Former Dynamo Kyiv and Austrian national team defender Aleksandar Dragovic has joined the Austrian Armed Forces to complete his basic military service, which he left in 2011 to join Swiss club Basel. This was reported by the Kleine Zeitung, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, Aleksandar Dragovic joined the Austrian army on Monday to resume his primary military service, which was interrupted about 14 years ago due to his transfer to Swiss Basel. Dragovic is to report to the Vienna Army Sports Center every morning for the next two months.
He will be exempted from regular service in the Austrian army because he is a professional football player. He will continue to train and play for Austria, which was confirmed by the club under the defender's Instagram post.
"My ankle will probably be swollen tomorrow. Perhaps I will be declared unfit for military service," Dragovic joked after the victory over his fierce rivals Rapid.
Addendum
Aleksandar Dragovic joined Dynamo Kyiv in the summer of 2013 from Swiss side Basel for €10 million. The Austrian defender played 111 matches for Dynamo Kyiv, scoring two goals against Zorya and Chelsea London. Interestingly, in the match against Chelsea, Dragovic scored first, and in the second half, after a corner kick, he equalized.
As a member of the White and Blues, Dragovic became the champion of Ukraine twice, won the Ukrainian Cup twice, and won the Ukrainian Super Cup once. In the 2015 Super Cup final against Shakhtar Donetsk, Dragovych even had to stand in for Oleksandr Shovkovskyi in the goal, as Dynamo had no more substitutes.
In 2016, the defender joined German side Bayer Leverkusen for €21 million. In the summer of 2024, he returned to Austria, for whom he had played since 2008.
Recall
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