Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday announced that coach Van Leeuwen has been sacked after just three months in charge. Dutch coach, Van Leeuwen who was signed for a two-year contract with the side leaves the side overseeing just 12 games. No particular reason has been stated by the club for the departure of Leeuwen.
Shakhtar is playing its Champions League home games in the German city of Hamburg because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They have looked upon various options for the managerial post and have decided to go with Darijo Srna. Srna who’s been the director of the side since 2020 will be taking up the managerial post of the club.
Shakhtar Donetsk appoints new coach Darijo Srna
Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk appoints former Croatian right-back Darijo Srna who has been serving as the director of the side since 2019 as the interim manager of the club. This decision came after Shakhtar Donetsk sacked their three-month-old head coach Van Leeuwen.
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Van Leeuwen who has managed the side in just 12 matches leaves the club after getting his two-year-old contract terminated with the side without any given reason. Shakhtar is placed third in the Ukrainian league after losing its last domestic game 2-1 to Vorskla Poltava on September 30. Van Leeuwen’s last game as a coach was a 3-2 win over Royal Antwerp on October 4 which left Shakhtar third in its Champions League group behind Barcelona and Porto.
Darijo Srna is all set to take charge of the side. The former Croatian has been the most capped player for Shakhtar Donetsk with 536 appearances. He was popularly dubbed the “Icon of Shakhtar”. Srna returned to the Ukrainian side back in 2019 when he joined the side as an assistant manager. Later on, he became the Director of Football of the club.
