The 1996–97 Vyshcha Liha season was the 6th since its establishment and the inaugural season as part of the Professional Football League (PFL). FC Dynamo Kyiv were the defending champions.
Teams Due to reorganization by becoming a member of the newly established Professional Football League of Ukraine, the Vyshcha Liha was reduced from 18 to 16 teams. Promotions Vorskla Poltava, the champion of the 1995–96 Ukrainian First League – (debut)
Relegated teams Zorya Luhansk – relegated after five seasons in the top flight. Volyn Lutsk – relegated after five seasons in the top flight. SC Mykolaiv – relegated after two seasons in the top flight.
Reorganized clubs Before the start of the season, CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv was replaced with CSKA Kyiv (1995–96 Ukrainian Second League Group A winner).6-й национальный чемпионат украины - футбольный клуб. wildstat.ru (FC Zorya Luhansk) Just before the start of the new 1996–97 season, a scandal took place related to ownership. Dmytro Zlobenko was removed from the club, which, with the help of the Army, was passed to some businessman by the name of Mikhail Grinshpon, the president of "Kyiv–Donbas".Varis, S. Mikhail Grinshpon: astronomical "partitioner" of Ukraine. Part 1. (Михаил Гриншпон: космический «распильщик» Украины. ЧАСТЬ 1). Skelet Info. 17 July 2017 Concurrently, Mikhail Grinshpon was an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksandr Kuzmuk.
Location
Managers Club Coach Replaced Coach Home stadium FC Dynamo Kyiv Valery Lobanovsky Yozhef Sabo 17 games(first half) Dynamo Stadium FC Shakhtar Donetsk Valery Yaremchenko Shakhtar Stadium FC Vorskla Poltava Viktor Pozhechevskyi Vorskla Stadium FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Vyacheslav Hrozny Meteor Stadium FC Karpaty Lviv Myron Markevych Ukraina Stadium SC Tavriya Simferopol Mykola Pavlov Serhiy Shevchenko 10 games Ivan Balan 5 games Valeriy Shvediuk 7 games Lokomotyv Stadium FC Chornomorets Odesa Leonid Buriak Black Sea Shipping Stadium FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Oleksandr Tomakh Metalurh Stadium FC Nyva Ternopil Ihor Yavorskyi City Stadium FC Zirka Kirovohrad Oleksandr Dovbiy Oleksandr Ischenko 22 games Mykhailo Kalyta 1 game Zirka Stadium FC CSKA Kyiv Volodymyr Lozynskyi CSK ZSU Stadium FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Oleksandr Lysenko Oleksiy Cherednyk 12 games Metalurh Stadium FC Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk Viktor Kolotov Boris Streltsov 5 games Elektron Stadium FC Torpedo Zaporizhzhia Viktor Matvienko Ihor Nadein 27 games AvtoZAZ Stadium FC Kremin Kremenchuk Mykhailo Byelykh Dnipro Stadium FC Nyva Vinnytsia Oleksandr Ischenko Pasha Kasanov 23 games Volodymyr Reva 2 games Central City Stadium
Notes: Games between Dynamo Kyiv and CSKA Kyiv were played at the Republican Stadium.
Changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointmentFC Shakhtar Donetsk Valeriy Rudakovpre-season Valery YaremchenkoSC Tavriya Simferopol Anatoliy Zayayev Serhiy ShevchenkoFC CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv Viktor Chanov Bernd StangeFC CSKA Kyiv Bernd Stange Volodymyr LozynskyFC Karpaty Lviv Volodymyr Zhuravchak Myron MarkevychFC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Bernd Stange Viacheslav HroznyFC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih Myron Markevych Oleksiy CherednykFC Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk Ihor Yurchenko Boris StreltsovFC Kremin Kremenchuk Valery Yaremchenko Mykhailo BilykhFC Nyva Vinnytsia Serhiy Morozov Pasha Kasanov
League table
Results
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals(Pen.)1 Oleh Matviiv Shakhtar Donetsk 21 (6)2 Serhii Rebrov Dynamo Kyiv 20 (6)3 Serhiy Chuychenko Vorskla Poltava 14 (2)4 Oleksandr Haidash Tavriya Simferopol 13 Andriy Fedkov Torpedo Zaporizhzhia 13 (3)6 Serhiy Mizin CSKA / Chornomorets 12 (3)7 Serhiy Atelkin Shakhtar Donetsk 11 Valentyn Poltavets Metalurh Zaporizhzhia 11 Yakiv Kripak Metalurh Zaporizhzhia 11 (3)10 Hennadiy Moroz Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 10
See also 1996–97 Ukrainian First League 1996–97 Ukrainian Second League 1996–97 Ukrainian Cup
References
External links ukrsoccerhistory.com - source of information