Andriy Yarmolenko

Andriy Mykolayovych Yarmolenko (Андрій Миколайович Ярмоленко; born 23 October 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv and captains the Ukraine national team.

After their marriage, Valentyna and Mykola Yarmolenko moved to Leningrad (modern-day Saint Petersburg) where Andriy was born in 1989.

He has a younger sister.

After a period of three years (after the collapse of the Soviet Union), the family moved back to their native country and settled in the city of Chernihiv.

His mother recollected that Andriy began to play with the ball from the age of 4–5 years.

"In the beginning he did not even have a proper ball, so had to play with a self-made one. We were poor and real football was a luxury in those times".

Yarmolenko was noticed by Mykola Lypoviy who invited him to football school (Youth Sports School "Yunist" in Chernihiv) and became his first coach.

Yarmolenko is a graduate of the Chernihiv Youth Sports School "Yunist".

He joined the Dynamo Kyiv Youth Academy aged 13.

However, he returned to Chernihiv after a year being unable to meet physical requirements in training.

In the summer 2006, from Yunist Chernihiv, he joined to Desna Chernihiv, the main club in Chernihiv, under the coach Oleksandr Tomakh.

Here he played in the season 2006–07 in Ukrainian First League, where he made nine appearances and scored four goals.

Before his move to FC Dynamo Kyiv in 2007, he played for Yunist Chernihiv, Desna Chernihiv, Lokomotyv Kyiv, Vidradnyi Kyiv and again Yunist Chernihiv

In 2007, Yarmolenko signed a five-year contract with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv, where he joined its second team, Dynamo-2, which plays in lower leagues, for a couple of seasons.

The talented youngster was praised as the "new Andriy Shevchenko" by journalists, who noted his qualities of good physique, shot and especially his speed.

The then vice-president of Dynamo, Yozhef Sabo, also praised the youngster, saying, "Yarmolenko has all the makings to become a top-level player."

On 11 May 2008, Yarmolenko debuted for Dynamo's first team in an away match against Vorskla Poltava and scored the winning goal in Kyiv's 1–2 victory.

He scored 7 goals in 21 games in his first season and 11 in 19 in his second.

He is now regularly used as a left or centre forward.

Yarmolenko has been a full international for Ukraine since 2009, scoring 46 goals in 116 matches and playing at UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2016, and Euro 2020.

Yarmolenko's parents, native Ukrainians, were originally from Smolianka village, Kulykivka Raion, Chernihiv Oblast.

In a match in October 2015, Yarmolenko committed a dangerous challenge which almost broke Shakhtar Donetsk player Taras Stepanenko's leg.

The two reconciled after the game and exchanged jerseys, but afterwards Yarmolenko threw Stepanenko's shirt on the ground while he thanked the Dynamo fans.

In the

Shakhtar–Dynamo derby in April 2016, after the former won 3–0, Stepanenko stepped in front of the Dynamo fans kissing his Shakhtar badge.

In a brawl that escalated, Yarmolenko kicked Stepanenko to the ground.

On 28 August 2017, Yarmolenko signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund.

On 10 September 2017, Yarmolenko made his debut for Dortmund as a substitute in the 79-minute against Freiburg.

He then got his first start for Dortmund against Tottenham Hotspur in a Champions League fixture, where he scored Dortmund's only goal in the 3–1 defeat.

On 11 July 2018, Yarmolenko signed for Premier League club West Ham United on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

He made his debut on 12 August in a 4–0 defeat by Liverpool.

Making his first start for West Ham on 16 September, he scored his first two goals for the club in a 3–1 away win against Everton, the club's first Premier League win of the 2018–19 season.

Yarmolenko suffered an Achilles tear on 20 October 2018 in a 1–0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

Yarmolenko returned to the first team squad for the start of the 2019–20 season.

On 31 August 2019, he scored his first goal since his return from injury, doubling West Ham's lead with a left-footed volley in a 2–0 win over Norwich City.

He scored again in West Ham's next home match in the Premier League, opening the scoring in their 2–0 defeat of Manchester United.

In December 2019 he tore his adductor muscle and had still not returned to playing when football was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

He returned to training in May 2020 and on 1 July 2020, in his second appearance since 2019, he scored the winning goal against Chelsea in a 3–2 win.

On 25 November 2021, Yarmolenko scored against Rapid Wien at the Allianz Stadion and provided the penalty for the 2–0 away win for West Ham in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Yarmolenko was given time off by manager David Moyes.