Oleg Iachtchouk

Oleg Iachtchouk

Personal information
Full name	Oleg Iachtchouk
Date of birth	26 October 1977 (1977-10-26) (age 34)
Place of birth	Lanivtsi Raion, Ukrainian SSR
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Cercle Brugge
Number	9
Youth career
1990–1993	Lviv Sports School
1993–1994	Lviv
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1996	Nyva Ternopil	34	(10)
1996–2006	Anderlecht	119	(31)
2006–2007	Ergotelis	26	(3)
2007–	Cercle Brugge	116	(38)
National team
1994	Ukraine U16	4	(3)
1995–1996	Ukraine U18	6	(2)
1998–1999	Ukraine U21	3	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Oleg Iachtchouk (Ukrainian: Олег Ростиславович Ящук, born 26 October 1977 in Hrybova^[1] (Hrynky Rural-rada), Lanivtsi Raion, Ternopil Oblast then Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian professional footballer. He plays as a striker for Cercle Brugge and also holds the Belgian nationality.^[1] His last name is sometimes transliterated as Yaschuk or Jachtsjoek.

Club career

Iachtchouk first made a name for himself in the Ukrainian Premier League in the 1995–96 season. Playing for an unfashionable FC Nyva Ternopil side, then a 17-year old, on matchday 1 he scored a hat trick at Shakhtar Donetsk helping his side to a shock 4-2 away win.^[2] He finished the season as the club's top scorer with 10 goals as Nyva narrowly avoided relegation.

Iachtchouk's talent caught the eye of Anderlecht and he signed for the Belgian club at the end of the season. He made a good start in the first team in the 1990s but then became injured for long periods of time. In some seasons he barely played at all because of recurring injuries, yet Anderlecht extended his contract in 2001 for another five years. In 2006 he left the club, having played 119 league matches and scored 31 goals during ten seasons.

He signed for Ergotelis in Greece for the 2006–07 season where he finally managed to shake off his injury problems.

On 14 June 2007, Iachtchouk returned to Belgium, signing a two-year contract with Cercle Brugge who had just appointed his former Anderlecht teammate Glen De Boeck as manager. In January 2009 his contract was extended until 2013, just days after he scored both of his team's goals in a 2-1 win against his former club Anderlecht.^[3]

International career

Iachtchouk has played for all of Ukraine's youth national teams (Under-16, Under-18 and Under-21), including a spell alongside Andriy Shevchenko for the Under-18s. In 1994 he became his team's best scorer at the European Under-16 Championship in Ireland where Ukraine finished 3rd.^[4] One of the three goals Iachtchouk scored at the tournament was against Belgium.

However, Iachtchouk has not won a single full international cap due to persistent injuries. After he finally recovered he found that his dual Ukrainian/Belgian citizenship is a major obstacle to his call-up for Ukraine; while he does not see himself playing for his new home country.^[5]

Awards and honours

Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division: 1999-00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Belgian Supercup: 2000, 2001

Individual

• Ukraine top scorer at Euro Under-16: 1994
• Nyva Ternopil top scorer: 1995-96
• Cercle Brugge top scorer: 2007-08, 2008–09
• Cercle Brugge player of the season (Pop Poll d'Echte): 2008-09, 2009–10

Sporting positions
Preceded by Darko Pivaljević	Cercle Brugge top scorer 20081 — 2009 1alongside Stijn De Smet and Tom De Sutter	Succeeded by Dominic Foley

See also

• Belgian nationality law
• Ukrainian citizenship

External links

• Profile at Cercle Brugge official site
• Profile at sporza.be
• Profile at legioner.kulichki.com

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Loi accordant des naturalisations, 14 Janvier 2003". Staatsblad Moniteur. http://staatsbladclip.zita.be/moniteur/lois/2003/02/18/loi-2003009102-Print.html. Retrieved 15 August 2009. 
2. ^ "Shakhtar 2–4 Nyva T". ukrainiansoccer.net. http://www.ukrainiansoccer.net/upl/matchdetail.asp?matchID=1363. Retrieved 23 December 2007. ^{[dead link]} (inconsistent link, not direct)
3. ^ "Oleg Iachtchouk prolonge au Cercle Bruges jusqu'en 2013". La Dernière Heure. http://www.dhnet.be/sports/cs-bruges/article/243498/oleg-iachtchouk-prolonge-au-cercle-bruges-jusqu-en-2013.html. Retrieved 15 August 2009. 
4. ^ "Ukrainian Youth National Teams". ukrsoccerhistory.com. http://www.ukrsoccerhistory.com/sources/pages.aspx?language=eng&page=nt_youth. Retrieved 23 December 2007. 
5. ^ "Yaschuk: I am not interested in playing for Belgium". ukrainiansoccer.net. http://www.ukrainiansoccer.net/news/news_article.asp?ID=17570. Retrieved 26 December 2007. ^{[dead link]} (inconsistent link, not direct)

Persondata
Name	Iachtchouk, Oleg
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	26 October 1977
Place of birth	Lanivtsi Raion, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death