1996–97 Ukrainian First League was the sixth season of the Ukrainian First League which was won by Metalurh Donetsk. The season started on August 4, 1996, and finished on June 20, 1997.
Promotion and relegation Promoted teams Three clubs promoted from the 1995–96 Ukrainian Second League. Group A FC CSKA Kyiv – champion (returning after four seasons, previously in 1992 as SKA Kyiv) Group B FC Metalurh Mariupol – champion (returning after four seasons, previously in 1992 as FC Azovets Mariupol) FC Metalurh Donetsk – promotion play-off (debut)
Relegated teams Three clubs were relegated from the 1995-96 Ukrainian Top League: SC Mykolaiv – 16th place (returning after two seasons, previously in 1994-95 as FC Evis Mykolaiv) FC Volyn Lutsk – 17th place (debut) FC Zorya Luhansk – 18th place (debut)
Renamed teams FC Zakarpattia Uzhhorod changed its name to FC Verkhovyna Uzhhorod before the season. FC CSKA Kyiv changed its name to FC CSKA-2 Kyiv before the season since becoming the farm team of the Borysfen-CSKA merger. FC Dnipro Cherkasy changed its name to FC Cherkasy during the winter break.
Teams In 1996-97 season, the Ukrainian First League consists of the following teams:
Club City Stadium Coach Replaced coach(es) Metalist Kharkiv Kharkiv Metalist Stadium Mykhailo Fomenko Viktor Udovenko Veres Rivne Rivne Avanhard Stadium Viacheslav Kobeletsky Poligraftechnika Olexandria Oleksandriya Olimp Stadium Yuriy Koval Anatoliy Buznyk Podillya Khmelnytskyi KhmelnytskyiKrasyliv Podillya StadiumYunist Stadium Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi Volodymyr Bulhakov Krystal Chortkiv Chortkiv Kharchovyk Stadium V.Ivehesh Ivan Hamaliy Lviv Lviv Yunist Stadium Stepan Yurchyshyn Dynamo-2 Kyiv Kyiv Dynamo Stadium Volodymyr Onyshchenko Yavir Krasnopillia Krasnopillya Kolos StadiumYavir Stadium Valeriy Dushkov Stal Alchevsk Alchevsk Stal Stadium Anatoliy Volobuyev Dnipro Cherkasy Cherkasy Central StadiumSpartak Stadium Semen Osynovskyi Ihor Chupryna Bazhanovets Makiivka Makiivka Avanhard Stadium Viktor Pyshchev Bukovyna Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Bukovyna Stadium V.Bohuslavsky Yukhym Shkolnykov Khimik Zhytomyr Zhytomyr City Stadium Hryhoriy Ishchenko V.Veber Naftovyk Okhtyrka Okhtyrka Naftovyk Stadium Vasyl Yermak Oleksandr Dovbiy Metalurh Nikopol Nikopol Elektrometalurh Stadium Hryhoriy Verzhelenko Volyn Lutsk Lutsk Avanhard Stadium A.Radchenko Zakarpattia Uzhhorod Uzhhorod Avanhard Stadium Oleksandr Holokolosov Sr. Matviy Bobal Zorya Luhansk Luhansk Avanhard Stadium A.Shakun Anatoliy Kuksov CSKA-2 Kyiv Kyiv CSKA Stadium A.Shtelin A.Petrakov Khimik Severodonetsk Sieverodonetsk Khimik Stadium Yuriy Koval Yuriy Vankevych Odesa Odesa SKA Stadium Serhiy Marusyn SC Mykolaiv Mykolaiv Central Stadium Anatoliy Zayaev Yevhen Kucherevsky Metalurh Donetsk Donetsk Shakhtar Stadium Yevhen Korol Metalurh Mariupol Mariupol Azovstal Stadium Yuriy Pohrebnyak
Final table
Persha Liha 1996-97 WinnersFC Metalurh DonetskFirst title
Top scorers Statistics are taken from here.Statistics ScorerGoals (Pen.)Team1 Oleksiy Antyukhin22 (7)Dynamo-2 Kyiv2 Yuriy Hetman21 (1)Metalurh Mariupol3 Oleksandr Sevidov20Metalurh Donetsk4 Viktor Dyak18 (10)Shakhtar Makiivka5 Kostyantyn Pinchuk16 (12)Metalurh Mariupol6 Yevhen Sonin15 (3)SC Mykolaiv7 Oleksandr Ostashov14Metalurh D. / Stal Oleh Babenko14 (1)Khimik Severodonetsk9 Oleksandr Karabuta13Metalist Kharkiv Borys Shurshyn13 (2)Yavir Krasnopillya
See also Ukrainian Premier League 1996-97 Ukrainian Second League 1996-97
References