Viktor Leonenko
Encyclopedia
Viktor Yevhenovych Leonenko (born 5 October 1969 in Tyumen
, Russia
) is a former footballer and Ukraine
international. At least since 2006 he is a football commentator and analyst for the televised football forum "3 time" at the Ukrainian TV-network ICTV. He was a highly technical and individual football performer being able to receive a pass while having a limited amount of space available and efficiently converting a goal chance opportunities.
n clubs such as Geolog Tyumen
and FC Dynamo Moscow
did not really reflect his playing abilities. On the proposition of Dynamo Kyiv, Leonenko literally ran away from Moscow. That move could have cost him at least two years to lifetime disqualification, however, both Dynamos found a consensus on the issue the transfer was finalized. Later he acknowledged that if a similar proposition would have come from Spartak Moscow
, he might have stayed in the Russian capital. Leonenko considers Dynamo Kyiv and Spartak Moscow the classic clubs of the Soviet Union.
Being a successful striker for Dynamo in the early to mid 1990s (Leonenko was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year
in 1992, 1993, and 1994), Leonenko was eventually forced to the bench with the emergence of the striker partnership of Serhiy Rebrov
and Andriy Shevchenko
. The contemporary coach of Dynamo at that time Yozhef Sabo
justified his relegation to reserves for being overweight. With appearance of Valeriy Lobanovsky who is considered the "architect" of Dynamo school and who preferred the football of eleven, simply a teamwork, the individualism of Leonenko did not fit his organizational plans and the Siberian striker eventually not only did not participate in trainings, but eventually was loaned out elsewhere. He joined Sunderland
on trial in November 1996, but injured an ankle on his first day of training. In 1998, Leonenko moved to play for CSKA Kyiv and ended his career with FC Zakarpattia Uzhhorod in 2001.
from 1992 until 1996, Leonenko earned 14 caps and scored 6 goals.
which in his words contained even more Belorussian nationals, for example, than Russians or Ukrainians. Himself, he considers a Siberian national, Sibiryak.
He does not sees himself as a coach. Leonenko perceives Yozhef Sabo as a scout and Leonid Buryak
as a football administrator rather than both working as coaches.
|-
|1988
||rowspan="4"|Geolog Tyumen
||rowspan="4"|First League
||17||0||1||0||0||0||18||0
|-
|1989
||35||11||1||0||0||0||36||11
|-
|1990
||33||12||0||0||0||0||33||12
|-
|1991
||8||3||0||0||0||0||8||3
|-
|1991||Dynamo Moscow
||Top League
||16||9||1||0||6||0||23||9
|-
|-
|1992
||Dynamo Kyiv
||Premier League
||5||3||1||0||0||0||6||3
|-
|-
|1992||Dynamo Moscow
||Premier League
||4||5||0||0||0||0||4||5
|-
|-
|1992-93
||rowspan="6"|Dynamo Kyiv
||rowspan="6"|Premier League
||27||16||5||5||4||3||36||24
|-
|1993-94
||24||15||0||0||2||2||26||17
|-
|1994-95
||20||17||3||0||6||3||29||20
|-
|1995-96
||13||5||4||1||0||0||17||6
|-
|1996-97
||9||5||0||0||4||0||13||5
|-
|1997-98
||0||0||2||4||0||0||2||4
|-
|1998-99||rowspan="2"|CSKA Kyiv
||rowspan="2"|Premier League
||12||5||4||1||4||1||20||7
|-
|1999-00
||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2000-01||rowspan="2"|Zakarpattia Uzhhorod||rowspan="1"|First League
||5||2||0||0||0||0||5||2
|-
|2001-02
||rowspan="1"|Premier League
||7||1||2||1||0||0||9||2
|-
109||35||3||0||6||0||118||35
4||5||0||0||0||0||4||5
123||69||21||12||20||9||164||90
236||109||24||12||26||9||286||130
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) is a former footballer and Ukraine
Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...
international. At least since 2006 he is a football commentator and analyst for the televised football forum "3 time" at the Ukrainian TV-network ICTV. He was a highly technical and individual football performer being able to receive a pass while having a limited amount of space available and efficiently converting a goal chance opportunities.
