Maksym Koval

Maksym Koval is a young goalkeeper who plays for FC Dynamo Kyiv. He was born on 9 December 1992 in Zaporizhya, Ukraine.

Koval is a product of Metalurh Zaporizhya youth system. In 2008 he signed his first professional contract with the feeder club. On 1 November 2009, Maksym played his first professional match in the Ukrainian Premier League. Following Koval’s prolific display in his debut match, Maksym was regularly given a place in the starting lineup. He also managed to shortcut a penalty in the fixture against Dynamo Kyiv, helping his team to secure a 1-1 draw. His probably most disappointing match was a crushing 0-4 defeat against Metalist.

In 2010, Koval signed for Dynamo Kyiv. He debuted for Dynamo in the UEFA Champions League play-off match against AFC Ajax. Following his impressive performance, the young Koval became a first-choice goalie for the club, while Oleksandr Shovkovskiy was hampered by an injury. After Shovkovskiy recovered, Koval was placed on the bench. He was a back-up goalkeeper during the 2011/2012 season, featuring in 5 games and keeping 4 clean sheets. He conceded the only goal in the 6-1 loss to Zorya Luhansk. At the end of the season, a serious injury ruled Shovkovskiy out of the tournament, and Koval won a promotion to the starting eleven. During the 2011/12 season, Maksym also registered an appearance in a Ukrainian Cup match, which Dynamo won 3-2.

In June 2011, Koval was selected for the Ukraine national team with a view to participate in games against Uzbekistan and France, eventually missing both of them. On 1 June 2012, Maksym celebrated his international debut in a 2-3 loss to Austria, coming on as a second-half substitute. Koval also was inserted into the Ukraine national set-up for Euro 2012.