Goal.com Profile: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk

Goal.com looks at the career of Ukrainian midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, who has finally put pen to paper on a contract with Bayern Munich.

Feb 3, 2009 7:09:26 PM

UEFA Cup: Viacheslav Malafeev and Anatoliy Tymoschuk , Zenit St Petersburg - Rangers (PA)

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UEFA Cup: Viacheslav Malafeev and Anatoliy Tymoschuk , Zenit St Petersburg - Rangers (PA)

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Anatoliy Tymoshchuk

After all the uncertainty as to whether Zenit St Petersburg captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk would indeed join Bayern Munich for next season, the Bavarian giants revealed this week that the Ukrainian international will be taking up residence in their midfield in 2009-10.

Early Days

Tymoshchuk was born on the 30th March in Lutsk, which is the capital of Volynoblast- an oft-disputed area that has spent most of the past 1,000 years being passed between Russia and Poland.

As a youngster his interest in football was encouraged by his father, who although not a professional was a keen footballer. Knowing that his son had talent he organised Vladimir Baisarovich to manage/coach the young Anatoliy between the ages of 6 and 14. Tymoshchuk became a ball-boy with local side FC Volyn Lutsk at a time when a certain Oleg Luzhny was at the club.

He attended the Dynamo Kiev boarding school where he received his football education - with Andriy Shevchenko in his final year there when Tymoshchuk was in the 8th year. Aged 16, he received an offer to sign for Dynamo from President Gregoris Surkis, but he turned it down after consulting his family. Tymoshchuk believed that his chances would be limited at Kiev and didn’t fancy spending his time in the reserves.

Volyn Lutsk

So at the age of 16 FC Volyn Lutsk manager Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi persuaded him to come back to his home town and gave him a guarantee of first-team football. Tymoshchuk played three seasons for Volyn Lutsk, but during his time there attracted interest from abroad and reportedly came very close to joining Austrian side Tirol Innsbruck. At the time Tymoshchuk was playing as a striker.

Shakhtar Donetsk

After two successful seasons in the Volyn first team, Tymoshchuk began to attract the attention of bigger clubs such as FC Chornomorets Odessa, but in 1997 at the age of 18 the ambitious Shakhtar Donetsk under the control of Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov purchased him for around $20,000.

He made his Shakhtar debut in April 1998 and scored in a 3-3 draw against Tavriya and added two more in his next game against Chornomorets. Disappointment was to follow though with a period in the reserves. Then Shakhtar trainer Valeriy Yaremchenko then moved Tymoshchuk to right-back and then to a role in the centre of midfield.

Shakhtar’s next manager, Anatoliy Byshovets, also used Tymoshchuk’s versatility but it soon became obvious that his best position was as a midfield pivot or playing in front of the back-four. After finishing as runners-up for five seasons in a row, Shakhtar secured their first Ukrainian league title in the 2001/02 season. With Tymoshchuk now installed as captain they won two more Championships in 2004/05 and 2005/06.

With consistently high performances in the domestic league, the Champions League and internationally for Ukraine, Tymoshchuk began to attract the interest of ‘top’ European clubs with Fiorentina, Celtic, Feyenoord, Roma, and Juventus reportedly looking to sign him.

Feyenoord were the closest to getting him, having held official negotiations with Shakhtar in Donetsk. However Shakhtar were reportedly unhappy with the offer and negotiations went no further. It was reported at the time that the Ukrainians were demanding €10 million.

Zenit St Petersburg

A year later however and Russian club Zenit St Petersburg, funded by the Gazprom millions, did part with the necessary cash to tempt Shakhtar to part company with their captain, getting €15 million in the process.

He was soon named the club captain and the season ended with success and the club lifting the Russian Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history. More personal success followed when he was voted ‘Player of the Season’ by the influential Sport-Express and included in the list of the best 30 players in Russia.

The glory of his first season was eclipsed in his second with Zenit winning the club’s first European trophy. The Russian side beat Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup on the way to the final in Manchester against Glasgow Rangers.

They put on a master class of football and clearly deserved their 2-0 win. Tymoshchuk was the captain to hoist the trophy at the City of Manchester Stadium.

In August this year, the 29-year-old was called upon once more to lift a piece of silverware when Zenit defeated English giants Manchester United in the European Super Cup.

International Career

Tymoshchuk made his international debut for Ukraine in April 2000 against Bulgaria. He was a key member of the side that helped the nation qualify for the World Cup in 2006 and played in every minute of Ukraine’s five matches.

They reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 3-0 to eventual winners Italy, so not a bad showing in their first finals tournament. He has amassed 78 caps, scoring one goal, and is the vice-captain to the legendary Andriy Shevchenko.

Did You Know?

Tymoshchuk collects football shirts and has a collection of over 150. He once outbid Lothar Matthaus in an auction for a Zinedine Zidane shirt.

While at Shakhtar, he wore a captain’s armband in the German national team colours once worn by the legendary German midfielder Matthaus.

Particulars

Name: Anatoliy Oleksandrovych Tymoshchuk
Date of Birth: 30/03/1979
Place of Birth: Lutsk, Ukraine
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 74kg
Position: Defensive Midfielder

Mathew Burt, Goal.com

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