Overview
Despite being born in Russia, soon after transferring to Dynamo Kyiv, Leonenko chose to play for the Ukraine side. His short stints at RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n clubs such as Geolog Tyumen
FC Tyumen
FC Tyumen is a Russian football club based in Tyumen. The former member of the Russian Premier League, Tyumen plays in the Second Division.The club was previously known as Geolog , Priboy , Neftyanik , Stroitel , Fakel FC Tyumen is a Russian football club based in Tyumen. The former member of the...
and FC Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
did not really reflect his playing abilities. On the proposition of Dynamo Kyiv, Leonenko literally ran away from Moscow. That move could have cost him at least two years to lifetime disqualification, however, both Dynamos found a consensus on the issue the transfer was finalized. Later he acknowledged that if a similar proposition would have come from Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
, he might have stayed in the Russian capital. Leonenko considers Dynamo Kyiv and Spartak Moscow the classic clubs of the Soviet Union.
Being a successful striker for Dynamo in the early to mid 1990s (Leonenko was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year is an annual award given by the Ukrainskiy Football daily to the best professional Ukrainian footballer....
in 1992, 1993, and 1994), Leonenko was eventually forced to the bench with the emergence of the striker partnership of Serhiy Rebrov
Serhiy Rebrov
Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov is a retired Ukrainian football forward turned midfielder, currently assistant coach at Dynamo Kyiv reserves team. Rebrov gained international fame as an attacking partner of Andriy Shevchenko at Dynamo Kyiv throughout the 1990s and remains top all-time scorer of the...
and Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
. The contemporary coach of Dynamo at that time Yozhef Sabo
Yozhef Sabo
Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo is a former Soviet football player of Hungarian ethnicity-Club:Szabó made his name as a player at Dynamo Kyiv, appearing at the club from 1959 to 1969...
justified his relegation to reserves for being overweight. With appearance of Valeriy Lobanovsky who is considered the "architect" of Dynamo school and who preferred the football of eleven, simply a teamwork, the individualism of Leonenko did not fit his organizational plans and the Siberian striker eventually not only did not participate in trainings, but eventually was loaned out elsewhere. He joined Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
on trial in November 1996, but injured an ankle on his first day of training. In 1998, Leonenko moved to play for CSKA Kyiv and ended his career with FC Zakarpattia Uzhhorod in 2001.
National team
During his four years representing the Ukrainian national teamUkraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...
from 1992 until 1996, Leonenko earned 14 caps and scored 6 goals.
Personal life
In his explanation why he chose the national team of Ukraine over Russian counterpart he stated that it was not on the grounds of ethnic prerogative or political reasons. Leonenko did not specify what those reasons were, however, he told that his parents are in origin from BryanskBryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
which in his words contained even more Belorussian nationals, for example, than Russians or Ukrainians. Himself, he considers a Siberian national, Sibiryak.
He does not sees himself as a coach. Leonenko perceives Yozhef Sabo as a scout and Leonid Buryak
Leonid Buryak
Leonid Yosipovich Buryak is a Ukrainian football coach and former Olympic bronze-medal-winning player.Buryak, who is Jewish, was a midfielder for the USSR national football team, and competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics, at which he won a bronze medal.Buryak played for a number of teams in the...
as a football administrator rather than both working as coaches.
Club career
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: center;"|-
|1988
Soviet First League 1988
-League Standings:Note* There was a limit for the draws earned, 12. Only twelve draws earn a point, in contrast, over the limit draws earn no points....
||rowspan="4"|Geolog Tyumen
FC Tyumen
FC Tyumen is a Russian football club based in Tyumen. The former member of the Russian Premier League, Tyumen plays in the Second Division.The club was previously known as Geolog , Priboy , Neftyanik , Stroitel , Fakel FC Tyumen is a Russian football club based in Tyumen. The former member of the...
||rowspan="4"|First League
Soviet First League
The Soviet First League was the second highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet Top League. The division lasted from the inception of Soviet league football in 1936 to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.-Overview:...
||17||0||1||0||0||0||18||0
|-
|1989
Soviet First League 1989
-League Standings:...
||35||11||1||0||0||0||36||11
|-
|1990
Soviet First League 1990
-League Standings:...
||33||12||0||0||0||0||33||12
|-
|1991
Soviet First League 1991
Soviet First League 1991 was the last season of the Soviet First League. With the collapse of the Soviet Union the football structure was reformed...
