Yaroslav Rakitskyi

Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Rakitskyi (Ukrainian: Ярослав Володимирович Ракіцький, pronounced [jɐroˈslɑu̯ woloˈdɪmɪrowɪtʃ rɐˈkɪtsʲkɪj]; born 3 August 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. He is best known for his passing ability and free-kicks.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Volodymyrovych and the family name is Rakitskyi.
Yaroslav Rakitskyi
Ярослав Ракіцький
Rakitskyi with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2016
Personal information
Full name Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Rakitskyi
Date of birth (1989-08-03) 3 August 1989
Place of birth Pershotravensk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Shakhtar Donetsk
Number 44
Youth career
2002 Pavlohrad
2003–2004 Shakhtar Donetsk
2005 UOR Donetsk
2006–2009 Shakhtar Donetsk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Shakhtar-3 Donetsk 31 (4)
2009–2018 Shakhtar Donetsk 210 (9)
2019–2022 Zenit Saint Petersburg 78 (5)
2022–2023 Adana Demirspor 8 (0)
2023– Shakhtar Donetsk 15 (1)
International career
2009 Ukraine U20 1 (0)
2008–2011 Ukraine U21 17 (3)
2009–2019 Ukraine 54 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 September 2023

He was also a member of the Ukraine national team, making his international debut on 10 October 2009 and scoring his first goal on 14 October of the same year. Rakitskyi has amassed over 50 caps for Ukraine and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

2009–10 season

He moved up to the first team during the 2009–10 season, making his debut, at the age of 20, in a 6–1 Ukrainian Cup win against Dnister Ovidiopol (now called FC Odesa). He made his league debut for the club 16 days later, coming as a substitute on 31 August in a 3–1 victory over Zorya Luhansk. His first goal for Shakhtar came in the following round of the Ukrainian Cup in a 3–1 victory over Yednist' Plysky. He also set up the third goal of the match for Oleksandr Gladkiy. Rakytskiy scored his second goal of the season in a 4–1 group stage win over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League. He ended his first season in the Shakhtar first team with 37 appearances, of which 24 came in the league, and 2 goals. He picked his first trophy at Shakhtar, with the team winning the league.[2]

2010–11 season

Rakytskiy started the 2010–11 with success in the Super Cup as Shakhtar comprehensively defeated Tavriya 7–1.[3] His first league goal came in a 3–1 victory over Kryvbas on 10 July 2010.[4] He also scored Shakhtar's only goal in a 6–1 aggregate lose to Barcelona in the Champions League quarter final, scoring in the 5–1 first leg defeat at Camp Nou.[5] He played in Shakhtar's 2–0 Ukrainian Cup win over Dynamo Kyiv.[6] He made a total of 34 appearances in the 2010–11 season, scoring twice as Shakhtar retained the Premier League title.[7]

2011–12 season

Shakhtar won the Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup in the 2011–12 season.[8] On 29 October Yaroslav picked up a red card in a 3–2 victory over Oleksandria, after receiving two yellow cards.[9] His first goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv at the Donbass Arena on 7 April.[10] He scored another goal a few weeks later in a 3–1 victory over Tavriya.[11] He finished the season with 2 goals in 37 appearances, 27 of which were in the league. Shakhtar won the Premier League title for the third year in a row [12] and also retained the Ukrainian Cup in a 2–1 extra time victory over Metalurh Donetsk. Oleksandr Kucher scored the winning goal, after a rebound from Rakytskiy's shot.[13]

2012–13 season

He played in Shakhtar's 2–0 Super Cup victory over Metalurh Donetsk on 10 July, keeping a clean sheet.[14] He managed clean sheets in a 6–0 win against Arsenal Kyiv on 15 July,[15] a 1–0 victory over Kryvbas on 29 July[16] and a 4–0 win over Volyn Lutsk on 6 September.[17] On 26 August he assisted Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the third goal in a 3–0 victory over Karpaty Lviv and kept a clean sheet.[18] and was named Man of the Match.[19] On 15 September he kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory against Zorya Luhansk.[20]

2017–18 season

He scored in the final as Shakhtar beat rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the 2017–18 Ukrainian Cup final.[21]

Zenit Saint Petersburg

On 28 January 2019, he signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.[22] Some Ukrainians have derided Rakitskyi as a "traitor" for moving to the Russian league, as Zenit are based in Russia and the war in Donbas was ongoing,[23] despite the fact that Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, another famous Ukrainian footballer, is also working as assistant manager for Zenit.[24]

His move to Russia during the war led to him being stopped from being called up to the national team, which led to his official retirement from international football.[25]

He became a starting player for Zenit, and a favourite of the fans, who made positive songs about him.[26] He also became one of the leaders of the Russian league in accuracy of passes.[27]

At the end of the 2019–20 season, he was voted by the league players as the 8th best player in the league,[28] and number one in his position.[29]

For his time in Zenit, Rakitskyi was praised for his versatility in the defence and for his help to the attack.[30][31]

On 24 February 2022, Rakitskyi was dropped from Zenit's line-up to play Real Betis in the Europa League knockout round play-offs following a social media post that spoke out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started that very day.[32]

On 2 March 2022, Rakitskyi left Zenit by mutual consent.[33][34]

Adana Demirspor

On 23 July 2022, Rakitskyi joined Adana Demirspor on a one-year deal, plus an optional year.[35][36]

Return to Shakhtar Donetsk

On 16 January 2023 Rakitskyi rejoined Shakhtar Donetsk on a deal that lasted to the end of the season.[33] He joined the club as a free agent.[33] In the spring of 2022 Rakitskyi had already played in Shakhtar Donetsk charity matches during Shakhtar's "Global Tour for Peace".[33]

