SOCCER
Shevchenko named top-20 greatest
British newspaper The Independent has compiled a rating of the 100 greatest players of the 21st century. Former Dynamo Kyiv, Milan and Chelsea striker and current Ukraine manager Andriy Shevchenko took 19th place in the list. Shevchenko is ahead of PSG striker Neymar (No. 20). The first and second places went to Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo. The 20 greatest players of the 21st century, according to The Independent, are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Ronaldinho, Andres Iniesta, Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Buffon, Philipp Lahm, Luis Figo, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Steven Gerrard, Andriy Shevchenko, Neymar. The top 10 players in the rating played for Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Shakhtar in UEFA Champions League
Shakhtar Donetsk, in second place in Group C of the UEFA Champions League, won 2-1 against Ataltanta (Italy) on October 1 in Milan, and lost 0-3 against Manchester City on September 18 in Kharkiv at Metalist Stadium. The second-leg match against Manchester City is on November 26 in Manchester, England. Shakhtar tied 2-2 with Dinamo Zagreb on October 22 in Kharkiv and tied 3-3 jin the second-leg match on November 6 in Zagreb, and plays against Ataltanta on December 11. The top two teams advance to the Round of 16, and the third-place team is relegated to the Europa League.
Friendly match draws 2-2 Nigeria
Ukraine tied 2-2 in its international friendly match with Nigeria on September 10 in Dnipro. Nigeria led the scoring with Joe Aribo in the fourth minute and Victor Osimhen off a penalty kick with 2-0 until the late part of the second half. Ukraine showed vibrant signs of life in the 78th minute with a goal by Oleksandr Zinkchenko, followed one minute later by Roman Yaremchuk in the 79th minute to equalize. Nigeria used the match to prepare for its Africa Cup qualifiers. Last year the team came in third place.
Konoplyanka moves to Shakhtar Donetsk
Yevhen Konoplyanka signed a three-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk after playing for Germany’s Schalke 04 since 2016, as announced by Shakhtar on September 2. Prior to that he played for Sevilla (Spain) since 2015. Konoplyanka’s contract with Schalke was set to expire in June 2020. Other clubs that expressed interest were Besiktas (Turkey), Roma and Sampdoria (Italy). Konoplyanka’s transfer value was an estimated 6.5 million euros and Shakhtar paid 1.5 million euros for the midfielder.
Dynamo Kyiv changes head coach
Dynamo Kyiv has replaced its former head coach, Alyaksandr Khatsevich, with Dynamo Sports Director Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko as the new head coach, as announced on the official club website on August 14. Mykhaylychenko, who worked as head coach of Dynamo in 2002-2004, had his first training session with the team on August 16. Khatsevich was replaced due to Dynamo Kyiv having not advanced past the qualifying stage of the UEFA Champions League for three consecutive years.
Oleksandriya, Dynamo in Europa League
Dynamo Kyiv and Oleksandriya are in the group stage of the UEFA Europa’s League. Dynamo, in second place in Group B, won 1-0 against Malmo (Sweden) on September 19 and tied 1-1 with Copenhagen on October 24 and tied 1-1 in the second-leg on November 7. Dynamo plays Malmo on November 28, Lugano (Switzerland) on December 12. Oleksandriya, in fourth place in Group I, lost 1-3 against Vfl Wolfsburg (Germany) on September 19, tied 1-1 with KAA Gent (Belgium) on October 3, tied 1-1 with Saint-Etienne (France) on October 24. Oleksandriya tied 2-2 in its second-leg match on November 7 against St. Etienne. Oleksandriya plays Vfl Wolfsburg on November 28, and against Gent on December 12. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout phase.
Yaremchuk extends contract with Gent
Roman Yaremchuk has extended his contract with Belgium’s Gent until 2023. The Ukrainian forward arrived in August 2017 and played 95 matches in all competitions for the club. In 16 games, he scored 12 goals and made three assists. Least season, he showed the same result in 45 matches.
FUTSAL
Ukraine in Elite Round of WC qualifiers
Ukraine finished in second place in Group 2 of the FIFA 2020 Futsal World Cup qualification round. Ukraine won 7-1 against Kosovo on October 24, tied 2-2 with Slovenia on October 25 and won 5-1 against North Macedonia on October 27.
U-19 finishes third in Group B
Ukraine won 7-0 against the Netherlands on September 8, lost 1-7 against Spain on September 9 and lost 1-3 against Croatia on September 11 in Group B matches of the 2019 UEFA Under-19 Futsal Championships. Spain won 6-1 against Croatia in the final.
Kherson moves upb Champions League
Prodexim Kherson finished in second place in Group 2 of the UEFA Futsal Champions League. Kherson tied 1-1 against Benefica (Portugal) on October 9, won 7-3 against Halle Gooik (Belgium) and won 8-3 against Aras Naxcivan (Uzbekistan) on October 12. Kherson has drawn Group D, with matches against Stalitsa Minsk on November 20, against Barcelona on November 21 and against Sparta Praha on November 23. The top team from each group advances to the final tournament stage.
BOXING
Lomachenko WBC franchise champ
Lightweight WBA/WBO/WBC champion Vasyl Lomachenko was named “franchise” champion at the WBC 57th convention at Grand Oasis Hotel in Cancun on October 20. When Lomachenko retires, he will hold the tile of honorary champion. Lomachenko is scheduled to fight against the winner of the IBF lightweight Richard Commey versus Teofimo Lopez on December 14.
Berinchyk wins WBO lightweight title
Lightweight Denys Berinchyk (12-0, 7 KO) won the vacant WBO international title by unanimous decision after 12 rounds against Patricio Lopez Moreno (26-4, 19 KO) of Mexico on October 5 in Kyiv. Judges scored the fight 120-108, 120-108, 120-109.
Derevyanchenko loses against Golovkin
Middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KO) IBF mandatory challenger is lost the vacant title by unanimous decision against Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO) of Kazakhstan on October 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112, 114-113.
Shabranskyy wins by DQ
Light heayweight Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (20-2, 17 KO) won by eighth-round disqualification against Felix Valera (18-2, 15 KO) of the Dominican Republic on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Lomachenko extends contract with Top Rank
Lightweight WBA, WBC, WBO champion Vasyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KO) extended his contract with promoter Top Rank for an additional four years. Lomachenko is expected to unify his titles with the winner between IBF title holder Richard Commey (29-2, 26 KO) of Ghana and Teofimo Lopez (14-0, 11 KO) of the U.S.A. on December 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Bursak fights Lemieux in December in Montreal
Super middleweight Maxim Bursak (33-5, 15 KO) is scheduled to fight on December 7 against David Lemieux (40-4, 34 KO) of Canada at the Bell Center.