January 2. Today were born... Shovkovsky — 50

Today’s date gifted the world a large number of famous personalities who closely tied their lives to football:

Alexander Shovkovsky. Photo — A. Popov

Evgeny Rudakov (1942−2011) — a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Best known for his performances with Kyiv’s Dynamo, with which he became a seven-time champion and three-time holder of the USSR Cup. In 1975, he won the Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. He played 48 matches for the USSR national team, conceding 35 goals.

Vladislav Vashchuk (1975) — a former Ukrainian defender. Most of his career was spent at Kyiv’s Dynamo. Quarter-finalist of the 2006 World Cup. After returning to Kyiv’s Dynamo in 2005, Vashchuk faced constant psychological pressure from Kyiv fans due to his transfer to Moscow’s Spartak. He played 63 matches for the Ukrainian national team, scoring 1 goal.

Evgeny Levchenko (1978) — a former Ukrainian footballer who played as a midfielder. A player for the Ukrainian national team from 2002 to 2009. Levchenko's last club was the Australian Adelaide United. Currently — a television expert.

Ismael Bangura (1985) — a Guinean footballer. From 2007 to 2009, he played for Kyiv’s Dynamo. In the “white-blue” jersey in the Ukrainian championship, he played 46 matches and scored 28 goals. After leaving Dynamo, he was unable to shine as brightly anywhere else.

Alexander Shovkovsky (1975) — a famous Ukrainian goalkeeper, a graduate of Kyiv’s Dynamo. A record-holder for his home club in the number of matches played. 14-time champion of Ukraine. In 1999, Shovkovsky made it to the list of the top 50 best footballers in Europe (“Ballon d'Or”). The first footballer to play over 100 matches for Ukrainian teams in European competitions.

He played at the 2006 World Cup, where he particularly distinguished himself in the match against Switzerland, not conceding any goals in the penalty shootout and ensuring the Ukrainian team’s passage to the tournament's quarter-finals. Alexander became the first goalkeeper in history to not concede any goals in World Cup penalty shootouts.

In October 2016, he received a coaching license. On December 12, 2016, he announced his retirement. The last official match for Shovkovsky in Dynamo was a Ukrainian championship game against Luhansk’s Zarya. Now — the head coach of Kyiv’s Dynamo.