22 Facts About Taras Mykhalyk

Taras Volodymyrovych Mykhalyk is a retired Ukrainian footballer who played as a centre-back.

Taras Mykhalyk is a versatile player, having professionally played at every position except goalkeeper.

The 18-year-old Taras Mykhalyk joined the Ukrainian First League club CSKA Kyiv in 2001.

Taras Mykhalyk established himself into the starting line-up of the squad, playing 89 matches in the four seasons that he was there.

Taras Mykhalyk was almost immediately loaned off to Zakarpattia Uzhhorod.

Taras Mykhalyk has stated in an interview that he was really surprised to get a call from Dynamo Kyiv president Ihor Surkis inviting him to come and try out for the team, as he never even had any attention from scouts of his local Volyn Lutsk of the Ukrainian First League.

The head coach at the time, Anatoliy Demyanenko recognized the player's great potential, but Taras Mykhalyk constantly struggled to break through to the starting line-up of the team.

On 10 July 2007, Taras Mykhalyk saved Dynamo, scoring two goals in the 2007 Ukrainian Super Cup, which ended up being a 2:2 draw.

Taras Mykhalyk renewed his contract with Dynamo Kyiv, which was due to expire at the end of 2010, in November 2008.

On 6 April 2009 Taras Mykhalyk suffered a meniscus injury after a challenge from Metalurh Donetsk midfielder Velizar Dimitrov in the Ukrainian Premier League, which ended the player's season early.

Under Lokomotiv manager Leonid Kuchuk Taras Mykhalyk usually played at defensive midfield position.

Taras Mykhalyk was a member of the Ukrainian Under-21 National football team that finished as runners-up in the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006.

Taras Mykhalyk received his first call-up for the senior national team by head coach Oleh Blokhin for a match against Azerbaijan on 15 August 2006.

Taras Mykhalyk went on to play five more games under Blokhin's leadership, two more friendly matches and three UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying games.

Taras Mykhalyk was reunited with his former under-21 manager in 2008 when Oleksiy Mykhailychenko took the helm of the national team in its attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after Blokhin's failure to qualify for the Euro.

Taras Mykhalyk established himself as one of the main players this time, playing center-back usually alongside Shakhtar Donetsk's Dmytro Chyhrynskyi.

Taras Mykhalyk went on to play 7 out of the 10 qualifying games as well as 3 friendlies.

However Taras Mykhalyk did not take part in these games because of injury, neither did Chygrynskiy who had recently transferred to FC Barcelona and did not get enough game practice there.

Taras Mykhalyk is not single, which he confirmed in a recent interview, stating that he spends much of spare time with his girlfriend.

Taras Mykhalyk stated that on the winter breaks his favorite pastime is hunting, while in the summer he prefers to go fishing.

Taras Mykhalyk is from a large family: he has one older brother and five younger sisters.

Taras Mykhalyk stated that he is financially aiding his parents, and helping to pay for the education of one of his sisters at the Kyiv Theological Seminary and another at the National Aviation University.