Roman Vyacheslavovych Zozulya ( uk, Роман В'ячеславович Зозуля, born 17 November 1989) is a Ukrainian 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 ...

who plays as a striker for Spanish club

Rayo Majadahonda Club de Fútbol Rayo Majadahonda () is a Spanish football team based in Majadahonda, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1976 it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Cerro del Espino'', with ...

. He played in the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

for

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...

and Dnipro. In 2016 he moved to Spain, playing six

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

games for

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

before featuring in over 150 Segunda División games for

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...

and

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

Zozulya made his international debut for Ukraine in 2010. He was part of their squad at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Club career

Dynamo Kyiv

Born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, Zozulya was a product of the Dynamo youth system progressing through Dynamo-3 and Dynamo-2. In 2008, after the 2007–08 season he was promoted to the main team.

Dnipro

On 27 February 2014, in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

, Zozulya was sent off after he directed a head-butt towards

Jan Vertonghen Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back. Vertonghen began his senior car ...

. Zozulya was sent off and had to be restrained from attacking Vertonghen, who was accused of faking the degree of contact. Tottenham went on to win the game 3–1, knocking Dnipro out.

Betis

On 27 July 2016, Zozulya signed a three-year contract with

side

. He made his debut on 11 September in a 3–2 win at

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

, as an 80th-minute substitute for Álex Alegría. He played six games, starting once on 22 January in a goalless draw at home to

Sporting Gijón Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play * Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *AC Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon * Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *Real Sport ...

Rayo Vallecano

On 31 January 2017, Zozulya joined

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

on loan until the end of the season. His arrival was met with protests from the club's fans, unhappy over his purported far-right links after a picture of him wearing a shirt with the

Tryzub The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a gold trident. Officially referred to as the ''Emblem of the Royal State of Volodymyr the Great'', or, colloquially, the ''tryzub'' ( uk, тризуб), the insignia derives from the seal-t ...

and lyrics of poet

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, wr ...

was featuring the logo of the

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist org ...

. Zozulya vehemently denied any such links in an open letter to Rayo's fans, declaring that he has only assisted the legitimate

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They w ...

during the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. On 1 February 2017, Zozulya had his contract cancelled due to the reactions of Rayo fans and returned to Betis.Roman Zozulya: Player's Rayo Vallecano loan spell ends as fans call him Nazi

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(1 February 2017) This meant that he could not play anymore in the 2016–17 season because the Royal Spanish Football Federation rules say players cannot register for more than two teams in one campaign.

Albacete

On 8 September 2017,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Zozulya signed a one-year contract with

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches ...

. On 25 March 2019, Zozulya endured more harassment during an Albacete away game against Lugo, when the fans of the latter club sang chants aimed at Zozulya, explicitly wishing him death for supposedly supporting the Nazi political movement. As a result of the incident, the fans of Albacete requested that

seriously punish Lugo. Zozulya received the best player award for the month of October 2019, based on the fans' votes. On 15 December 2019, the league game between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete was abandoned by the referee, after abuse and threats from the home fans over Zozulya's alleged far-right-wing political views. The second half of the game was scheduled to be played the following June, following the resumption of football after the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

Fuenlabrada

On 31 July 2021, after ''Alba''s relegation, Zozulya signed a two-year contract with fellow second division side

CF Fuenlabrada Club de Fútbol Fuenlabrada, S.A.D. is a football club based in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, the third tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1975. It holds ...

Rayo Majadahonda

On 8 December 2022, Zozulya signed for

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, formerly known as Primera División RFEF, is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top t ...

club

on a deal until the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career

Zozulya debuted 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 ...

on 2 June 2010 against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Ullevaal Stadion Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. He scored a goal after

Yevhen Konoplyanka Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team. He began ...

fired a long shot at Jon Knudsen, who fumbled with the ball and let Zozulya kick the ball into the net. He was substituted in the 81st minute. He was member of the Ukrainian 23-man squad for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Outside of football

Civil involvement

Zozulya is the founder of the Narodna Armiya (People's Army) organisation which is a part of the civil volunteer movement helping Ukrainian forces in the

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. In particular Zozulya's organisation is providing food, clothing and technical equipment to

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They w ...

and helps families of the military. In 2016, he received a special commendation from the

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

for his support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Together with Ruslan Rotan Zozulya is also the co-founder and sponsor of the ''Rotan and Zozulya Academy of Football'' in Dnipro.

Personal life

His sister Olena is married with another Ukrainian football player Kyrylo Kovalets.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

''Source:''

Honors

Dynamo Kyiv *

: 2008–09 *

Ukrainian Super Cup The Ukrainian Super Cup ( uk , Суперкубок України) is an association football game of the Ukrainian Premier League in traditional super cup format that acts as the grand-opening for every new football competition season in Ukra ...

: 2009, 2011 FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

: runner-up 2014–15

Orders

* : Decoration of the President of Ukraine for Humanitarian Participation in the Anti-Terrorist Operation * : Honorary badge of the Chief of General Staff for Services to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zozulya, Roman 1989 births Footballers from Kyiv Men's association football forwards FC Dnipro players FC Dynamo Kyiv players Living people Ukraine men's international footballers Ukraine men's youth international footballers Ukraine men's under-21 international footballers Ukrainian footballers Ukrainian Premier League players Ukrainian First League players Ukrainian Second League players FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv players FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv players UEFA Euro 2016 players La Liga players Segunda División players Real Betis players Rayo Vallecano players Albacete Balompié players CF Fuenlabrada footballers CF Rayo Majadahonda players Ukrainian expatriate footballers Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain