Andriy Yarmolenko became the oldest outfield player of Dynamo in the championships of independent Ukraine. The winger set the record on October 23, on his 37th birthday, playing against Kudrivka in the 10th round of UPL. This is reported by Football 24.
The Kyiv team won with a score of 3:1. The publication refers to the statistics of Yuriy Lyakhovetskyi, published by Sport.ua. Yarmolenko became the first outfield player of the capital club to take the field in the Ukrainian championship at the age of 37.
Dynamo's age record: Yarmolenko outpaced Rotan and Shevchenko
The previous achievement among outfield footballers belonged to Ruslan Rotan. He played his last match for Dynamo in the Ukrainian championship at the age of 36 years and 196 days.
Andriy Shevchenko ranks third. His last appearance for Kyiv in the national championship took place at the age of 35 years and 224 days.
The top three among outfield players of Dynamo now looks like this:
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Andriy Yarmolenko: 37 years;
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Ruslan Rotan: 36 years and 196 days;
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Andriy Shevchenko: 35 years and 224 days.
For Yarmolenko, this is yet another statistical achievement in Ukrainian football. Previously, he also climbed in the UPL top scorers ranking, gradually approaching historical leadership.
Shovkovskyi's record and Yarmolenko's next goal
The absolute age record of Dynamo, considering goalkeepers, remains with Oleksandr Shovkovskyi. He last played for the club in UPL on September 18, 2016, against Zorya, when he was 41 years and 259 days old. That match ended in defeat for Kyiv 0:1.
Thus, Yarmolenko's achievement relates specifically to outfield footballers. In terms of overall age indicators in the championships of Ukraine, he is still behind the former goalkeeper.
In the match against Kudrivka, the winger registered an assist for Oleksandr Pikhalyonok. However, he failed to score himself on his birthday.
At the time of this match, Yarmolenko had 124 goals in the championship and shared the top spot on the all-time list with Maksym Shatskikh. The next goal will allow him to take the lead in the scorers' ranking.