The Donbass Arena is just a short walk along Artema, Donetsk’s main street. On your left you pass a statue of Vladimir Lenin, standing tall in the square that bears his name. Should your legs be tired, the No. 6 tram will take you most of the way, passing buildings old and new; monuments of the city’s past and symbols of the future.
When Shakhtar Donetsk play, the streets are packed with fans wearing orange and black, and fathers and sons hold hands heading to the £242-million, 52,000-capacity stadium. It’s a far cry from the old days at the old Shakhtyor Stadium, when miners would climb the slag heaps that surrounded it to watch for free and thousands crammed into the typically Soviet-style bowl—a stadium vacated since 2009.