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By Ihor Nitsak
KIEV, May 21 (Reuters) - Ukrainians gave UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk a heroes' welcome home on Thursday but their thoughts soon turned to the uncertainty surrounding the country's preparations to co-host the Euro 2012 tournament.
Shakhtar beat Germany's Werder Bremen 2-1 in Istanbul on Wednesday to become the first Ukrainian team to win the UEFA Cup. The win by Ukraine's second-biggest team united a country split linguistically between east and west.
"Despite being from Kharkiv, I supported Shakhtar with every fibre in my body. This victory is extremely important for us ordinary supporters," said Mychaylo Reutskiy, a 40-year-old IT manager.
"I am proud of my country and our players. I am sure with this victory, Shakhtar has done much more for Ukraine than all our politicians together."
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians crowded bars to watch the match which was clinched in extra time by Brazilian striker Jadson. More than 17 million of the 46-million population watched the match at home.
Shakhtar's victory dominated the television news on Thursday morning and 3,000 supporters turned out at Donetsk airport to greet the team.
TRIUMPH SOURED
However, the triumph made fans even more critical of the authorities, whom they blame for delays in the preparations to co-host Euro 2012 with Poland.
The slow progress in renovating stadiums, build hotels and upgrade airports has led to repeated warnings from UEFA. Last week, European soccer's governing body chose four Polish cities, but only one Ukrainian -- the capital -- to host the tournament.
Even Kiev might lose the right to host the final, UEFA said, giving it and three other cities until November to prove that they can speed up their efforts. Donetsk is one of those cities.
"If Ukrainians performed their functions at work like the officials responsible for Euro 2012, most of them would have been sacked long ago," said Andriy Dovgun, a 27-year-old fan. "Why do they constantly dodge the responsibility?"
