Dmitri Sychev

Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev (Дми́трий Евге́ньевич Сычёв; born 26 October 1983) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a forward or as a midfielder.

He was hailed by the international press as "The Russian Michael Owen", because of his pace, and was dubbed "the most sensational young Russian forward since Vladimir Beschastnykh".

He was well known for his blinding pace and agility.

Sychev was born in Omsk, a city in south-central Russia.

He spent his formative years at St. Petersburg's famous Smena football academy before joining FC Spartak Tambov, a second division club.

At that time he played as a midfielder.

After having trials at clubs in FC Nantes and FC Metz, Sychev was picked up by Spartak Moscow in January 2002, where he scored eight goals in his first 12 matches, and it was during that time when he was transformed into a striker.

With Spartak he reached the final of the 2002 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup.

He scored 6 goals and finished second on the top scorer list, after coming in as a substitute in every match he played.

He entered the symbolic top players list of the tournament.

In August 2002, Sychev announced he was quitting Spartak, by giving his employers three months' notice.

Having already signed a five-year contract with the Russian club he was banned from football for four months by the Russian Professional Football League (RPFL).

After finishing this suspension, Sychev signed a five-year contract with Olympique de Marseille, rejecting an offer from Dynamo Kyiv.

He was used as a midfielder, both left and right, but was usually a substitute during his time in France.

Sychev was selected to play for the Russian national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he became the youngest player to appear for the Soviet Union or Russia at 18 years and 222 days.

In the event, he scored a goal and set up other three in an otherwise disappointing Russian campaign.

This goal made him the fourth youngest goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup.

In late January 2004, Sychev returned to Russia to join Lokomotiv Moscow on a four-year contract.

His transfer played a role in manager Yuri Syomin's decision to change the starting formation from 5–3–2 to 4–2–3–1 or 4–4–1–1, which would help Sychev form a strong attacking partnership with team's primary playmaker and captain Dmitri Loskov.

He went on to claim the 2004 Russian Premier League title and the Russian Footballer of the Year award in his first season back in Russia, courtesy of his 15 goals and 4 assists in 27 league games.

The following year, he continued his victorious streak with the club by winning the 2005 Russian Super Cup.

However, in August 2005, he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced to miss the rest of the year, which saw Lokomotiv dropping points in the closing stages of the league and eventually losing the title to CSKA Moscow.

In May 2007, Sychev also won the 2006–07 Russian Cup.

Sychev played mostly as a striker, except the period when Lokomotiv was coached by Anatoliy Byshovets and Rashid Rakhimov respectively.

During those times, he was mainly employed as a midfielder.

Sychev started playing again in his natural position with the appointment of Yury Syomin.

Sychev was called up to Russia's squad for UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

Despite playing as a striker at Lokomotiv Moscow, during Guus Hiddink's stint with the Russian national team, he was used as a midfielder.

In 2009, he was voted by Lokomotiv fans as the player of the season.

He won his last cap in 2010.

He appeared in the seventh season of ice show contest Ice Age.

Besides football, Sychev is a fan of ice hockey and his hometown team Avangard Omsk.

In the 2012–13 season, under manager Slaven Bilić, Sychev lost his place in the line-up (only four games in the first half of season, including the national cup).

In March 2013, Sychev moved to Dinamo Minsk on loan until July of the same year.

In July 2013, after returning from Dinamo Minsk, Sychev moved to fellow Russian Premier League side Volga Nizhny Novgorod on a year-long loan deal.

Sychev featured in 16 league games for Volga, failing to score in any of them, and returned to Lokomotiv Moscow at the end of the season following Volga's relegation to the Russian National Football League.

On 16 March 2015, Sychev moved to FC Okzhetpes on a season-long loan deal.

After over a year away from football, Sychev signed for FC Pyunik on 31 August 2019.

On 6 December 2019, he left Pyunik by mutual consent having failed to make a first team appearance for the club.

On 10 December 2019, he announced his retirement from playing.