Shakhtar Donetsk, Barcelona of Eastern Europe

• by Soccer America , Feb 16, 2011

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] After CSKA Moscow in 2010, another team from Eastern Europe is poised to crash the Champions League party. Brazilians Jadson, Douglas Costa and Luiz Adriano each scored in the first half to lead Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk to a 3-2 win at Roma in the first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 series -- a performance that reminded Roma coach Claudio Ranieri of Barcelona.

Douglas Costa, Jadson and Luiz Adriano were joined by Willian in an all-Brazilian attack.

The star was the 20-year-old Douglas Costa, who scored the second of three goals in a 12-minute span on a curling left-footed shot. (Highlights)

"Costa is a phenomenal player, he has technique and great pace," said Ranieri. "I had studied his way of playing and it's certainly not the first time he scores a goal like this. Shakhtar has a great future. They have young, talented players. They are very good keeping possession and always find a man unmarked. They remind me of Barcelona."

The rest of the lineup consisted of a melange of Eastern Europeans: three Ukrainians and one Armenian, Croatian, Czech and Romanian.

Five Shakhtar starters are 23 or younger: Ukrainian defender Yaroslav Rakytskyy (21), Willian (22), Luiz Adriano (23) and Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan (22).