||8||3||0||0||0||0||8||3
|-
|1991||Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
||Top League
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League since 1970 was officially known as the Supreme League serving as the top division of Soviet Union football since 1936.It was one of the best football leagues in Europe ranking second among the UEFA members in 1988-1989 seasons...
||16||9||1||0||6||0||23||9
|-
|-
|1992
Ukrainian Premier League 1992
Ukrainian Premier League 1992 was the very first football championship organized in Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and disbandment of the Soviet Football Union...
||Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...
||Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
||5||3||1||0||0||0||6||3
|-
|-
|1992||Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
||Premier League
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
||4||5||0||0||0||0||4||5
|-
|-
|1992-93
Ukrainian Premier League 1992-93
The Ukrainian Premier League 1992–93 season was the second since the nation's independence in 1991.-Overview:It started on August 15, 1992 and finished on June 15, 1993 with the winter break between November 22 and March 14. The Crimean Tavria were the defending champions, but managed only to place...
||rowspan="6"|Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...
||rowspan="6"|Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
||27||16||5||5||4||3||36||24
|-
|1993-94
Ukrainian Premier League 1993-94
Ukrainian Premier League 1993–94 was the third season of the Ukrainian Premier League.Last season the league champions Dynamo received a fierce competition from the Pavlov led Dnipro out of Dnipropetrovsk. The third season was promising to be even more exiting...
||24||15||0||0||2||2||26||17
|-
|1994-95
Ukrainian Premier League 1994-95
-Preseason changes:Managers-Final standings:Legend:Note:* In bold are the participants of the 1995 Ukrainian Cup Final.-Top goalscorers:Notable Transfers...
||20||17||3||0||6||3||29||20
|-
|1995-96
Ukrainian Premier League 1995-96
-Preseason changes:Managers-Final standings:Note:* In bold are the participants of the 1996 Ukrainian Cup Final.-Top goalscorers:Notable Transfers*Oleksandr Palyanytsia, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to FC Karpaty Lviv...
||13||5||4||1||0||0||17||6
|-
|1996-97
Ukrainian Premier League 1996-97
-Preseason changes:Managers-Final standings:Note:* In bold are the participants of the 1997 Ukrainian Cup Final.-Top goalscorers:Notable Transfers*Andrei Fedkov, FC Torpedo Zaporizhia to FC Baltika Kaliningrad...
||9||5||0||0||4||0||13||5
|-
|1997-98
Ukrainian Premier League 1997-98
-Preseason changes:Managers-Final table of Ukrainian Premier League season 1997-98:Note:* In bold are the participants of the 1998 Ukrainian Cup Final.-Top goalscorers:-Managers:-External links:*...
||0||0||2||4||0||0||2||4
|-
|1998-99||rowspan="2"|CSKA Kyiv
FC Arsenal Kyiv
FC Arsenal Kyiv is a professional football club from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.-History:In the 1950s, a different club under the same name Arsenal Kyiv won the 1958 Ukrainian SSR Championship. However in 1963 the club was renamed to "Temp Kyiv". In 1964 the club was replaced by FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv...
||rowspan="2"|Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
||12||5||4||1||4||1||20||7
|-
|1999-00
||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2000-01||rowspan="2"|Zakarpattia Uzhhorod||rowspan="1"|First League
Ukrainian First League
The Persha Liha or Ukrainian First League is a football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup...
||5||2||0||0||0||0||5||2
|-
|2001-02
Ukrainian Premier League 2001-02
-Final standings:Note:* In bold are the participants of the 2002 Ukrainian Cup Final.Play-off:-Top goalscorers:-European competitions:Champion's Cup Champion's Cup...
||rowspan="1"|Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
||7||1||2||1||0||0||9||2
|-
109||35||3||0||6||0||118||35
4||5||0||0||0||0||4||5
123||69||21||12||20||9||164||90
236||109||24||12||26||9||286||130
External links
- Leonenko's profile at FFU website
- List of all National team games
- Profile at national-football-teams.com Interview to the newspaper "Bulvar Gordona" Interview of Leonenko to "2:1" at Nash football (video footage)/ 3 taim of 19 August 2010. The studio guest the Ukrainian coach Serhiy Rebrov (video footage)
- Leonenko's football blog at segodnya.ua