On the 27th of May 2015, Spanish side Sevilla prepared for the UEL final against Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Whilst Sevilla were Europe League regulars, Dnipro were not. Their past seasons saw finishes in 2nd and 3rd, but never 1st, their last trophy being the Soviet League cup in 1989.
This Europa League final seemed like a blessing, the team were playing 400 miles from home every week due to the ongoing conflict, and they’d beaten big teams like Olympiacos, Ajax and Napoli to reach the final, as well as beating Inter Milan in the group stage to secure a 2nd place finish there. It felt almost gifted that another 2nd place finish in Europe’s 2nd largest competition would condemn this club to ruins.
The 2014-15 Europa League lineup contained names such as Konoplyanka and Kalinic
The final was played, Dnipro looked like a team with promise. They went 1-0 up inside 10 minutes, the unthinkable became thinkable. In the 28th minute they conceded, and again in the 31st. They were now 2-1 down but with half-time approaching, they launched forwards again and made it 2-2 in the 44th. At half-time, the Ukrainian club would’ve been rejoicing. They were 1 goal away from a massive upset that would send shockwaves across Europe. The prize money would help the club, the fame even more. They went out for the 2nd half and kept trying…until the 73rd minute where Carlos Bacca netted for Sevilla. This would be the last goal of the match, and whilst Sevilla relished in another cup win, Dnipro were left empty-handed bar a medal with the words ‘runners-up’ emblazoned on it.
The club reached its lowest point a few seasons later, with the club banned from transfers in the 16-17 season, they were relegated to the 2nd tier. On June the 7th 2018, the club was relegated once more and put in the amateur league. The club refused to play at that level, and disbanded to form SC Dnipro-1. As of 2019, the club was nothing. A fading glint of glory fading away into nothing.
After disbanding, the team SC Dnipro-1 was created, and they’re currently 3rd in the Ukrainian league
But this challenge is here to fix that. Rebuild Dnipro, putting them in either the Polish league, or in a custom-built Slavic league mentioned in a previous post linked below. The aim is simple really, do what Dnipro didn’t. Win the league, all league trophies, and win the UEFA Europa League.
The team played with 2 different colour combinations, either light blue at home and black away or dark blue home and white away, so there will be plenty of options for a full save.
But that’s about it. Dnipro were a club so close to glory, that when they call football ‘the beautiful game’ you’ve got to take a step back and look at how it can be so harsh to everyone.
Rules:
Rebuild Dnipro and put them either in the Polish league, or in the custom-built Slavic league we posted about a while back
Give the club a blue circular badge and either light blue/black kits or dark blue/white kits
Sign only players from Eastern Europe, such as Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Poland and Georgia.
Win every trophy Dnipro couldn’t win, which are:
The league title, league cup, and UEFA Europa League
As an added challenge, try win the UCL as well, with a team that has at least 6 Ukrainian players.
But that’s about it, so have fun rebuilding this forgotten club!
Here is the custom league post, with a guide to creating the Slavic league, which you can use for this build:
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