Mikhail Fomenko

Ukrainian footballer Mikhail Fomenko spent more than 50 years in the game with a successful career as both a player and a manager. Fomenko began his career as a youth player with Spartak Sumy in 1962, making his senior début with the club three years later. From 1970 to 1972 he played for Zorya Luhansk and then signed with Dynamo Kyiv in 1972. He made more than 170 appearances for Dynamo before he was forced to retire in 1979 due to a back injury. Fomenko won multiple honours with Dynamo Kyiv, including the Soviet Top League (1974, 1975, 1977), the Soviet Cup (1974, 1978), the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1975), and the UEFA Super Cup (1975). From 1972 to 1976 he also played in 24 matches for the USSR national football team and was part of the squad that won bronze at the 1976 Montréal Olympics.

Fomenko began his coaching career almost immediately following his retirement as a player. For most of the early 1980s he coached at Dynamo Kyiv before spending spells at other domestic clubs in Ukraine, Georgia, and even Iraq, including coaching the Iraq national team in 1991. Fomenko returned to Dynamo Kyiv in 1993, with the team doing the double in winning the Ukrainian league and cup. In 1994 he spent another stint as a national coach, this time for the Guinea national football team. From 1994 to 2010 Fomenko continued to coach domestic clubs in Ukraine, which was followed by a season at FC Salyut Belgorod in Russia.

In 2012 Fomenko was appointed as the head coach of the Ukraine national football team. His first task was taking charge of the side for the qualification matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ukraine finished second in their group, behind England, to advance to the second round of qualification matches. They were then drawn against France where they won their home leg 2–0, but lost 3–0 in Paris, with France qualifying for the World Cup. Despite missing out on the World Cup, Fomenko remained in charge of the national team, with Ukraine qualifying for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. At the tournament in France, however, Ukraine was eliminated after they lost all three of their group matches, with Fomenko losing his job as a result.