won the Ukrainian league and Cup in 2010/11, then retained both trophies the following season. Across the two years linked to this away design, the club collected four major domestic honours and reached a level in Europe it had never previously achieved. 

That is what makes this shirt interesting. It belongs to the short period when one of Europe’s smartest squads was still being built away from the biggest leagues, before players such as Willian, Fernandinho and Douglas Costa became familiar names across the continent.