The only continental final Shakhtar Donetsk played in was 11 years ago, and they are now one win away from their second.
Andriy Pyatov is the only player that played in the 2009 UEFA Cup final - and still plays for the club.
Pyatov has been one of Shakthar's leaders in recent years. The 36-year-old goalkeeper has been a dominant player for over a decade, helping Shakhtar reach the later stages of European competitions almost every season. He is currently ranked third in the club for all-time appearances, behind Darijo Srna and Mykhaylo Sokolovsky.
Except for nine championships and eight cups, Pyatov was also one of the heroes in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup campaign, when Shakhtar won their first and only continental title. After being eliminated from the Champions League, Pyatov recorded a clean sheet in 4 of the 9 following Europa League matches. When he did concede, it was never more than one goal, including in the final, when Shakhtar defeated Werder Bremen 2-1.
Pyatov is not a home-grown player. He grew up in Kirovohrad (nowadays known as Kropyvnytskyi) and signed for The Miners when he was 23 years old. After a long spell in the club, he feels connected to the city, especially since the Donbas crisis that forced Shakhtar into exile. "Sometimes you go out to play after hearing that a bus was under fire and people died," said Pyatov in an interview in 2015. "You try to be professional, but those thoughts are there all the same."
While some will say that Pyatov may be too old, others will say how important he is for the team. "Pyatov is a very talented player, he is definitely not the weakest link in the team," said Mircea Lucescu, former Shakhtar manager, after the quarter-final against Basel. "He showed that he doesn't need to retire yet. He is doing his job in elegance, and he keeps his stable form," added Oleksandr Sopko, former Shakhtar player who played for the club in the 80s'.
Shakhtar Donetsk will face a challenge in the Europa League semi-final, as they will play against Internazionale. It wouldn't be the first Italian meet up for the Ukrainian side this season, as they already played against Atalanta in the Champions League group stage. In the first match, they won 2-1, with a late winning goal by Manor Solomon in the 95th minute. A 3-0 defeat in the second match led Atalanta to the next stage, while Shakhtar was relegated to the Europa League.
Pyatov will be one of the most experienced players to lead the team in the field. Besides his successful 2009 UEFA Cup campaign, he also played with the team in their last semi-final appearance, in the 2015-16 Europa League. Back then, Pyatov and Shakhtar failed to defeat the eventual winner, Sevilla, after a 2-2 draw in the first leg and a 3-1 defeat in the second leg.
Can Pyatov do it again? One more match stands between the final and the veteran keeper.
