Euro 2020: Once a rebel, Oleksandr Zinchenko leads Ukraine’s historic march

Eyes closed, bust slightly arched back, face turned up and arms pumping like pistons it was delight bordering on delirium. Oleksandr Zinchenko’s scream into the Glasgow night couldn’t be heard but you would be hard put to find another image of unbridled joy from Euro 2020 than what was conveyed by the Ukraine captain on Tuesday (or the wee hours of Wednesday depending on which part of the world you were in).

Three minutes of stoppage-time had been signalled. A man light after Marcus Danielson’s red card for jamming studs on Artem Besedin’s knee in the 99th minute, Sweden were holding on for penalties when Zinchenko sortied down the left. Hugging the touchline or drifting in, Zinchenko had galloped through that channel all night aiming cross-field deliveries. This time, he played the ball short but weighted it to perfection—Zinchenko had a passing accuracy of 90% in this round-of-16 tie.

And, in a manner similar to Harry Kane’s at Wembley earlier in the evening, Artem Dovbyk headed Ukraine to what was till then a neverland—a place among Europe’s elite eight. This was Dovbyk’s first international goal.

Also read | England beat Germany 2-0 to move into Euro 2020 last eight

A euphoric Ukrainian pile-up followed, and in his sharp black suit, coach Andriy Shevchenko looked like he was trying to rein in emotions. The game wasn’t over and he wouldn’t need this Euro’s manic Monday to know what could happen in injury time. When it did, Shevchenko briskly walked on to the Hampden Park pitch shaking hands with the Swedes and hugging his men. The cameras captured Zinchenko celebrating solo. “We live only once and we may never repeat these moments again,” he said later.

Zinchenko had scored earlier in the evening, putting Ukraine ahead in a game which had players running on empty and pulling up injured. It was a powerful left-foot volley that ended a move set going by Mykola Shaparenko, whose raking diagonal ball found right-back Oleksandr Karavayev. Karavayev passed to Andriy Yarmolenko who switched play with an outside-of-the-boot pass that wrongfooted Sweden. Zinchenko connected with so much power that Sweden’s goalie Robin Olsen had no chance despite getting a touch. A finger-on-the-lips celebration followed, Zinchenko’s run after scoring reminiscent of Italian left-back Fabio Grosso’s in the 2006 World Cup. Ukraine have never lost when their youngest-ever captain and goalscorer has scored.

The story of Pep Guardiola agreeing to sign Zinchenko based on a video clip could be apocryphal but that hasn’t prevented it from gaining currency in Ukraine. By then, Zinchenko, 24, had done something few aspiring to be a footballer in Ukraine do—spurn Shakhtar Donetsk. That wasn’t the worst thing he did. In a country with tetchy relation with Russia—fluent in Russian and English, Shevchenko not holding a press conference in Ukrainian still causes heartburn—Zinchenko signed for Ufa in the Russian Premier League. By the time he made his international debut, in 2015, he was being called a rebel.

So, was Zinchenko joining City in 2016 another story of a young boy shining under the bright lights? Well, yes and no. He is unarguably the most famous player on Ukraine’s roster, one who has added to his repertoire by learning to play left-back at City. Soon to be father, he is said to be happy at City even though his annual salary of 1.4 million pounds (spotrac.com) is more than only midfielders Jack Harrison, Patrick Roberts and Phil Foden (spotrac.com).

Zinchenko has also not been able to seal his place in the City line-up and played only 32 games last season, including nine in the Champions League. By Boxing Day last term, Zinchenko had played 12 minutes in the Premier League (transfermarkt.com). But as Nathan Ake got injured, Zinchenko got a look-in against Chelsea on January 3 this year. City turned their league campaign around with a 3-1 win and Zinchenko hasn’t looked back.

Also read | Last-gasp Dovbyk winner sends Ukraine into first quarter-final

Never out of position

But coming to Euro 2020 with half the number games Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen played has possibly been a blessing as Zinchenko’s shift against Sweden showed. For Ukraine, he has a role different from being the inverted left-back (a defender who moves in-field more than going on the overlap) he is at City. Zinchenko plays in midfield often on the left of a 4-3-3 formation. And like with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Georginio Wijnaldum and David Alaba in this competition, Zinchenko has acquitted himself well in a different position. On Saturday in Rome, he will meet Raheem Sterling. Like him, Sterling has not been a regular in the City starting 11. Like him again, Sterling is having a great European Championship.

Having sneaked into the quarter-final because Slovakia imploded and Poland lost, Ukraine are likely to approach the game with a mind without fear. The only other time Ukraine went this far in a major was in the 2006 World Cup. Shevchenko was then in spikes and on way to being Ukraine’s highest goalscorer (48 goals). Ukraine were then coached by another legend—Oleg Blokhin.

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