Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk have announced the news that Roberto De Zerbi has left his role as manager.
The Italian took over the position in May 2021 but his time in Ukraine was cut short following Russia’s invasion of country in February 24.
The ongoing war led to the suspension of the league in in April with the standings at the time of the invasion would be the final league table with no title winner declared. Shakhtar were in first place at the time of the stoppage.
Shakhtar thanked De Zerbi and his staff for their time with the club and added that at the start of the war, the ex-Sassuolo manager “showed solidarity with the club and the Ukrainian people by conducting a series of Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace charity games with the team.”
During his brief period with the club, he led them to the Champions League group stage, overcoming play-off matches against Genk and Monaco but Shakhtar finished bottom behind Real Madrid, Inter and Sheriff Tiraspol.
Following the outbreak of war, De Zerbi led Shakhtar on the Global Tour for Peace in which they competed in friendlies against sides from Greece, Turkey, Poland and Croatia.