Today is a significant day for several well-known personalities who have closely linked their lives with football.
Viktor Tsygankov (1997) — midfielder for the Ukrainian national team and the Spanish club Girona. Previously played for Dynamo Kyiv. Born in the city of Nahariya, Israel, in the family of football goalkeeper Vitaliy Tsygankov, who was playing in the national league at that time. After his father’s career ended, the Tsygankov family returned to his hometown Vinnytsia, where Viktor started his football journey at the local youth sports school.
In November 2010, Ivan Terletsky invited Tsygankov to the Dynamo Kyiv Academy, while Shakhtar Donetsk also showed interest. However, Viktor decided to move to the capital. At the Dynamo Academy, Tsygankov played under the guidance of Pavlo Kikot, Andriy Biba, Yuriy Yeskin, and Oleksiy Drotsenko.
Tsygankov debuted for the Ukrainian national team on November 12, 2016, in a match against Finland, which took place in Odesa.
John Heitinga (1983) — former defender for Ajax and the Netherlands national team. He also played for clubs such as Hertha Berlin, Atletico Madrid, and Everton. He is a bronze medalist from Euro 2004 and a silver medalist from the last World Cup, which took place in South Africa. In total, he played 87 matches for the national team and scored 7 goals. He is currently the head coach of Ajax.
Volodymyr Yezerskyi (1976) — former Ukrainian footballer who played as a defender. During his career, Yezerskyi played for many domestic clubs, including Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, as well as Shakhtar Donetsk. He participated in the 2006 World Cup with the Ukrainian national team, reaching the quarter-finals. In total, Yezerskyi played 39 matches for the national team of Ukraine, scoring 2 goals. Currently, he works within the structure of Ukraine’s youth national teams.