[ritchiebaby]

I've now got more time to give to this league and I'm choosing Chornomorets Odesa (The Sailors) as my team. Ukrainian - Футбо́льний Клуб Чорномо́рець Оде́са. Odesa because that's where Ukraine is managing to export small amounts of grain to the world and Chornomorets because they seem to be a team who could be doing better, but usually underachieve most weeks - my kind of team.


In their "glory years", they won the Ukrainian Cup in 1992 and 1994, both after extra time and eventually penalties in 1994. They have been runners-up in the Higher League in 1995 and 1996, as well as 3rd placed in 1993, 1994 and 2006. They also managed to be Cup runners-up in 2013, also being runners-up in the Super Cup that year.

Their President is Leonid Klimov, a national politician and banker, both well-respected professions  and their manager is Roman Hryhorchuk, a regular goalscorer over an 18 year playing career. He retired in 2001 and has managed several clubs since, coming to Chornomorets in 2021, after an earlier spell from 2010 to 2014.

Roman Hryhorchuk - apparently Hryhorchuk can be translated to Grigorchuk, which will explain the initials. And some people think English is a complicated language!


Nowadays they are a low-scoring, low-conceding team of draw specialists and after decades of being a perennial "nearly, but not quite" team, they will be looking to Hryhorchuk to instil some goalscoring style. Mind you, away to Shakhtar Donetsk this weekend might just be too big a task for that.

Chornomorets Odesa in the black and blue kit in the 1-1 draw against Inhulets


Bring on the advert!