Up Close and Personal of Team Ukraine: feat. Andriy Voronin

Position: Forward
Current Club: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Previous Clubs; Chornomorets Odessa (Ukraine), Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany), FSV Mainz 05 (Germany), FC Köln (Germany)
Date for Birth: 21/07/1979
Height: 179 cm – 5′9
Weight: 75 kg – 165 lbs
Caps: 28
Goals: 3
Number: 10
Nickname – “the Raven” (last name translated)

First name: Andriy; nationality: Ukrainian; position: forward. That might sound like a sure-fire recipe for success, but Andrey Voronin has not won the Ballon d’Or or the UEFA Champions League just yet. With his unkempt locks and hunched shoulders, he does not quite have the elegance of Shevchenko either, but that is of little matter. On the field of play, he has shown that they do have one thing in common: the knack of scoring vital goals during Ukraine’s qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
Less prolific than the AC Milan ace, Voronin had to be content with a place on the substitutes’ bench for the early qualifiers. By dint of patience and hard work, the Bayer Leverkusen striker has become a key component in Oleg Blokhin’s system. Since his international debut in March 2002, Voronin has frequently been used as a ‘supersub’, fully justifying his coach’s faith in him whenever called upon.
Denied a regular place at the spearhead of the attack by the immovable Shevchenko, Voronin was even forced to make his international debut on the left of midfield, despite having shown his goalscoring qualities with numerous clubs. “At Mainz, I used to play up front, but one doesn’t always have a choice in the national team,” he reasoned in April 2003 as Ukraine sought to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004. “So I’m playing on the left of midfield. Against Spain (on 29 March 2003, 2-2), I was up against Michel Salgado and I don’t think he had an easy game.”
After an apprenticeship with Chernomorets Odessa, Voronin never had the chance to shine on Ukrainian pitches. At the age of just 18, he packed his bags for Borussia Moenchengladbach to take his first tentative steps in the Bundesliga. Making seven appearances in his first season, he opened his account for the German club in May 1998 against Hansa Rostock. It was to be his only first-team goal at ‘Gladbach’, who were relegated at the end of the season.

After two seasons languishing primarily in the reserves, he signed for second division club Mainz in 1999. Anonymous during his first two seasons, he suddenly burst into life during the 2002/03 campaign, bagging 20 goals in 31 games to help earn his side a place among the elite.
Out of contract with Mainz, the Ukrainian then signed for fellow Germans FC Cologne, who had also been promoted to the top flight in 2003. Despite finding goals harder to come by (he managed just four in 19 games), his great turn of pace, dribbling skills and wonderful vision still caught the eye of Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer, in the throes of major reconstruction after the 2002 UEFA Champions League final and the departure of top players like Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto, would not regret their decision. Voronin netted 15 times in 32 games as the formidable partnership he formed with the Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov struck fear into the hearts of Bundesliga defences.
Voronin’s performances also made a sufficient impression on the national team coach for him to be given the role of understudy to Shevchenko, linking up with the Milan forward in certain games. And when the great man has been unavailable, Voronin has shown himself more than capable of stepping into his shoes. “Like all top stars, Shevchenko plays an essential role, but we saw today that the team is strong enough to get by without him,” confirmed Blokhin after the 1-0 qualifying win over Denmark. That day, it was Andrey Voronin who took on the mantle of saviour by scoring the only goal of the game.

Bibliography:
- the article on Voronin was directly copied from; http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/player/216237_VORONIN_Andriy.html
- the pictures were also taken from the official World Cup website