Maksim Tsyhalka
Maksim Tsyhalka (Belarusian: Максім Цыгалка, Russian: Максим Цыгалко, Maksim Tsygalko) (often spelled Maxim Tsigalko) (born 27 May 1983) is a former Belarusian football player. He had to end his professional career early (at the age of 26) in 2010 due to persistent injuries.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Maksim Tsygalko | ||
Date of birth | 27 May 1983 | ||
Place of birth | Minsk, Belarusian SSR | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Playing position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
1999–2001 | Dinamo Minsk | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2001 | Dinamo-Yuni Minsk | 27 | (17) |
2000 | → Dinamo-2 Minsk | 10 | (3) |
2001–2005 | Dinamo Minsk | 53 | (24) |
2006–2007 | Naftan Novopolotsk | 24 | (3) |
2007–2008 | Kaisar | 21 | (7) |
2008 | Banants | 4 | (2) |
2008 | Savit Mogilev | 8 | (2) |
National team | |||
2002–2004 | Belarus U21 | 11 | (3) |
2003 | Belarus | 2 | (1) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
He began his playing career at a youth team Dinamo-Yuni Minsk before moving up to play for the Dinamo Minsk first team, he spent 5 years with the club before moving to fellow Belarus team Naftan Novopolotsk, after an unsuccessful 2 seasons there Tsyhalka soon moved on to Kazakhstan club Kaisar Kyzylorda. Tsyhalka spent 2 seasons with the club before moving in the summer of 2008 to Armenian team Banants Yerevan, where he would spend only a short stint. He spent the rest of the season for now defunct Belarus club Savit Mogilev. He scored 2 goals in his short spell at the club before being released after Savit were relegated and dissolved.
Tsyhalka also has a twin brother Yuri who played as a goalkeeper. The brothers played alongside each other at Dinamo Minsk.
In popular culture
Maksim and, to a lesser extent, his brother Yuri both achieved a small amount of fame and worldwide renown after they were featured in the Championship Manager / Football Manager computer game series by Sports Interactive, especially in CM 01/02. Both players were present in the database with good starting stats and a very high potential, and Maksim (spelled "Maxim Tsigalko" in the game) in particular was capable of becoming a world class player, to the degree that he is very well known amongst fans of the Football Manager series and considered one of the game's legends.[1][2]
International goal
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 April 2003 | Dynama Stadium (Minsk), Belarus | 1 – 0 | 2–2 | Friendly | |
Honours
Dinamo Minsk
- Belarusian Premier League champion: 2004
- Belarusian Cup winner: 2002–03
References
- "Spotlight on CM/FM Legends : Maxim Tsigalko and Cherno Samba". footmanager.co.uk. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012.
- Rob Smyth (November 14, 2008). "The Joy of Six: great Championship/ Football Manager players". The Guardian.
External links
- Maksim Tsyhalka at National-Football-Teams.com