Yaroslav Rakitskyi

Yaroslav Rakitsky is a Ukrainian football player, defender of the Shakhtar club (Donetsk) and the national team of Ukraine. Together with Shakhtar, he became four times the champion of Ukraine, three times the owner of the Cup and the Super Cup of Ukraine. As part of the youth team of Ukraine under 21, he participated in the 2011 European Championship in Denmark.

Yaroslav Rakitsky was born in the village of Pershotravensk, which is located in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He started playing football at the age of 6. He plays in children's leagues, and at the age of 13 he enters the academy of Shakhtar Donetsk.

Yaroslav Rakitskiy is a six-time champion of Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk. Five times won the Cup of Ukraine and four times became the owner of the Super Cup of the country.

2009–10 season

2010–11 season

2011–12 season

2012–13 season

2017–18 season

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Yaroslav Rakitsky regularly uses alcohol and drugs. His contract with Shakhtar stipulates tough sanctions against the athlete's use of illegal drugs.

The agreement with the club provides for monetary penalties if the facts of drug and alcohol use by the player are proven.

A loud scandal involving the athlete arose in 2013, when he refused to play for the Ukrainian national football team. Then, in an interview with one of the specialized media, Yaroslav Rakytsky said that "he would not play for the Bandera team."

The football player was also repeatedly accused of sympathizing with representatives of the so-called "DPR".

Yaroslav Rakitskiy is one of the highest paid football players in Ukraine. A month of work at Shakhtar Donetsk brings him 5.5 million hryvnias. The annual income of a football player exceeds $ 1 million.

Yaroslav Rakitsky is married to singer Olga Rakitskaya. The couple are raising a daughter, Yaroslav.

Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Rakitskyi (Ukrainian: Ярослав Володимирович Ракицький, pronounced [jɐroˈslɑu̯ woloˈdɪmɪrowɪtʃ rɐˈkɪtsʲkɪj]; born 3 August 1989) is a Ukrainian footballer currently playing as a defender for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. He is best known for his passing ability and free-kicks.

He was also a member of the Ukraine national football team, he made his first team appearance for Ukraine national football team on 10 October 2009 and scored his first goal on 14 October of the same year. Rakitskyi has amassed over 50 caps for Ukraine and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.

2012–13 season

He played in Shakhtar's 2–0 Super Cup victory over Metalurh Donetsk on 10 July, keeping a clean sheet. He managed clean sheets in a 6–0 win against Arsenal Kyiv on 15 July, a 1–0 victory over Kryvbas on 29 July and a 4–0 win over Volyn Lutsk on 6 September. On 26 August he assisted Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the third goal in a 3–0 victory over Karpaty Lviv and kept a clean sheet. and was named Man of the Match. On 15 September he kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory against Zorya Luhansk.

2017–18 season

He scored in the final as Shakhtar beat rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the 2017–18 Ukrainian Cup final.

Zenit Saint Petersburg

On 28 January 2019, he signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Some Ukrainians have derided Rakitskyi as a "traitor" for moving to the Russian league, as Zenit are based in Russia and the War in Donbas was ongoing, despite the fact that Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, another famous Ukrainian footballer, is also working as assistant manager for Zenit.

His move to Russia during the war led to him being stopped from being called up to the national team, which led to his official retirement from international football.

He became a starting player for Zenit, and a favourite of the fans, who made positive songs about him.[26] He also became one of the leaders of the Russian league in accuracy of passes.

At the end of the 2019–20 season, he was voted by the league players as the 8th best player in the league, and number one in his position.

For his time in Zenit, Rakitsky was praised for his versatility in the defence and for his help to the attack.

2009–10 season

He moved up to the first team during the 2009–10 season, making his debut, at the age of 20, in a 6–1 Ukrainian Cup win against Dnister Ovidiopol (now called FC Odesa). He made his league debut for the club 16 days later, coming as a substitute on 31 August in a 3–1 victory over Zorya Luhansk. His first goal for Shakhtar came in the following round of the Ukrainian Cup in a 3–1 victory over Yednist' Plysky. He also set up the third goal of the match for Oleksandr Gladkiy. Rakytskiy scored his second goal of the season in a 4–1 group stage win over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League. He ended his first season in the Shakhtar first team with 37 appearances, of which 24 came in the league, and 2 goals. He picked his first trophy at Shakhtar, with the team winning the league.

2010–11 season

Rakytskiy started the 2010–11 with success in the Super Cup as Shakhtar comprehensively defeated Tavriya 7–1. His first league goal came in a 3–1 victory over Kryvbas on 10 July 2010. He also scored Shakhtar's only goal in a 6–1 aggregate lose to Barcelona in the Champions League quarter final, scoring in the 5–1 first leg defeat at Camp Nou. He played in Shakhtar's 2–0 Ukrainian Cup win over Dynamo Kyiv. He made a total of 34 appearances in the 2010–11 season, scoring twice as Shakhtar retained the Premier League title.

2011–12 season

Shakhtar won the Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup in the 2011–12 season.On 29 October Yaroslav picked up a red card in a 3–2 victory over Oleksandria, after receiving two yellow cards.His first goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv at the Donbass Arena on 7 April. He scored another goal a few weeks later in a 3–1 victory over Tavriya. He finished the season with 2 goals in 37 appearances, 27 of which were in the league. Shakhtar won the Premier League title for the third year in a row and also retained the Ukrainian Cup in a 2–1 extra time victory over Metalurh Donetsk. Oleksandr Kucher scored the winning goal, after a rebound from Rakytskiy's shot.

Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Rakitskyi (Ukrainian: Ярослав Володимирович Ракицький, pronounced [jɐroˈslɑu̯ woloˈdɪmɪrowɪtʃ rɐˈkɪtsʲkɪj]; born 3 August 1989) is a Ukrainian footballer currently playing as a defender for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. He is best known for his passing ability and free-kicks.

He was also a member of the Ukraine national football team, he made his first team appearance for Ukraine national football team on 10 October 2009 and scored his first goal on 14 October of the same year. Rakitskyi has amassed over 50 caps for Ukraine and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.