The news of the death of former football player and then coach Mykhailo Stelmach at the age of 58 came as a complete surprise to the entire football community of Ukraine.
The man in the prime of his life suddenly passed away on Monday in Kyiv, leaving only pleasant memories of himself—both among fans and among friends, colleagues and mentees. One of them, coach Volodymyr Sharan, shared his memories with Sport.ua:
Volodymyr Sharan“I had known Mykhailo for a long time. When I first arrived in Kyiv in 1991, we met a year or two later. Since then we have been friends, we knew each other well. I can say that I knew Misha Stelmach only from the best side, as he was an upright, kind, and extraordinarily modest person, a true professional in his field. During his active playing years in football, he was a good player—he played for Kyiv's Dynamo, and it was very difficult to break into the main team at that time, at the end of the 80s. At that time, I remember everyone saying that the Dynamo reserves had such a selection of footballers that anyone from them could strengthen any top league team.
I remember Stelmach well as a coach of FC "Kharkiv", where he did a wonderful job. Mykhailo was a good family man, raising three daughters together with his wife. They are all currently abroad with their mother during these hard times. No matter how many times I visited Kyiv, we always made sure to meet—together with Misha and Serhiy Mizin.
Just a few months ago, last autumn, it turned out that Stelmach and I had surgeries just a day apart. It was, however, in different hospitals. Mykhailo had his hip joint replaced—and it seemed that after recovery nothing would disturb him anymore. After that, we called each other numerous times: both before the surgery and during this New Year. Who would have thought that everything would turn out this way...
For me personally, the death of Misha is a very great loss. Losing such an upright person and good friend is very hard. He will remain in my memories forever. Rest in Heavenly Peace and eternal memory," said Volodymyr Sharan.
