The 2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League season was the 24th since its establishment. The competition commenced on 25 July when Metalurh Donetsk hosted Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Lviv. Due to the war in Donbas, the league reduced the number of teams and eventually was one game short of completion due to heightened terrorist level.
Format Initially, a new format was proposed to be introduced for this season by FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The first stage was to be a regular round robin of home/away format. In the second stage, the championship was to have an additional play-off format in which participants, upon completion of the regular round-robin, were to be split into three groups of 4 (1–4 places), 4 (5–8 places), and 6 (9–14 places) teams. The points earned in the first stage were to be preserved. The first two groups of four teams would each have a regular round robin home/away format, while the third group of six was to play each other only once.
However, on 22 July 2014, it was confirmed that the championship would be played using a standard double round-robin tournament system. The last team would be relegated and would be replaced by the champion of the 2014–15 Ukrainian First League.
Teams Initially, a total of 16 teams were expected to participate in the league: the best 14 sides of the 2013–14 season and two promoted clubs from the 2013–14 Ukrainian First League. The fifteenth-placed team of the 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League, Tavriya Simferopol was relegated to the 2014–15 Ukrainian First League at the end of the season. A second team was to be relegated, but with the withdrawal of Arsenal Kyiv during the 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League season, only one team was relegated.
Teams from Crimea, namely Sevastopol and Tavriya Simferopol, will not participate in the Ukrainian competition since they ceased their existence and applied (under new names) for a Russian license after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014.
The relegated team and the vacant position were to be replaced by the champions of the 2013–14 Ukrainian First League, FC Olimpik Donetsk, and the runners-up, PFC Oleksandriya. But PFC Oleksandriya refused the promotion to the Premier League and merged with FC UkrAhroKom Holovkivka.
On 2 June 2014, the Premier League published two preliminary projects of possible season schedule with 16 and 12 teams respectively. On 27 June 2014, it was confirmed that 14 teams will play in the 2014–15 season.
Location map
Stadiums The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:
RankStadiumClubCapacityHighestAttendanceNotes 1NSC OlimpiyskiyDynamo Kyiv 70,050 57,502Round 8 (Shakhtar)Metalurh Donetsk 12,869Round 23 (Dynamo)Used as home ground in Round 23.2OSC MetalistMetalist Kharkiv40,00321,546Round 6 (Dnipro) 3Arena LvivShakhtar Donetsk 34,915 32,509 Round 21 (Dynamo)Used as home ground.Metalurh Donetsk 7,527Round 1 (Dnipro)Used as home ground in Round 1. 4Chornomorets StadiumChornomorets Odesa34,16425,182Round 6 (Shakhtar)5Dnipro-ArenaDnipro Dnipropetrovsk31,00317,444Round 25 (Shakhtar)6Ukraina StadiumKarpaty Lviv28,0517,800Round 2 (Metalurh D.)7Vorskla StadiumVorskla Poltava24,79510,600Round 9 (Metalist)8Meteor StadiumIllichivets Mariupol24,3818,000Round 8(Dnipro)Used as temporary home ground9Dynamo StadiumDynamo Kyiv16,87310,000Round 17 (Metalurh Z.)Used as home ground in return matchChornomorets Odesa 5,314Round 18 (Dynamo)Used as home ground in Round 18.10Avanhard StadiumVolyn Lutsk12,0808,700Round 20 (Dynamo)11Slavutych-ArenaMetalurh Zaporizhzhia12,00010,000Round 4 (Dnipro)Zorya Luhansk4,100Round 6 (Dynamo)Used as home ground during season.12Avanhard StadiumHoverla Uzhhorod12,0008,800Round 9 (Dynamo)13Obolon ArenaMetalurh Donetsk5,1002,500Round 3 (Metalurh Z.)Used as temporary home groundIllichivets Mariupol 2,700Round 18 (Shakhtar)Used as home ground in Round 18.Shakhtar Donetsk 3,200Round 26 (Karpaty)Used as home ground in Round 26. 14 Bannikov StadiumOlimpik Donetsk 1,678 1,200Round 4 (Shakhtar) Used as temporary home groundShakhtar Donetsk 1,100Round 7 (Zorya)Used as home ground in Round 5.
Note:
Round when attendance is noted as highest is the chronological number of the round, not the published round by the Ukrainian Premier League since some rounds were rescheduled for a later date.
