Lucescu aims to build on UEFA Cup triumph

Shakhtar Donetsk's coach Mircea Lucescu celebrates after his team defeated Werder Bremen in their UEFA Cup final soccer match at Sukru Saracoglu stadium in Istanbul May 20, 2009.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu said on Wednesday his team's triumph in the last UEFA Cup was testament to the progress of Eastern European sides and set his sights on Champions League success.

Brazilian Jadson scored in extra time to earn Shakhtar a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup final, making them the first Ukrainian team to win a major European trophy since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

"I am happy that we continued the success of Ukrainian teams. I hope this result will give us more stamina and strength to prepare for the 2012 (European Championships)," Lucescu told reporters.

"The team is very young and I hope no players will leave the team. We want to do well in the Champions League. I think we can do better than we did today," he said.

"I think the Champions League will be the future aim for these east European countries," he added.

Shakhtar were the third former Soviet club to win the UEFA Cup in five seasons following victories for CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit St Petersburg last year.

The UEFA Cup will become the Europa League next season, a revamped competition UEFA hopes will enhance the image and profile of European football's second-tier tournament.

Lucescu said he was also happy for his Brazilian players, among whom Brazilian Luiz Adriano had put Shakhtar ahead with a neat finish after 25 minutes.

His compatriot Naldo equalised before halftime after keeper Andriy Pyatov fumbled his well-struck free kick into the net.

"I believe we managed to seize control of the game in the first half. Unfortunately the goalkeeper made a mistake and we lost control," he said.

It was a triumphant return to Istanbul for Lucescu where he coached arch rivals Besiktas and Galatasaray before joining Shakhtar in 2004.

Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf lamented his side's failure to put more pressure on their opponents.

"We were just not fast enough and we were not effective enough and we were not able to put pressure on the opponent," he said.

"We weren't able to attack as much as we usually do. Our ball control wasn't as good. Particularly in midfield, we weren't able to target the opponent's goal that well," he said.

"We have to build on this experience and try to get the team going again. We need to give them time to recover," he added.

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