
15 seasons, 439 matches, 25 trophies: Shakhtar Donetsk captain Taras Stepanenko leaves the club
Kyiv • UNN
Taras Stepanenko retires from playing for Shakhtar Donetsk after 15 seasons, 439 matches and 25 trophies. Rumors link the experienced midfielder with a move to Turkish side Euapspor.
Longtime Shakhtar Donetsk captain and Ukraine midfielder Taras Stepanenko is leaving the team after 15 years with the club. During this time, Stepanenko played 439 matches and won 25 trophies. This was reported by the press service of Shakhtar, according to UNN.
A beautiful and triumphant journey of almost a decade and a half is coming to an end. Shakhtar midfielder and captain Taras Stepanenko is retiring from playing for the Donetsk team. Taras Stepanenko's history at Shakhtar began in May 2010, when he signed his first contract with the miners. He made his debut for the team in July in the Ukrainian Super Cup victory over Tavria (7-1). He went on to play 15 seasons in the Orange and Black shirt, played 439 matches in official tournaments (288 in the UPL, 76 in the Champions League, 29 in the Europa League, 35 in the Ukrainian Cup, 11 in the Ukrainian Super Cup), scored 30 goals and assisted 25. In more than 100 games, Taras led the team on the field with the captain's armband. Together with Shakhtar, Stepanenko won 25 trophies: 10 times he became the champion of Ukraine, 8 times he won the Ukrainian Cup and 7 times he won the Ukrainian Super Cup,
The club thanked Stepanenko for his incredible journey with Shakhtar and wished him new interesting challenges, great success and achievements in his future sports career and life.
Stepanenko himself said it was a good trip.
It was a good trip. Thank you, Shakhtar. All for the sake of victory... and forever in my heart
In his farewell speech after the match against Borussia Dortmund, in which Stepanenko came on in the 89th minute, the midfielder said that for him it was a journey of half a lifetime, and if we take his football career, then a journey of a lifetime.
I'm very happy that I was invited to Shakhtar back in the day, and I was able to prove that it was not for nothing. I won a lot of trophies with the team, but the most important thing is that we stood together in difficult times. So I'm leaving with a clean heart and a clean soul, and I've done everything I could for this club, just as the club has done for me. Of course, I want to say a big thank you to the president, CEO and sporting director, the club's employees - all the management, staff, and base workers - because these are people I've known for many, many years. The same goes for the guys I played with, all the coaches who were at Shakhtar. Looking back, I can only say that it was a very, very happy time for me,
The midfielder also told us which goal of the match and which goal was the most memorable for him.
Well, I always say that this is the first goal in the Champions League for Partizan. Let's just say that after this goal and this victory, I became a full-fledged player of the Shakhtar football team, they started counting on me, saw my potential, and thanks to that, I started playing at a high level
Every story ends sooner or later. I want to express my gratitude and respect to you from the bottom of my heart. Playing alongside you was a great honor and an incredible experience for me. You are an example of a true professional, a person with an iron character and leadership qualities that the team relies on. Your dedication, ability to lead and commitment to football inspired us all. You are a player who can always be relied upon and a person with whom it is a pleasure to work towards a common goal. Thank you for your contribution to every victory and for all the moments on and off the field. Continue to be a role model for young players and everyone who understands what it means to be a true professional
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Taras Stepanenko was born on August 8, 1989, in the village of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk Oblast. He started his football career at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia. He made his debut for Metalurh's senior team on March 4, 2007 at the age of 17 against Dynamo Kyiv.
On May 11, 2010, the midfielder signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar for an undisclosed sum, leaving Metalurh together with Serhiy Kryvtsov, who also joined the club for five years.
Stepanenko is one of the top 5 players in terms of the number of matches played for Shakhtar, joining former teammates (Dario Srna, Andriy Pyatov) and club legends from the Soviet era (Mykhailo Sokolovskyi and Serhiy Yashchenko).
If we take into account the performances during the time of independent Ukraine, Stepanenko is ranked 3rd in terms of the number of matches played for Shakhtar. He played 87 matches for the Ukrainian national team and scored 4 goals. He took part in the European Championships in 2016, 2020 and 2024. In several matches, he led the national team on the field with the captain's armband. In addition, Stepanenko was the only Shakhtar player to play at the Donbass Arena so far.
There are rumors on the web that Stepanenko will continue his career at Turkish side Euphrates, which is playing its first season in the local Super League and is ranked 4th in the championship.
Shakhtar's sporting director Dario Srna said that the club has no plans to look for a replacement.
No, we do not plan to. We have Dmytro Kryskiv, Marlon and Yegor Nazarina at the holding midfield position, and we are currently satisfied with this choice,
It is also worth mentioning the scandal between Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Yandriy Yarmolenko and Stepanenko.
In the last match of the 1st round of the 2015/16 championship, after the match against Dynamo Kyiv, Stepanenko exchanged shirts with Andriy Yarmolenko. After that, Andriy threw his shirt on the field in front of the Dynamo fans' stands.
In the next meeting between the two teams on May 1, 2016, after Shakhtar's third goal against Kyiv, Stepanenko ran up to the stand where Dynamo fans were sitting and kissed his club's emblem in front of them. As he was returning to his side of the field, Yarmolenko kicked him from behind. In a post-match interview, Taras said that his friendship with Yarmolenko was over because it was not the first time he had acted inappropriately. On May 19, on the eve of the announcement of the Ukrainian national team for Euro 2016, Yarmolenko pleaded guilty to Stepanenko at the FFU building and the two shook hands. Both players were included in the national team for the international tournament held in France.