Anatoliy Tymoshchuk

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, a famous footballer in Former Soviet Republics, plays for Zenit St.Petersburg and the Ukrainian national team. Tymoshchuk primarily plays as a midfielder, but in Bayern he also started to play at centre back. He was born in a Ukrainian city of Lutsk on March 30, 1979. Anatoliy has a whole store of honours, including 6 personal awards, 7 club trophies for Shakhtar Donetsk, 4 club trophies for Zenit St. Petersburg and 3 club trophies for Bayern Munich. He is the UEFA Cup winner and also the Merited Master of Sports in Russia and Ukraine.

Anatoliy began his career at his hometown team Volyn Lutsk, where he played professionally for two seasons. Later on he was purchased by Shakhtar for a fee of €125 thousand, where he emerged as a player of international level, becoming a member of the Ukrainian national squad.

During a nine-year spell (1998-2007) at Shakhtar Donetsk, Tymoshchuk became known in Former Soviet Republics. He also wore captain’s armband of the club. In 2007 the Ukrainian became a Zenit player for $20 million, which was a record in Former Soviet Union countries. In May 2007 the footballer became the club’s captain.

Having signed a three-year contract with Bayern Munich on 1 July 2009, Anatoliy started a European era in his career.

The midfielder netted his first goal for the German giant in a Champions League match on 8 December 2009. Bayern defeated Juventus 4-1.

In his first Bayern season Tymoshchuk won the Bundesliga and the German football cup. In the first half of the tournament the midfielder had a place in the main team, but in the second half of the Bundesliga Anatoliy was warming the bench, because the head coach Louis van Gaal substituted him for the fellow countryman – Mark van Bommel.

In the summer of 2010 the Ukrainian wanted to leave Bayern, as he was dissatisfied with the amount of playing time on the pitch. The footballer had already reached an agreement with VfL Wolfsburg, but at the last moment the Bayern management blacked out the transfer for Anatoliy’s favourable influence on the team’s mental condition.

On 27 November 2010 Tymoshchuk amassed his first brace for Bayern in a 4-1 victory over Eintracht. Meanwhile, Anatoliy began playing at centre back position, whereas van Bommel continued playing in the midfield.

Despite van Bommel’s transfer to Milan on 25 January 2011, Tymoshchuk went on playing as a centre defender.

During the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League Anatoliy Tymoshchuk came on as a substitute in a quarter-final match against Marseille to play his 100th game for the club. Bayern defeated Olympique de Marseille 2-0.

On 29 March 2012 the German giant extended the contract with the Ukrainian for 1 year.

After winning the treble with the German giants in the season 2012/2013 the Ukrainian returned to his former club Zenit.