Shakhtar Donetsk have made the bold move to sack manager Patrick van Leeuwen and his entire coaching team ahead of facing Barcelona.
Van Leeuwen replaced Igor Jovićević as boss of the Ukrainian champions ahead of the 2023/24 season with the Dutch coach previously involved in the club’s youth set up.
The move dismiss van Leeuwen and his backroom team comes as part of sweeping changes at the club with former Croatian international Darijo Srna taking interim charge of the first team.
Shakhtar Donetsk have sacked head coach Patrick van Leeuwen and his staff ahead of Barcelona #UCL game 🤔🇺🇦 https://t.co/RvSVJVXZ1T
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 16, 2023
As per reports from Marca, the move will cause ripples in Catalonia, with Srna set to take charge of their Champions League trip to Spain on October 25.
Srna will only have one league game to get to know his new role, having never managed at this level before, with Shakhtar hosting LNZ this weekend.
Barcelona have won both of their Champions League games so far this season with Shakhtar winning once in Group H.
Images via Getty Images
