We profile Ukraine's national team soccer players who made national sporting history on Sept. 3 by qualifying for the 2006 World Cup
In the tense aftermath of Ukraine’s 1-1 tie in Georgia last week many fans wondered aloud whether this could be the start of
another great collapse for Ukrainian soccer. If not for Denmark managing a 2-2 draw with luckless Turkey, Ukrainian fans might have been biting their nails ahead of the Sept. 7 qualifier at home against the fearsome Turks instead of calling their travel agents.
In order to better acquaint fans with Team Ukraine, the first European team to qualify for the World Cup and history makers as Ukraine’s first-ever representatives at the big dance, we present a brief overview of the Blue and Yellow’s starting XI.
#14 – Andriy Husin
Position: midfielder
Born: Dec. 11, 1972, Zolochiv, Lviv obl.
Caps: 56
Int’l goals: 8
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 79 kg
Club team: Krylya Sovetov, Samara (RUS)
#5 – Volodymyr Yezersky
Position: defender
Born: Nov. 15, 1976, Dnipropetrovsk
Caps: 18
Int’l goals: 0
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 76 kg
Club team: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
#3 – Serhiy Fedorov
Position: defender
Born: Feb. 18, 1975, Kyiv
Caps: 24
Int’l goals: 1
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Club team: Dynamo Kyiv
#1 – Oleksandr Shovkovsky
Position: Goalkeeper
Born: Jan. 2, 1975, Kyiv
Caps: 61
Goals conceded: 64 in 90 matches
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Club team: Dynamo Kyiv
#7 – Andriy Shevchenko
Position: striker
Born: Sept. 29, 1976, Dvirkivshchyna, Kyiv obl.
Caps: 61
Int’l goals: 27
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Club team: AC Milan (ITA)
#6 – Andriy Rusol
Position: defender
Born: Jan. 16, 1983, Dnipropetrovsk
Caps: 14
Int’l goals: 1
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Club team: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
#8 – Ruslan Rotan
Position: midfielder
Born: Oct. 29, 1981, Poltava
Caps: 11
Int’l goals: 1
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Club team: Dynamo Kyiv
#11 – Serhiy Shyshchenko
Position: midfielder
Born: Jan. 13, 1976, Donetsk
Caps: 11
Int’l goals: 1
Height: 169 cm
Weight: 71 kg
Club team: Metalurh Donetsk
#10 – Andriy Voronin
Position: striker
Born: July 21, 1979, Odessa
Caps: 24
Int’l goals: 3
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Club team: Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
#4 – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk
Position: midfielder
Born: Mar. 30, 1979, Lutsk
Caps: 48
Int’l goals: 1
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Club team: Shakhtar Donetsk
#2 – Andriy Nesmachniy
Position: defender
Born: Feb. 28, 1979, Bryansk, Russia
Caps: 41
Int’l goals: 0
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Club team: Dynamo Kyiv
Other key figures:
Serhiy Rebrov, striker, 67 caps, 14 int’l goals
Andriy Vorobey, striker, 45 caps, 5 int’l goals
Oleh Venhlynsky, striker, 8 caps, 1 int’l goal
Oleh Husev,midfielder, 19 caps, 1 int’l goal
Vladislav Vashchuk, defender, 51 caps, 1 int’l goal
Maksim Startsev, goalkeeper, 1 cap, 1 goal allowed
