Oleksandr Zinchenko: From amateur to Ukraine’s top professional soccer player

Age: 22
Education: Carpathia Sports School (Radomyshl)
Profession: Soccer player
Did you know? Zinchenko says he’s never tried alcohol.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is among the world’s best young soccer players. Before an injury in mid-October, he was a starting left wing-back for Manchester City, the defending champions of the English Premier League.

Zinchenko is also a leading player on Ukraine’s national soccer team, helping the squad qualify for the 2020 European Championship.

However, five years ago his career was marked with uncertainty, when Zinchenko struggled to find a club and kept fit by playing with amateurs.

Zinchenko was born in Radomyshl, a city of 14,000 people in Zhytomyr Oblast, 100 kilometers west of Kyiv. His father played soccer for a local club in Zhytomyr. Following his father’s footsteps, Zinchenko began playing for the local soccer academy. At the age of 12, Zinchenko was spotted by Ukraine’s leading soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk and was offered to move to one of its regional farm clubs.

At 16, Zinchenko was already the captain of Shakhtar’s under‑19 team. Zinchenko was regularly called up to play for Ukraine’s youth soccer team, representing the country at international competitions.

However, it all changed in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea and moved into eastern Ukraine, beginning the ongoing war that has killed nearly 14,000 people.

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Following the occupation of Donetsk, Zinchenko’s family moved to Russia. He followed, breaking off his contract with Shakhtar. The club sued, resulting in a three-year court case that was settled in 2017.

In Russia, Zinchenko started from scratch. “These were the hardest five months in my life,” said Zinchenko. After playing on the streets, Zinchenko was approached by Ufa, a Russian soccer team close to being eliminated from the country’s top division.

Zinchenko says he won’t accept Russian citizenship. “I can give you a 100% guarantee that I would have never taken a Russian passport,” said Zinchenko. “I’m a Ukrainian, I was born here. I was raised here. I would never trade that for something else.”

However, Zinchenko’s goal was always to play in a top European club, and his agent went on the hunt, approaching clubs and offering the skills of the young talent.

After Ukraine’s national soccer team failed to score a goal in the 2016 European Championship, Zinchenko, who was part of the team’s rotation, was unexpectedly signed by Manchester City.

“Zinchenko was perhaps the only Ukrainian player to come out of their miserable Euro 2016 campaign with any credit after some impressive performances,” wrote the Manchester Evening News after the signing.

Yet Zinchenko had a long way to go to prove his worth. He was sent on a loan stint to the Dutch club PSV, where he failed to become a regular.

After returning to Manchester, Zinchenko dedicated himself to earning a starting place. Initially an attacking midfielder, he retrained to become an attacking left-back.

Dedicating himself to the role, Zinchenko became a starting left-back for the team and a big part of their success, helping to sweep all four English titles in 2019.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said in February 2019 that at the beginning of the season, the team was close to selling Zinchenko. But the coach liked what he saw.

“I never saw one bad face, one bad training session,” said Guardiola. “More than the fact he is playing so good is the way he approaches. Everyone has to learn from (him).”