Oleksiy Byelik
Ukrainian forward who played at the 2006 World Cup.
Oleksiy Hryhorovych Byelik, born 15 February 1981 in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, is a Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented the Ukraine national team and was part of the main squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Byelik also made his mark at youth level, scoring three goals as a leading scorer for the Ukraine U-20 team at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, and was on the Ukraine U18 squad that reached the final of the 2000 UEFA European Under-18 Championship.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Oleksiy Hryhorovych Byelik
- Born
- 15 February 1981
- Birthplace
- Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR
- Height
- 1.85 m / 6 ft 1 in
- Current club
- Orizare (manager)
- Position
- Forward
- Total caps
- 257
- Total goals
- 83
Facts from the source article.
Career
Byelik started his career at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he was a regular starter until the 2006 FIFA World Cup, after which he was seldom used. In the January 2008 transfer window, he was loaned to Bundesliga side VfL Bochum. He made his first start against VfL Wolfsburg, hitting the post and receiving a yellow card, but was substituted in the 58th minute. He played a total of four games and returned to Shakhtar in the summer of 2008. On 5 August 2008, after short negotiations, Byelik signed with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on a three-year contract for a transfer fee of $5.5 million. He debuted on 23 August 2008 in a league match that ended 0–0, coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute and making an impact with a few shots, though he also received a yellow card in the 90+1 minute for shooting after an offside call. He last played for Metalurh Zaporizhya in the Ukrainian First League.
International career
Byelik was one of the leaders of the Ukrainian junior team (24 games, 15 goals) and youth teams (27 games, 17 goals). At the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, he scored three goals in three group stage games, helping the team reach the round of 16, where they lost to future semi-finalists Paraguay. In February 2002, he was called up to the Ukrainian Olympic team by head coach Anatoliy Kroshchenko. In early September 2004, he was called up to the senior national team and scored in his first game against Kazakhstan. His second official goal came against Georgia. In total, he played 20 games and scored 5 goals for the national team. He was considered Andrei Shevchenko's double but only made the main squad in case of injury to the captain. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he came on as a substitute against Italy, playing the last 20 minutes.
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