Maksym Kalynychenko

Early years

Kalynychenko's father was a goalkeeper for an amateur side in Kharkiv, and the young Kalynychenko often acted as striker for his father to practise saves. He was enrolled in the Kharkiv Sportinternat, a sports boarding school where despite his smaller frame, tutors noted his tactical ability. The young Kalynychenko, like most of his family and friends, was a supporter of Dynamo Kyiv but was told jokingly that he played in the style of Dynamo's Soviet era rival 'Spartak Moscow'.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

At the age of 17 Kalynychenko was talent-spotted by Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk coach Vyacheslav Hroznyi. Kalynychenko progressed to the first team within a year, and also made appearances for the Ukraine national under-21 football team. However, disputes with Dnipro management led to the dismissal of Hroznyi and several team members, including Kalynychenko. Following this Hroznyi and Kalynychenko migrated to Spartak Moscow.

Spartak Moscow

With Spartak Moscow, Kalynychenko has helped his team win the Russian Premier League Championship title in 2000 and 2001. His team was also runners-up for the Russian Premier League in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and got third place in the Russian league in 2002. Kalynychenko also won the Russian Cup in 2003, and was a runner-up in 2006. Kalynychenko has overcome two injuries which have commonly signalled the end of footballers' careers: a torn cruciate ligament in his elbow, and a severed achilles tendon. These…

Kalynychenko is married to Tetyana and they have one daughter, Oleksandra.