Shakhtar hires Portuguese coach Castro to replace Fonseca

Shakhtar Donetsk has hired Luis Castro as coach, with the Ukrainian champion turning to another Portuguese manager to lead a team relying heavily on Brazilian players.

Shakhtar says in a statement that Castro signed a two-year contract.

Castro replaces Paulo Fonseca — who was hired this week by Roma — for the second time in his career.

After Fonseca was fired by Porto in March 2014, Castro was interim coach for the rest of the season.

Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov says Castro "fits our philosophy and our style of play very well."

Castro led Vitoria Guimaraes to a fifth-place finish in Portugal and a place in Europa League qualifying rounds.

Shakhtar, which has qualified for the Champions League, plays home games in Kharkiv because of a longstanding separatist conflict in Donetsk.