Anatoliy Tymoshchuk facts for kids
Tymoshchuk coaching Zenit in 2017
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 30 March 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Lutsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 1.81 m | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder, centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Zenit Saint Petersburg (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Volyn Lutsk | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1997 | Volyn Lutsk | 62 | (8) |
| 1998–2001 | Shakhtar-2 Donetsk | 25 | (9) |
| 1998–2007 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 227 | (32) |
| 2007–2009 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 67 | (10) |
| 2009–2013 | Bayern Munich | 86 | (4) |
| 2013–2015 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 32 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Kairat | 34 | (1) |
| Total | 533 | (64) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2016 | Ukraine | 144 | (4) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2017– | Zenit Saint Petersburg (assistant) | ||
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Anatoliy Oleksandrovych Tymoshchuk (Ukrainian: Анатолій Олександрович Тимощук; born 30 March 1979) is a Ukrainian football coach and former midfielder. A midfielder is a player who plays in the middle of the field. They help both in defense and attack. Since 2017, he has been an assistant coach for the Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Tymoshchuk is seen as one of the best players ever for Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg. He was also a former captain of the Ukraine national team. A captain is the leader of the team on the field.
He started his career with his local team, Volyn Lutsk. He then moved to play for the big Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. There, he was captain and won many titles, including the Ukrainian Premier League and Ukrainian Cup. In 2008, Tymoshchuk won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup as captain of Zenit Saint Petersburg. He also won the Russian Premier League.
After joining the German club Bayern Munich, Tymoshchuk won the Bundesliga (German league) and other cups. With Bayern, he won the UEFA Champions League in 2013. He also reached the Champions League final two other times.
Tymoshchuk is Ukraine's most-capped player, meaning he has played the most games for his national team, with 144 matches. He played in Ukraine's first-ever FIFA World Cup in 2006. He also played in their first European Championship in 2012. He was named the Ukrainian Footballer of the Year three times.
In 2022, the Ukrainian Association of Football took away Tymoshchuk's coaching license and some awards. This happened because he continued working in Russia and did not speak out about the conflict in Ukraine. Later, in 2023, Ukraine placed sanctions on him. This meant his money and awards from the state were frozen.
Contents
Club career
Volyn Lutsk
Tymoshchuk began his career playing for his hometown club, Volyn Lutsk. He grew up playing in the team's youth system. After two good seasons, bigger clubs started to notice him.
Shakhtar Donetsk
In 1997, when he was 18, Tymoshchuk joined Shakhtar Donetsk. At Shakhtar, he was a very important player. He helped the team win three Ukrainian Premier League titles. They also won three Ukrainian Cups and one Ukrainian Super Cup. His time at Shakhtar helped him become known as a great midfielder in Europe.
By 2006, Tymoshchuk had been captain of Shakhtar for several years. Many big European clubs were interested in signing him.
Zenit Saint Petersburg
On 27 February 2007, Tymoshchuk moved to Zenit Saint Petersburg. The transfer fee was reported to be around €15 million. He quickly became the new captain of the team. Zenit's manager, Dick Advocaat, was very impressed with him. He said Tymoshchuk was a true professional.
His first season at Zenit was very successful. Zenit won the Russian Premier League title. This was the first time the club had won the league in its history. At the end of the season, Tymoshchuk was named one of the best players in the league. He was also voted player of the year by a popular sports magazine.
After Zenit won the championship, an astronaut named Yuri Malenchenko, who was a fan of the team, waved a Zenit shirt in space. It had Tymoshchuk's name on it. This made Zenit the first team to have its uniform shown in space.
In the 2007–08 European season, Tymoshchuk led Zenit to win the UEFA Cup. They beat the Scottish club Rangers 2–0 in the final. After that, the club also won the 2008 UEFA Super Cup. They beat Manchester United 2–1.
Bayern Munich
In February 2009, Bayern Munich announced that Tymoshchuk would join their club. He officially joined Bayern on 1 July 2009. His contract was for three years. The transfer fee was not made public, but it was thought to be around €14 million.
