Captain is Russian, and coach is Belarusian: Ukrainian midfielder Kovalenko to continue his career in Cyprus
Kyiv • UNN
Former Ukrainian national team midfielder Viktor Kovalenko has signed a contract with Cypriot club Aris until the summer of 2027. The club's captain is Russian Aleksandr Kokorin, and the head coach is Belarusian Artem Radkov.
Former midfielder of the Ukrainian national team, Donetsk "Shakhtar" and Italian "Empoli" Viktor Kovalenko signed a contract with Cypriot "Aris" from Limassol, where the club's captain is Russian Oleksandr Kokorin, and the coach is Belarusian Artem Radkov. This is stated in the club's statement, UNN reports.
The midfielder of the Ukrainian national team signed a contract with our club until the summer of 2027
The club reminded that Kovalenko is a graduate of Donetsk "Shakhtar", with which he played 199 matches, scored 44 effective actions, won the Ukrainian championship four times and the Cup of the country the same number of times, and also lifted the Ukrainian Super Cup twice.
The Ukrainian's last club was Italian "Empoli", for which he played 25 matches and scored 4 (3+1) points.
Addition
Interestingly, Russian forward Oleksandr Kokorin, who is also the club's captain, plays for "Aris". Kokorin moved to the Cypriots from Italian "Fiorentina" in 2024 as a free agent.
In 2023, Kokorin stated that the war between Russia and Ukraine was "not our business."
On this issue, I can say that we cannot influence this conflict. That is why, probably, it is better to consider that it is not our business. As you know, my business is to play football, to play football in Cyprus. We just need to play
In 2028, Kokorin, along with another football player Pavlo Mamaev, got into a drunken brawl with a driver and an employee of one of the TV channels and spent a year in prison.
In addition, the president and head coach of "Aris" are Belarusians - Volodymyr Fedorov and Artem Radkov, respectively.
Recall
Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets announced that he will end his professional career after the expiration of his contract with American "Inter Miami" at the end of the MLS-2025 season. The football player announced this on his Instagram, emphasizing that his decision is due to the desire to leave big football "on decent terms."