Serhiy Atelkin

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Serhiy Atelkin

Personal information
Full name	Serhiy Valeriyovych Atelkin
Date of birth	(1972-01-08)8 January 1972
Place of birth	Kirovske, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
Date of death	1 October 2020(2020-10-01) (aged 48)
Place of death	Lviv, Ukraine
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Shakhtar Donetsk
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1997	Shakhtar Donetsk	158	(47)
1996	→ Kremin Kremenchuk (loan)	14	(5)
1997–1999	Lecce	16	(3)
1998–1999	→ Boavista (loan)	10	(3)
2000–2002	Shakhtar Donetsk	45	(14)
2002–2003	Metalurh Donetsk	12	(1)
Total		255	(73)
National team
1997	Ukraine	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Serhiy Atelkin (Ukrainian: Сергій Ателькін, 8 January 1972 – 1 October 2020) was a Ukrainian footballer. Atelkin became the first player from the independent Ukraine to play in the Italian Serie A.^[1]

Playing career[]

Atelkin made his name playing as a striker for the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk (1990–1997, 2000–2002), U.S. Lecce (Italy 1997–1998) and Boavista FC (Portugal 1998–1999). Despite success in domestic competitions, Atelkin only played for the Ukrainian national football team twice. In 1996 Atelkin spent a short stint in Kremenchuk for FC Kremin Kremenchuk. During the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Atelkin was noticed by the Lecce's scouts during the second round match between Shakhtar and Vicenza. After that he signed a three-year contract with the Italian club that just got promotion to the Serie A. In 1998 Atelkin got injured and lost his sports form, while U.S. Lecce got relegated. Due to more strict limitations on foreign players Atelkin lost his place on the team, but was loaned out to play in Portugal. However he never fully regained his former form and was not able to make a team. At the end of the 1999 season he returned to Lecce to find out that he was not needed. Atelkin, through legal proceedings, broke his three-year contract to become a free agent.

Next year, Atelkin was able to sign a new contract with his former club Shakhtar Donetsk, for which he only played 14 games in two seasons. In 2002 Atelkin signed with Metalurh Donetsk, but only played one game. He returned to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2003.

Achievements[]

He was also notable for joining Oleh Matveyev as one of the better forward partnership in the 1990s in the Ukrainian Premier League. Together with Andriy Shevchenko he holds a record for the most goals scored (4) in the finals of the Ukrainian Cup. He also had three seasons of scoring over 10 goals (1993, 1997, 2001). In 2002, he finally became the champion of Ukraine with FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Atelkin was also a four-time holder of the Ukrainian Cup.

Personal life and death[]

According to official web-site of Shakhtar, Serhiy Atelkin suffered from a heart attack in the beginning of December 2008.^[2]

Atelkin died of a second heart attack on 1 October 2020, at the age of 48.^[3]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

International games[]

Serhiy Atelkin: International Games

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Minutes	Result	Competition
1.	1997-10-11	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	10	Won	WC 1998 Qual
2.	1997-10-29	Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	54	Lost	WC 1998 Qual (play-off)

References[]

External links[]

• Atelkin in Serie A und in Portugal
• Serhiy Atelkin at ua-football.com