With tears in his eyes: Stepanenko ended his football career with a match against Shakhtar

Ukrainian midfielder Taras Stepanenko officially ended his professional career as a footballer. His last match was the game between "Koloss" and Donetsk "Shakhtar" in the final round of the UPL season 2025/26, after which the player was sent off with tears and a corridor of honor. This is reported by TSN.

“Koloss” defeated “Shakhtar” in Stepanenko's farewell match

The match of the 30th round of the Ukrainian Premier League in Lviv ended with a victory for "Koloss" with a score of 1:0.

The only goal was scored by Ardith Tahiri in the 49th minute after a pass from Daniil Khrypchuk.

Taras Stepanenko started in the starting lineup of «Koloss» and spent 60 minutes on the field. After being substituted, the player couldn't hold back his emotions, and players from both teams created a symbolic corridor of honor for him.

What Taras Stepanenko is remembered for

Stepanenko played for «Shakhtar» from 2010 to 2025 and became one of the symbols of the club. During this time, he played 439 matches, scored 30 goals, and made 25 assists.

Together with the «miners», the player:

1. won the Ukrainian championship 10 times;
2. won the Ukrainian Cup 8 times;
3. won the Ukrainian Super Cup 7 times.

The midfielder also made 87 appearances for the Ukrainian national team.

After finishing his career, Stepanenko will begin his coaching career in Andrea Maldera’s staff in the national team of Ukraine.