International career

Rakitskyi made his debut for the national team on 10 October 2009, at the age of 20, in a 1–0 victory over England in a World Cup qualifier. His first goal for Ukraine came just four days later and a 6–0 win against Andorra. He scored his second goal in a 2–1 friendly win over Chile on 7 September 2010 [37] and scored his third goal in another friendly match, a 2–2 draw with Romania which saw Ukraine take victory 4–2 in a penalty shootout and the finals of this tournament came out (Cyprus International Football Tournaments 2011 [38]

Since the start of the war in Donbas, Rakitskyi faced repeated questioning in the press about his refusal to sing the Ukrainian national anthem when he played for Ukraine. He has not been called up to the national team since his transfer to Zenit Saint Petersburg.[23]

The popular opinion was that he stopped being called up to the national team due to political reasons,[39][40] when some commented how not calling him up was unprofessional,[41] while others accused Rakitskyi of "putting himself before the interests of the national team" by moving to Russia.[42][43]

Rakitskyi subsequently retired from the national team in 2019.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 17 February 2022[44][45][46]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shakhtar Donetsk 2009–10 Ukrainian Premier League 240419[lower-alpha 1]100372
2010–11 2112010[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 3]0342
2011–12 272504[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0372
2012–13 241208[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0351
2013–14 230107[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 3]0320
2014–15 182508[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]022
2015–16 1822017[lower-alpha 5]11[lower-alpha 3]0383
2016–17 210208[lower-alpha 6]000310
2017–18 230317[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0341
2018–19 111004[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0161
Total 21092628238032614
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2018–19 Russian Premier League 123004[lower-alpha 1]000163
2019–20 270405[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 7]0371
2020–21 241106[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 7]0321
2021–22 151007[lower-alpha 8]11[lower-alpha 7]0232
Total 78550222301087
Career total 28814312104511043421
  1. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearance in the Ukrainian Super Cup
  4. Six appearances in the UEFA Champions League, one appearance in the UEFA Europa League
  5. Ten appearances in the UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and one goal in the UEFA Europa League
  6. One appearance in the UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  7. Appearance in the Russian Super Cup
  8. Six appearances in the UEFA Champions League, one appearance in the UEFA Europa League

International
As of 20 December 2018[47]
Ukraine
Year Apps Goals
2009 41
2010 41
2011 51
2012 70
2013 61
2014 30
2015 90
2016 60
2017 40
2018 61
Total 545
Scores and results list Ukraine's goal tally first.
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 October 2009Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra Andorra4–06–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.7 September 2010Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine Chile2–02–1Friendly
3.8 February 2011Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus Romania1–02–2Cytavision Cyprus Tournament 2011
4.6 September 2013Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine San Marino9–09–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.27 March 2018Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium Japan1–02–1Kirin Challenge Cup

Honours

Shakhtar Donetsk[44]

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Individual awards

  • List of 33 Best Football Players of the Year: No. 1 - 2019/20,[55] 2020/21;[56] No. 2 - 2018/19.[57]

References
  1. Yaroslav Rakitskyi at Russian Premier League
  2. "Ukraine 2009/10". Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. "Shakhtar age their rage in Super Cup rout". 5 July 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  4. "Shakhtar Donetsk vs Kryvbas 2-0". Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. "Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1". Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  6. "Shakhtar sign off with Ukrainian Cup success". 25 May 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. "Ukraine 2010/11". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  8. "Ukraine 2011/12". Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  9. "Oleksandria vs Shakhtar 2-3". Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  10. "Shakhtar vs Dynamo Kyiv 2-0". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  11. "Shakhtar vs Tavriya 3-1". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  12. "Ukraine 2011/12". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  13. "Shakhtar keep hold of Ukrainian Cup". 6 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  14. "Metalurh Donetsk vs Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  15. "Shakhtar Donetsk 6–0 Arsenal Kyiv". Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  16. "Shakhtar vs Krvbas 1-0". Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  17. "Volyn vs Shakhtar 0-4". Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  18. "Shakhtar Donetsk vs Karpaty 3-0". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  19. "Rakitskiy named as Man of the Match". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  20. "Zorya vs Shakhtar 0-3". Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  21. "Dinamo Kiev vs. Shakhtar Donetsk - 9 May 2018 - Soccerway".
  22. "Yaroslav Rakitskyi joins Zenit". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 28 January 2019.
  23. Robert O'Connor (6 September 2019), Shakhtar Donetsk: The Ukrainian serial winners forced to flee from war, BBC Sport, retrieved 6 September 2019
  24. "Kick in the Grass: Fans Jeer Ukrainian Soccer Player's Transfer to Russia".
  25. "Ракицкий завершил карьеру в сборной Украины".
  26. "Ракицкий о персональной кричалке фанатов "Зенита": "Приятно настолько, что перевозбуждаюсь. Но меня это смущает и сбивает"".
  27. "3 игрока "Зенита" – в топ-5 РПЛ по точности пасов. Иванович – первый с 91%".
  28. "Дзюба – лучший игрок сезона РПЛ по версии футболистов второй год подряд. Миранчук и Луценко – в топ-3".
  29. @rfsruofficial (30 September 2020). "⚡️ Исполком РФС утвердил 33 лучших футболиста сезона-2019/20" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. "Ракицкий – десятка на позиции центрального защитника. Он делает атаки "Зенита" умнее и вариативнее".
  31. "Сборная первой части РПