The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Ukraine

This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 120 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 32nd most number of Soccer Players behind Hungary, and Australia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Soccer Players.

1. Oleg Blokhin (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 65.10, Oleg Blokhin is the most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 60 different languages on wikipedia.

Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin (Ukrainian: Оле́г Володи́мирович Блохі́н, Russian: Оле́г Влади́мирович Блохи́н; born 5 November 1952), is a Ukrainian and Soviet former football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet Union. He holds the all-time top goalscorer record for both Dynamo Kyiv (266 goals) and the Soviet Union national team (42 goals), as well as being the overall top goalscorer in the history of the Soviet Top League (211 goals). He is also the only player to have been capped over 100 times for the Soviet Union and holds Dynamo's appearance record with 582 appearances during his 18-year spell at the club. With Dynamo, Blokhin won eight Soviet league titles, five national cups and two European Cup Winners' Cups. He also competed for the Soviet Union at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games and 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. During his playing career he won the Soviet Footballer of the Year award three times and the Ukrainian Footballer of the Year award nine times (both records). In 1975, he was named European Footballer of the Year, winning the Ballon d'Or, becoming the second Soviet and the first Ukrainian player to achieve such a feat. As a coach, he has had two spells in charge of the Ukraine national team, managing the team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. In 2011, Blokhin, together with Igor Belanov and Vitaliy Starukhin were named as "the legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.

2. Andriy Shevchenko (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 64.76, Andriy Shevchenko is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 76 different languages.

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, pronounced [ɐnˈd⁽ʲ⁾r⁽ʲ⁾ij mɪkoˈlɑjowɪtʃ ʃeu̯ˈtʃɛnko]; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional football player and manager. Shevchenko played as a striker for Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team. He was most recently head coach of Serie A club Genoa. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time and Ukraine’s greatest ever player. He is the all-time top scorer for the Ukraine national team with 48 goals. Shevchenko began his career at Dynamo Kyiv and won five league titles in a row before signing for Milan. In Milan, he established himself as one of the top strikers in Europe and won the UEFA Champions League in 2003. He also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. He was also a Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008. He was named in the FIFA World XI for 2005. In 2004, he was named as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration, and in the same year he also received the Ballon d'Or. In his international career, he led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, and also took part at UEFA Euro 2012 on home soil. Shevchenko is ranked as the seventh top goalscorer in all UEFA club competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, he is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Inter Milan) with 14 goals. Quitting football for politics in 2012, he stood for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but his party failed to win parliamentary representation. He returned to football in 2016, as assistant coach of the Ukraine national team February to July, at the time led by Mykhaylo Fomenko. In July 2016, Shevchenko was appointed Ukraine's head coach, and led the nation to the quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2020. Shevchenko became the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine on 17 November 2022. He left the National Olympic Committee in January 2023 due to disagreement with the results of the election of its new President Vadym Gutzeit. In January 2024, Shevchenko was elected President of the Ukrainian Football Association.

3. Igor Belanov (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 57.23, Igor Belanov is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Igor Ivanovich Belanov (Russian: И́горь Ива́нович Бела́нов) or Ihor Ivanovych Bielanov (Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Бєланов; born 25 September 1960) is a Soviet and Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He made a name for himself at Dynamo Kyiv, winning five major titles as well as the Ballon d'Or in 1986 and became the second Ukrainian national to win the award after Oleh Blokhin (1975). He then spent six years in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2. Bundesliga, with little success. Belanov represented the Soviet Union at one World Cup and one European Championship. He was included in the list of the top 100 World Cup footballers of all time by The Guardian in 2014. In 2011, he, Oleh Blokhin and Vitaliy Starukhin were named as the "legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.

4. Géza Kalocsay (1913 - 2008)

With an HPI of 54.68, Géza Kalocsay is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Géza Kalocsay (30 May 1913 – 26 September 2008) was a footballer and manager from Hungary who played internationally for both Czechoslovakia (3 caps) and Hungary (2 caps). At the time of his death in September 2008 at the age of 95, he was the last surviving player to have represented either Czechoslovakia or Hungary before the Second World War.

5. Oleh Protasov (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 54.60, Oleh Protasov is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov (Ukrainian: Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the 1980s; his 28 goals for the Soviet Union are second in the team's history, behind Oleg Blokhin's 42. It should be considered that his first name is often spelled as Oleg on most of international rosters, particularly during his playing career.

6. Yozhef Sabo (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 52.54, Yozhef Sabo is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo (Ukrainian: Йожеф Йожефович Сабо; Hungarian: Szabó József; born 29 February 1940) is a Ukrainian former football player and manager.

7. Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 51.74, Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Oleksiy Oleksandrovych Mykhaylychenko (Ukrainian: Олексі́й Олекса́ндрович Михайличе́нко; born 30 March 1963) is a Ukrainian football coach and former professional player. He is a Distinguished Master of Sports of the USSR and a Distinguished Coach of Ukraine. During his playing days he was a versatile midfielder known for his stamina and passing capability. Also noted for his technique, Mykhaylychenko usually played as attacking midfielder. Mykhaylychenko currently holds an administrative position at his home club, Dynamo Kyiv, as director of sport. His name is commonly romanised as Alexei Mikhailichenko from the Russian spelling of his name (Алексей Александрович Михайличенко). Mykhaylychenko played for Dynamo Kyiv, Sampdoria and Rangers. He then became a coach, starting with assistant coach to Dynamo Kyiv's legendary Valeriy Lobanovsky. Following the death of Lobanovsky, Mykhaylychenko replaced him as head coach. In 2004, he took charge of the Ukraine's national under-21 team. He was head coach of the Ukraine national football team senior side for two years after that.

8. Mykhaylo Fomenko (1948 - 2024)

With an HPI of 51.67, Mykhaylo Fomenko is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Mykhaylo Ivanovych Fomenko (Ukrainian: Михайло Іванович Фоменко; 19 September 1948 – 29 April 2024) was a Ukrainian football player and coach. As a player, he was capped 24 times for the Soviet Union, and, as a head coach, became the second ever manager – after Oleh Blokhin – to take the Ukraine national team to an international finals tournament, reaching UEFA Euro 2016. Fomenko was famous for his coaching in Dynamo Kyiv, winning its first Ukrainian gold medals for the club, first Ukrainian Cup for the club and most notably, defeating Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League tournament. Barcelona, under Johan Cruyff and with such star players as Ronald Koeman and Pep Guardiola, ended up to be finalist of that UEFA Champions League season. Fomenko died in Sumy on 29 April 2024, at the age of 75.

9. Kazimierz Górski (1921 - 2006)

With an HPI of 51.20, Kazimierz Górski is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Kazimierz Klaudiusz Górski (2 March 1921 – 23 May 2006) was a Polish professional football manager. He was also a football player, capped once for Poland. Under his tenure, Poland finished third at the 1974 FIFA World Cup and won two Olympic medals; gold in 1972 and silver in 1976. He is often regarded as the best Polish football manager of all time.

10. Serhiy Rebrov (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 50.54, Serhiy Rebrov is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov (Ukrainian: Сергій Станіславович Ребров; born 3 June 1974) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of Ukraine. Rebrov gained international fame as an attacking partner of Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv throughout the 1990s and as of August 2017 is the all-time top scorer of the Ukrainian Premier League together with Maksim Shatskikh. He debuted for Ukraine in 1992, playing 75 times for the national team, scoring 15 goals. He played in the nation's first-ever World Cup, in 2006. He finished his career as a professional football player in 2009, after which he worked as a coach. In 2014, he held the position of acting head coach at Dynamo Kyiv, and for the next three years he was head coach. He was the first to win the Ukrainian Cup as a player and coach. He also spent three seasons as manager of Hungarian side Ferencváros from 2018 to 2021. In 2023, he took charge of the Ukraine national team and led them to qualification for UEFA Euro 2024.

People

Pantheon has 139 people classified as Ukrainian soccer players born between 1908 and 2002. Of these 139, 115 (82.73%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ukrainian soccer players include Oleg Blokhin, Andriy Shevchenko, and Igor Belanov. The most famous deceased Ukrainian soccer players include Géza Kalocsay, Mykhaylo Fomenko, and Kazimierz Górski. As of April 2024, 20 new Ukrainian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Viacheslav Semenov, Viktor Zvyahintsev, and Eduard Kozynkevych.