It's hard to imagine a bigger contrast with the beaches ofRio de Janeiro. The Ukrainian city of Donetsk is surrounded by slagheaps, wasonce named Stalino and is a gritty industrial hub dominated by mining.
Yet it is in this unlikely location on the fringes of Europewhere for the last few years a legion of Brazilian footballers has prospered toturn the local football team, Shakhtar Donetsk, into arguably the finest in theformer Soviet Union.
An entire football team could be formed from the Brazilianplayers who have pulled on the orange jersey of The Pitmen in the recentdecade.
Backed by the financial clout of club owner Rinat Akhmetovand inspired by the leadership of Romanian manager Mircea Lucescu, theBrazilians have now made the club a force to be reckoned with in Europe.
"They all are really talented, hard-working andwell-adapted for our playing style," Akhmetov told AFP. "They all arealso full of desire to keep on progressing. And that means that we are movingin the right direction."
The city, founded by Welsh industrialist John Hughes in the19th century, is marked by Soviet high-rises and no architectural jewel. Butthanks to Akhmetov it now boasts the Donbass Arena, one of the finest footballgrounds in Europe.
Shakhtar won the last edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009 butthe club is now enjoying what could be its best ever season - outclassingrivals Dynamo Kiev to head the Ukrainian domestic league and into the last 16of the Champions League.
Current star Fernandinho, who hails from the balmy climes ofLondrina in southern Brazil, remembered the shock of arriving in Donetsk sevenyears ago.
"Frankly speaking, when I was a 20-year-old guy andcrossed the ocean to find myself in a completely uncommon country I couldhardly imagine that I would stay here for more than three seasons," hetold AFP.
"But it became a rapidly growing club and everythingchanged quickly for the better. We achieved some serious results and my opinionabout Shakhtar and its prospects has also changed."
"Today I'm 27 and my current contract with Shakhtarruns until 2016. And it would not be a sensation if I decided to finish mycareer here," he added.
Forward Brandao was the first Brazilian player to come toShakhtar. He appeared in the Donbass mining belt team two years before Lucescubecame manager in 2004.
Under Lucescu's coaching, Brandao developed his playingskills, which attracted the attention of French giants Marseille, who lured theBrazilian in 2008.
Lucescu has made no secret of his admiration for Brazilianfootball since he captained Romania in the 1970s and had players like Ronaldoat his disposal when he was coach at Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan.
The manager said he considered defender FrancelinoMatuzalem, whom Shakhtar purchased in 2005, as the key signing which triggeredthe club's "Brazilian" development.
"The Matuzalem transfer became a turning point forShakhtar as we started to create the new team around this player, whoimmediately became its true leader," said Lucescu, who even learnedPortuguese to help coach the Brazilians.
"I'm really happy to have an opportunity to take veryyoung players into the team and raise their skills to the level of theChampions League in just two or three years," Lucescu said.
Top European sides have now woken up to the riches ondisplay in the Donbass.