Personnel and sponsorship TeamHome cityHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorChornomorets Odesa Odesa Oleksandr Babych (interim) Anatoliy Didenko Nike ImexbankDnipro Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Myron Markevych Ruslan Rotan Nike BiolaDynamo Kyiv Kyiv Serhii Rebrov Oleksandr Shovkovskyi adidas OstchemHoverla Uzhhorod Uzhhorod Vyacheslav Hrozny Maksim Shatskikh adidas —Illichivets Mariupol Mariupol Mykola Pavlov Serhiy Yavorskyi Nike AIGKarpaty Lviv Lviv Igor Jovićević (interim) Oleh Holodyuk Joma Favbet / LimoMetalist Kharkiv Kharkiv Ihor Rakhayev Serhiy Pohorilyi adidas VETEKMetalurh Donetsk Donetsk Volodymyr Pyatenko Vyacheslav Checher Umbro ISDMetalurh Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia Anatoliy Chantsev Vitaliy Lysytskyi Nike ZaporizhstalOlimpik Donetsk Donetsk Roman Sanzhar Dmytro Hryshko Puma AltkomShakhtar Donetsk Donetsk Mircea Lucescu Darijo Srna Nike SCMVolyn Lutsk Lutsk Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi Eric Bicfalvi adidas VodafoneVorskla Poltava Poltava Vasyl Sachko Armend Dallku adidas FerrexpoZorya Luhansk Luhansk Yuriy Vernydub Mykyta Kamenyuka Nike Holsten
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointmentDynamo Kyiv Serhii Rebrov (interim)Change of contractMay 18Pre-season Serhii RebrovMay 18Metalist Kharkiv Ihor Rakhayev (interim)Change of contractMay 19 Ihor RakhayevMay 19Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Juande RamosEnd of contractMay 22 Myron MarkevychMay 26Metalurh Donetsk Sergei TashuyevSigned by Anzhi MakhachkalaMay 22 Volodymyr PyatenkoJune 16Vorskla Poltava Anatoliy MomotInterim coachJune 10 Vasyl SachkoJune 10Karpaty Lviv Oleksandr SevidovMutual agreementJune 17 Igor Jovićević (interim)June 18Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Oleh TaranSackedNovember 711th Oleksandr Tomakh (interim)November 7Chornomorets Odesa Roman HryhorchukMutual consentDecember 169th Oleksandr Babych (interim)December 16Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Oleksandr Tomakh (interim)End as interimFebruary 2411th Anatoliy ChantsevFebruary 24
Qualification to European competitions for 2015–16 Since Ukraine finished in ninth place of the UEFA country ranking after the 2013–14 season, the league should have received the same number of qualifiers for 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. However, due to the recent format change, Ukraine will have only three teams entering the UEFA Europa League. The Ukrainian Cup winner qualifies for the Group stage.
Qualified teams After the 20th Round, Dynamo Kyiv qualified for European football for the 2015–16 season. After the 21st Round, both Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for European football for the 2015–16 season. After the 24th Round, Dynamo Kyiv qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League Group Stage after they defeated Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. After the Ukrainian Cup Semi-finals, with both finalists having qualified for European football the fifth placed team will be able to qualified for 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. Zorya Luhansk can finish no worse than fifth and therefore qualify for Europa League third qualifying round. After the 25th Round, Vorskla Poltava qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, entering in the third qualifying round.
League table
Results
Positions by round The following table represents the teams position after each round in the competition.
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerClubGoals (pen.)1 Alex TeixeiraShakhtar Donetsk17 (1) Eric BicfalviVolyn Lutsk17 (4)3 Artem KravetsDynamo Kyiv154 Andriy YarmolenkoDynamo Kyiv14 (3)5 Nikola KalinićDnipro Dnipropetrovsk12 (2)6 Oleksandr HladkyiShakhtar Donetsk117 Luiz AdrianoShakhtar Donetsk9 (1) Đorđe LazićMetalurh Donetsk9 (2)9 Pylyp BudkivskyiZorya Luhansk8 Oleksandr KovpakVorskla Poltava8 (1) Željko LjubenovićZorya Luhansk8 (1) Yevhen SeleznyovDnipro Dnipropetrovsk8 (1) Cleiton XavierMetalist Kharkiv8 (3)
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Artem Kravets 17 August 2014 Bruno Gama 13 September 2014 Cleiton Xavier 9 November 2014 Jajá 30 November 2014 Serhiy Hryn 30 May 2015
Awards
Monthly awards MonthUA-Football Player of the MonthPlayerClubReferenceAugust Oleksandr HladkyiShakhtar DonetskИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Александр Гладкий - лучший в августеSeptember Andriy YarmolenkoDynamo KyivИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Андрей Ярмоленко - лучший в сентябреOctober Serhiy SydorchukDynamo KyivИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Сергей Сидорчук - лучший в октябреNovember Andriy YarmolenkoDynamo KyivИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Андрей Ярмоленко - лучший в ноябреMarch Andriy YarmolenkoDynamo KyivИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Лучший в марте - Андрей ЯрмоленкоApril Oleksandr ShovkovskyiDynamo KyivИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Лучший в апреле - Александр ШовковскийMay Denys BoykoDnipro DnipropetrovskИгрок месяца по версии UA-Футбол. Лучший в мае - Денис Бойко
Season awards The laureates of the 2014–15 UPL season were:Визначено лауреатів сезону 2014/2015 в УПЛ Best player: Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kyiv) Best coach: Serhii Rebrov (Dynamo Kyiv) Best goalkeeper: Denys Boyko (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) Best arbiter: Yevhen Aranovsky (Kyiv) Best young player: Valeriy Luchkevych (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) Best goalscorer: Alex Teixeira (Shakhtar Donetsk) Fair play prize: Zorya Luhansk
See also 2014–15 Ukrainian First League 2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League Reserves and Under 19 2014–15 Ukrainian Second League 2014–15 Ukrainian Cup 2014–15 UEFA Europa League 2014–15 UEFA Champions League
References