Added spice to what is already a hotly-contested game

DERBY DAYS/Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kiev:There are many intriguing derby games around the world but with a place in the Uefa Cup final at stake this meeting has an added edge to it.

THERE ARE many similarities between the rivalry of Celtic and Rangers and that between Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk. But perhaps the most striking is the feeling all four clubs have of being trapped in a league that they have long outgrown.

It’s no secret the Scottish giants would love to join the more illustrious league in England. The big two in the Ukraine, however, have already tasted competing in a world-class league.

Both clubs entered the fledging Soviet Championship in the late 1930s, with Shakhtar never claiming the league crown, though twice finishing as runners-up in the 1970s.

Dynamo Kiev proved more successful and were a regular thorn in the side of the big four from Moscow – Spartak, Dynamo, Torpedo and CSKA – claiming the league title a record 13 times from the 1960s, the last one arriving in 1990. In July of the same year, the new Ukrainian parliament adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine. The USSR was falling apart.

And so, therefore, was the Soviet Championship. The following year, the Ukrainian Premier League was formed, and since then, apart from the first one, Dynamo and Shakhtar have shared every domestic league title.

In fact, on each of the past 12 seasons, the clubs have occupied the first and second positions at the end of the season.

It’s almost enough for the other teams in the Ukrainian Premier League to wish for a return to the USSR.

And this season’s league will surely be no different.

Shakhtar – who include among their ranks Romanian international Razvan Rat, who plays with the word “RAT” on the back of his shirt – are the defending champions, but are currently 12 points behind runaway leaders Dynamo. The two will meet in Kiev on the final day of the Premier League season.

And next Wednesday they will also clash in the Ukrainian Cup semi-final, which Shakhtar Donetsk also claimed last season.

In fact, Shakhtar also won the last league derby between the clubs, 1-0, last November, but despite recent results – as was the form in the old Soviet Championship – Dynamo have also held the upper hand in meetings between the two clubs, taking all the points in 15 of their 34 Ukrainian league clashes, with a further 11 ending without a winner. Shakhtar Donetsk, though, have a habit of rising to the occasion when confronted by their old foe in a crunch tie – most notably at the end of the 2005/06 season, when the clubs finished the league level on points.

A play-off, known as the “Golden Match”, was held to decide the champions, and, after normal time failed to produce a winner at a packed Metalurh Stadium in Kryvyi Rih, Nigerian striker Julius Aghahowa pounced in the 100th minute to claim victory for the Pitmen.

While many players lined out for both clubs during the Soviet era, the practice has lessened somewhat in recent years – partly as crossing the divide is considered a mortal sin by both sets of supporters (though former Tottenham and West Ham striker Serhiy Rebrov started his career with Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to their fierce rivals for two stretches, the second only ending last year).

The rivalry has also spilled over at derby meetings. Two years ago, 60,000 watched Dynamo Kiev beat their arch-rivals 2-1 at home in the Ukrainian Cup final to retain the trophy for a fourth straight year. However, the game was marred by rioting in the stands, which culminated in serious clashes between riot police and a section of the away support.

For the supporters of both clubs, the importance of tomorrow’s game cannot be overstated. And the players know it too.

“We were not confident in the first half because the players were thinking about the result,” said Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu after last week’s draw. “Both teams know each other so well so it was not possible to surprise our rivals, just as they could not surprise us.”

Before this season, no Ukrainian side had made it as far as even an Uefa Cup quarter-final, so the country being guaranteed a final appearance this year is timely considering Ukraine are currently gearing up to co-host (along with Poland) Euro 2012.

The country’s successful bid for the European Championships was also helped by Ukraine’s run to the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, where they lost, 3-0, to the eventual champions Italy.

Eight of the those Ukrainian players will be involved in tomorrow night’s Uefa Cup semi-final – four with each side.

In their first meeting in European competition last week, a tense opening half – with several very late tackling – witnessed Dynamo taking the lead when a speculative ball into the box was turned into his own net by Dmytro Chygrynskiy (rumoured to be a transfer target of Liverpool).

But the visitors scored a crucial away goal when the super-fast Brazilian forward Fernandinho got a touch to fellow countryman Willian’s 68-minute cross.

It’s one each, but Dynamo Kiev have to score tomorrow night in Donetsk. The winner will earn a spot in the Uefa Cup final in Istanbul in a fortnight’s time.

But, just as importantly, will have emerged victors from the biggest derby ever staged between Ukraine’s bitter rivals.