Oleh Romanovych Luzhnyi ( uk, Олег Романович Лужний; born 5 August 1968) is a Ukrainian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
.
Club career
Luzhnyi is a product of the
Karpaty sports school
A sports school (russian: Детско-Юношеская Спортивная Школа, ДЮСШ) is a type of educational institution for children that originated in the Soviet Union. Sports schools were the basis of the powerful system of ph ...
(coached by Yuriy Hdanskyi and
Yuriy Dyachuk-Stavytskyi
Yuriy Dyachuk-Stavytskyi ( uk, Юрій Михайлович Дячук-Ставицький; 26 January 1947 – 24 June 2020) was a Ukrainian football manager.
Career
He coached following teams FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi, FC Prykarpattya Ivano-F ...
) and later studied at the
Lviv State School of Physical Culture
Lviv State School of Physical Culture ( uk, Львівське державне училище фізичної культури, ЛУФК) is a sports college in Lviv.
The school was established in 1971 as a sports boarding school.
The school a ...
. He first played for Ukrainian clubs
Torpedo Lutsk (1985–88) and
SKA Karpaty Lviv (1988) in Soviet lower football leagues.
Dynamo Kyiv
![Oleh Luzhny2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Oleh_Luzhny2013.jpg)
Luzhnyi signed for
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...
in 1989 and became a regular at
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, winning the domestic double in 1990 and seven consecutive Ukrainian league titles between 1993 and 1999. He was the captain of Dynamo Kyiv's Champions League sides that defeated
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
3–0 at home and 4–0 away in the group stage of the
1997–98 season and eliminated holders
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
3–1 on aggregate in the quarter finals en route to the semi-finals in
1998–99.
Arsenal
Luzhnyi signed for English club
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the summer of 1999 after impressing manager
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...
in Kyiv's clashes with Arsenal in the Champions League. He was signed as cover for
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ca ...
, although he was unable to fully displace the England international. While never a regular starter with the Gunners (the young
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
ian
Lauren
Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...
was signed a year later as Dixon's long-term replacement), Luzhnyi still played 110 matches in four years at the club, either at right-back or, less frequently, at
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, and even captained the team once in the League Cup. In the 2001–02 season he won a double (the
FA Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
) with Arsenal. He contributed 18 league appearances as Arsenal won the
2001-02 FA Premier League. His last match for the Gunners was the
2003 FA Cup Final
The 2003 FA Cup Final was the 122nd final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The final took place on Saturday 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in front of a crowd of 73,726. It was the third co ...
(which Arsenal won, beating
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
1–0), Luzhny's best performance for the club.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Luzhnyi signed for newly promoted
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in the summer of 2003. He spent a single season there, but only made ten appearances for the side and was released by Wolves in the summer of 2004 following their relegation from the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
.
International career
![Oleh-Luzhny](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Oleh-Luzhny.jpg)
On the international stage, Luzhnyi made his debut at the age of 20 for the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1989, winning eight caps but missing the
1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
because of injury. After the Soviet Union's dissolution, Luzhnyi went on to play for
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, playing 52 times for his country between 1992 and 2003, although his side never reached a tournament finals, losing three times in the play-offs.
Luzhnyi captained the national side
a record 39 times and achieved immense personal recognition in his country. In December 2000 he was voted into the Ukrainian 'Team of the Century' according to a poll by The Ukrainsky Futbol weekly.
Luzhnyi received the fourth biggest number of votes, behind only to
Oleh Blokhin
Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin ( uk, Оле́г Володи́мирович Блохі́н, rus, Оле́г Влади́мирович Блохи́н; born 5 November 1952), is a former Ukrainian and Soviet footbal ...
,
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politici ...
and
Anatoliy Demyanenko
Anatoliy Vasilyovych Demyanenko ( uk, Анатолiй Васильович Дем'яненко, born 19 February 1959), sometimes referred to as Anatoli Demianenko, is a Ukrainian football coach and former player. As a player, he was deployed a ...
.
Managerial career
Luzhnyi had a brief spell at
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n side
FK Venta
FK Venta were a Latvian football club based in Ventspils. They were established in 1964 and went bankrupt in 2005.
Club history
The club was founded in 1964 as Naftas bāze, in its debut season in the Latvian league it finished 6th from 14 teams ...
as
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
in 2005, but left the club after it ran into financial problems. He has now retired from playing and in June 2006 became assistant coach at
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...
.
Luzhnyi was named interim manager of
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...
on 5 November 2007 after the resignation of
Yozhef Sabo
Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo ( uk, Йожеф Йожефович Сабо; hu, Szabó József; born 29 February 1940) is a former Ukrainian football player and football manager. He is of Hungarian background. He is baptized as a Greek-Catholic. ...
. He led the club to three league wins in three matches, including a 2–1 home victory against perennial rivals
Shakhtar Donetsk
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
, as well as into the semifinals of the
Ukrainian Cup
The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003 ...
. However, during the same period Dynamo suffered heavy Champions League defeats away at
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and
Sporting Lisbon
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
and at home to
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
.
On 8 December 2007, Dynamo Kyiv unveiled a new permanent manager,
Yury Syomin, and a few days later it was announced that Luzhnyi would continue as an assistant coach under the new manager.
On 1 October 2010, he was again named as interim manager of Dynamo Kyiv after the resignation of
Valery Gazzaev
Valery Georgiyevich Gazzaev (russian: Вале́рий Гео́ргиевич Газза́ев; os, Гæззаты Георгийы фырт Валери, translit=Gæzzaty Georgijy fyrt Valeri; born 7 August 1954) is a Russian politician, foot ...
. The first match was lost 2–0 to
Shakhtar Donetsk
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
at
Donbas Arena
Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...
. After the 19th round match against
PFC Sevastopol
FC Sevastopol ( uk, ФК «Севастополь») was a Ukrainian football club based in Sevastopol. The club was a spiritual descendant of the Soviet clubs from Sevastopol such as Chaika Sevastopol. After the completion of 2013–14 Ukraini ...
Luzhnyi informed the fans that he will not return after the winter break. He was replaced by
Yury Syomin on 24 December 2010.
Personal life
Luzhnyi turned down the chance to coach in England in 2022 in order to fight for Ukraine after the
Russian invasion.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Arsenal
*
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
*
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
:
2001–02
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
:
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Individual
*Ukrainian Team of the Century (poll by Ukrainsky Futbol): 2000
[
]
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Ukrainian Team of the Century (poll by Ukrainsky Futbol)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzhnyi, Oleh
1968 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Lviv
Soviet footballers
Ukrainian footballers
Association football fullbacks
Dual internationalists (football)
Soviet Union international footballers
Ukraine international footballers
Soviet Union under-21 international footballers
Soviet Top League players
Soviet First League players
Soviet Second League players
FA Cup Final players
Ukrainian Premier League players
Ukrainian First League players
Latvian Higher League players
Premier League players
FC Volyn Lutsk players
FC SKA-Karpaty Lviv players
FC Dynamo Kyiv players
FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv players
Arsenal F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
FK Venta players
Ukrainian football managers
Ukrainian expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Latvia
Latvian Higher League managers
Ukrainian Premier League managers
FK Venta managers
FC Dynamo Kyiv managers
SC Tavriya Simferopol managers
FC Karpaty Lviv managers
Ukrainian expatriate footballers
Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate footballers in England
Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Latvia
Expatriate footballers in Latvia