Young Lunin a keeper in goal
An 18-year-old goalkeeper playing in the Ukrainian Premier League is usually not on too many soccer scouts’ radar as an up-and-coming top prospect. Andriy Lunin happens to be just that – a unique talent not only starting in the Europa League, but firmly cementing his place in a starting-11 on a team that is among the best when it comes to developing talent in Ukraine.
His career had its start amidst one of the saddest stories in modern Ukrainian soccer. Originally a product of the storied football club of Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, Lunin was forced into action as a 17-year-old last season when his club faced bankruptcy thanks to owner Ihor Kolomoisky’s refusal to pay club debts.
Dnipro was for a while one of the most successful clubs in Ukrainian football, having reached the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2015, where it was barely beaten by Sevilla FC. The club then began a downward spiral in the standings when faced with salary debt and FIFA sanctions, which included point reductions and an owner unwilling to cover outstanding costs. Halfway through the 2016-2017 season, Dnipro FC had sold off most of its star players, completing a sellout of talent that began when the club refused to participate in the 2016-2017 Europa League season due to breaches with Financial Fair Play.
The departure of star players combined with the economic chaos forced Dnipro to play several players from their youth academies in order to field a full squad. The sale of goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka plus the lack of funds meant the club had to trust then 17-year-old keeper Lunin to man the net. This was an obvious losing proposition for an inexperienced keeper. However, a young keeper pressed into service by a club in impossible circumstances can occasionally make the best of a hopeless situation.
Forced into action with a team that has nothing to lose means there is little or no pressure on a young keeper. The impossible situation at Dnipro set the stage for Lunin to simply win matches and prove he was not only a talented keeper, but deserved to play in the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL). He earned this not due to his club’s impending bankruptcy, but on merit.
In 25 matches with a depleted Dnipro squad, Lunin allowed 23 goals and managed 10 clean sheets (shutouts). If it wasn’t for a deducted 18 points by FIFA and the Football Federation of Ukraine, Dnipro would have finished sixth and qualified for the championship round, rather than the relegation round in the 2016-2017 UPL season.
Prior to the relegation round, Dnipro was again hit with deducted points, meaning the club lost 24 total points thanks to Kolomoisky’s refusal to pay debts owed to former players and coaches. Minus so many points, survival was impossible and Dnipro was relegated with a mere 13 points. After relegation, FIFA determined the club would restart play in the Ukrainian Second League (third division), where the club is currently struggling for financial survival.
A starring role with Zorya
Relegation and third division football would not be problematic for Lunin. The young goalkeeper had shown he could play at this level and Zorya Luhansk, freshly qualified for the Europa League, picked up the keeper on a free transfer. Lunin was brought in to challenge incumbent keeper Oleksiy Shevchenko while continuing to ply his trade.
Lunin went on to play in almost all of Zorya’s games in the Ukrainian Premier League and in all of the UEFA Europa League games for his club. His strong play left Shevchenko on the bench until early 2018, when he left the club to find more playing time elsewhere.
Shevchenko’s departure meant Lunin, now 19 and 6-foot-3-inches tall, became the starting goalkeeper for one of the country’s top clubs. Furthermore, with Shakhtar Donetsk keeper Andriy Pyatov getting along in age (33) and Dynamo Kyiv lacking a real starter – Maksym Koval and Georgi Bushcan have shared the goaltending duty – Lunin just may have been the best Ukrainian keeper in the league.
Being considered the best keeper in his national competition at such a very young age is a phenomenal achievement. Indeed, there are not many keepers around the world in his age group who are already playing in domestic and international competitions. Lunin is mentioned in the same class as Sweden’s Pontus Dahlberg (IFK Goteborg) and Croatia’s Adrian Semper (Dinamo Zagreb).
He is strong and has a solid presence in the box, but Lunin remains a work in progress, a bit of a project. His opening pass at times is still off, and he sometimes struggles to move his body across the line. Both of these areas of needed improvement can be worked on and are somewhat expected given his age and lack of experience. Otherwise the sky may be the limit for this super talented Ukrainian keeper, who may soon be challenging for a starting spot on Ukraine’s national team. He made his national team debut in a March friendly against Saudi Arabia.
As of mid-May of 2018, Liverpool of the English Premier League was rumored to be leading the race to sign Lunin, ahead of spirited competition from Leicester and Watford. There were also widespread reports Inter Milan was hot on the trail to sign Lunin.
New home is Leganes via Real Madrid
On June 19, 2018, Real Madrid announced the signing of Lunin from Zorya Luhansk in the Ukrainian Premier League where he made 29 league appearances in the 2017-2018 season, to a six-year deal for a reported $16.3 million fee. Considered one of the top goalkeeping prospects in Europe, Lunin had attracted interest from soccer powerhouses Liverpool, Juventus, Napoli and Inter Milan.
In a conversation with Goal.com last year, Lunin admitted, “Real is my favorite team and, of course, I would like to be there some day, to play for that club at that level.”
Lunin debuted as a 17-year-old and quickly earned the starting keeper position with Dnipro and Zorya. The Krasnohrad native was a key player for Zorya as the club finished fourth in the league and played in the Europa League group stage where Lunin impressed against Real Madrid.
He became the youngest goalkeeper to start for Ukraine in his international debut in a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in March and earned his second cap in a 4-1 victory over Albania in a June 2018 friendly.
On August 27, 2018, Real Madrid confirmed Lunin had joined CD Leganes on loan for the 2018-2019 season. News of the young Ukrainian going out on loan was not surprising given that Thibaut Courtois was signed from Chelsea in early August and was expected to be a starter for Real. Manager Julen Lopetegui has several options in goal at his disposal, with Keylor Navas still performing at a high level and Kiko Casilla another reliable veteran waiting for an opportunity. Lunin would have struggled to play for Real’s first-team with three veteran goalkeepers ahead of him. Luca Zidane is the regular starter for the youth side and is fourth on the depth chart behind Courtois, Navas and Casilla.
Lunin’s competition for the starting spot with his temporary club is 34-year-old veteran Ivan Cuellar. Cuellar had a solid 2017-2018 season, making 35 starts while averaging 2.7 saves per match and picking up 14 clean sheets (shutouts). However, the La Liga veteran allowed over a goal every 90 minutes and experienced a few bad stretches.
The thought was Lunin would get some playing time during 2018-2019.
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].