Oleksandr Kucher

Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher (Ukrainian: Олександр Миколайович Кучер; born 22 October 1982) is a Ukrainian former professional footballer.

Oleksandr Kucher
Kucher with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2016
Personal information
Full name Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher
Date of birth (1982-10-22) 22 October 1982
Place of birth Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Arsenal Kharkiv 59 (5)
2002–2005 Metalurh Donetsk 9 (0)
2002–2003 → Arsenal Kharkiv (loan) 14 (0)
2003–2004 → Banants Yerevan (loan) 19 (3)
2004–2005 → Arsenal Kharkiv (loan) 12 (0)
2005–2006 Metalist Kharkiv 28 (2)
2006–2017 Shakhtar Donetsk 167 (7)
2017–2019 Kayserispor 42 (0)
2019 Karpaty Lviv 4 (0)
Total 354 (17)
National team
2006–2017 Ukraine 57 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Mykolayovych and the family name is Kucher.

He was a powerful defender who was good in the air and provided good coverage in the back. He could also play as a defensive midfielder.

A Shakhtar Donetsk player from 2006 until 2017, he won many honours including Premier League titles and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He made his senior international debut in 2006 and represented Ukraine when they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012.

Club career

Kucher started his career with Youth Academy alumnus "Athlete" Kiev and Arsenal Kyiv, playing 59 times and scoring 5 goals. He joined Metalurh Donetsk in 2002, spending a season on loan at Arsenal Kharkiv during the 2002–03 season, a season at Armenian side Banants Yerevan during the 2003–04 season and another spell with Arsenal in the 2004–05 season. He made 26 appearances for Arsenal over his two seasons on loan. He scored 3 goals in 19 appearances for Banants. Having made 9 appearances for Metalurh, Kucher moved to Metalist Kharkiv during the 2005–06 season playing 28 matches with his only two goals coming in 5–2 defeat to Chornomorets Odesa.[2] Oleksandr joined Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2006–07 season. He made his debut for Shakhtar as a substitute in a 5–0 victory over his former club Metalist. He scored in a 4–1 victory over Metalurh Donetsk on 9 August 2009.[3] He netted an extra time winner in the final of the 2011–12 Ukrainian Cup.[4] Kucher scored a brace in a 3–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 4 September 2012[5] in a man of the match performance.[6]

On 11 March 2015, he was given the quickest red card in the history of the Champions League when he was sent off for foul on Thomas Müller in the third minute of a last 16 second leg against Bayern Munich which Bayern won 7–0.[7]

International career

Kucher made his debut for the Ukrainian national team on 15 August 2006 at the age of 23 years, 9 months and 24 days in a 6–0 friendly victory over Azerbaijan. He scored his first goal for Ukraine on 11 October 2006 in a 2–0 Euro 2008 qualifying match victory over Scotland.[8] He was part of Ukraine's squad as they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012 with Poland, but did not feature in the group stage exit. Four years later, Kucher was again part of his country's 23-man roster to participate in the UEFA Euro 2016. This time, he made one appearance for Ukraine, in a 1-0 loss to Poland, as Ukraine was once again eliminated at the group stage.[9]

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Europe Super Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shakhtar Donetsk 2006–07 Ukrainian Premier League 1404150–231
2007–08 2114080–331
2008–09 1502011010290
2009–10 14110110–261
2010–11 1005030–180
2011–12 210416010321
2012–13 153407010273
2013–14 131408010261
2014–15 110616010241
2015–16 1113113110283
2016–17 220106000290
Total 16773848416029512
Kayserispor 2017–18 Süper Lig 21050––260
2018–19 19051––241
Total 400101––501
Career total 20774858416034513

International

[10]

National TeamYearAppsGoals
Ukraine 200621
200750
200840
200980
201020
201170
201231
201360
201460
201540
201680
201720
Total572


International goals
Scores and results list Ukraine's goal tally first.[10]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 October 2006Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kiev Scotland1–02–0Euro 2008 qualifying
2.13 November 2012Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia Bulgaria0–10–1International Friendly

Honours

Shakhtar Donetsk

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Olexandr Kucher: We were upset after conceding a goal before the break". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  3. "Shakhtar Donetsk vs Metalurh Donetsk 4–1". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. "Metalurh Donetsk vs Shakhtar Donetsk 1–2". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  5. "Shakhtar Donetsk vs Dynamo Kyiv 3–1". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  6. "Kucher named Man of the Match". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  7. "Bayern Mun 7–0 Shakt Donetsk". BBC Sport. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  8. "Ukraine vs Scotland 2–0". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  9. "UEFA Euro 2016 - History - Ukraine-Poland". uefa.com. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  10. "Oleksandr Kucher - national football team player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
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