Oleg Iachtchouk

Oleg Iachtchouk is a Ukrainian striker born on 26 October 1977 in Ternopil province.

The player went in for football at the age of 12 and joined Lviv Sports School, where he later played for the youth team of FC Lviv. In 1994 Oleg returned to his beloved Ternopil and started to play for FC Nyva Ternopil that competed in the Ukrainian Premier League at that moment. The giants of Ukrainian football lined up for the young and promising forward. Soon Iachtchouk caught the eye of Belgian side Anderlecht and in 1996 transferred to the club.

Oleg spent 10 seasons at Anderlecht, claiming Jupiler Pro League title 4 times and lifting the Belgian Supercup. When the deal with the club had expired, Iachtchouk agreed terms with the Greek Superleague newcomer Ergotelis FC. Having played for 1 season in the first team of the Greek club, the striker came back to Belgium. There he signed a contract with Cercle Brugge and joined his fellow countryman – Serhiy Serebrennikov.

Oleg Iachtchouk was repeatedly called up to the Ukraine national youth teams of all levels. In 1994 as a part of the youth squad he finished 3rd at the European U-16 Championship. In the spring of 2004 Oleh Blokhin invited the player to the senior team. However, at that time Iachtchouk had dual Ukrainian/Belgian citizenship and according to the Ukrainian laws, a player with dual citizenship couldn’t represent the national squad.