Tymoshchuk played his first game for Bayern against Milan. He scored his first goal for Bayern against Juventus in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. On 8 May 2010, Tymoshchuk won his first trophy with Bayern. They won the 2009–10 Bundesliga (German league title). A week later, they also won the 2009–10 DFB-Pokal (German Cup).
In 2011, a new Bayern manager, Jupp Heynckes, took over. He said Tymoshchuk would play more under him. Tymoshchuk got a chance to start games when other players were injured. He played as a central defender. He started in the Champions League final in Munich. Bayern lost that game to Chelsea after a penalty shootout. Because he played a bigger role, Tymoshchuk became an important part of the team.
Return to Zenit Saint Petersburg
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After winning the Champions League with Bayern, Tymoshchuk went back to Zenit. He had received offers from other clubs in Europe. Russian media suggested that Zenit signed him not just for his playing skills. They also wanted him to help the Russian and foreign players get along. Tymoshchuk himself said that returning to Zenit would be his last transfer. This meant he planned to finish his playing career there.
Kairat
On 6 July 2015, Tymoshchuk signed an 18-month contract with Kazakhstan Premier League team Kairat. He was the captain of the team in his first league game. He helped the team win the 2015 Kazakhstan Cup title. Tymoshchuk left Kairat in November 2016 when his contract ended. He did not officially announce his retirement. Instead, he started studying to become a professional coach.
International career
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Since his first game in 2000, Tymoshchuk became a key player for the Ukraine national team. He played very well during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Ukraine reached the quarter-finals in that tournament. He was named the best player in Ukraine's win over Tunisia. Tymoshchuk was seen as one of the main reasons Ukraine played in their first ever World Cup.
On 11 October 2010, Tymoshchuk played his 100th game for Ukraine. This was in a friendly match against Brazil. He was the second Ukrainian player to reach 100 games.
On 20 December 2011, Tymoshchuk was named the best footballer in Ukraine's history. He won a national poll to find the most important players since Ukraine became independent in 1991. During his playing career, he was a midfielder who was good with the ball. He could also shoot powerfully from far away. After Andriy Shevchenko retired in 2012, Tymoshchuk became the captain of the team.
He is the most-capped Ukrainian player, with 144 appearances. In August 2016, Tymoshchuk officially stopped playing for the national team.
Personal life
Tymoshchuk was married to Nadiya Tymoshchuk. They met in his hometown of Lutsk when they were teenagers. Their twin children were born early in April 2010. In July, it was confirmed the children were healthy and could leave the hospital. In 2016, Nadiya, who lives in Munich with their children, announced they were getting a divorce. Since their divorce, Tymoshchuk's children have stayed in Germany with his ex-wife.
In June 2008, Tymoshchuk was given the title of "Honorary citizen of Lutsk." This honor was taken away on his 43rd birthday in 2022.
Tymoshchuk's favorite player is Lothar Matthäus. He once said he would have loved to play in the Germany national team of 1990 with Matthäus. He also likes the Ukrainian band Okean Elzy and the Russian painter Mikhail Vrubel. He enjoys collecting wines, t-shirts, and icons.
Tymoshchuk thinks four is his lucky number. He often wore 4 or 44 as his shirt number for both his clubs and national team. Besides his native Ukrainian, he also speaks Polish and Russian. He knows some basic Croatian and German too.
Since 2000, Tymoshchuk and his father have organized football tournaments. These are called the International Anatoliy Tymoshchuk Junior Cup. Children from Ukraine and nearby countries play in Lutsk. The winners receive cups and money. The goal of the tournament is to encourage children to keep playing football. It gives them a chance to be part of a real competition.
Conduct after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
When the conflict in Ukraine began, Tymoshchuk was an assistant coach at the Russian club Zenit St Petersburg. His actions caused a lot of discussion and criticism in his home country. He was well-known and admired in Ukraine as their most-capped player.
Because he continued working in Russia and did not speak out about the conflict in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Football took away his coaching license and some awards. Later, in 2023, Ukraine placed sanctions on him. This meant his money and awards from the state were frozen.
Images for kids
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Tymoshchuk playing for Ukraine against Bulgaria in 2012
See also
In Spanish: Anatoliy Timoshchuk para niños
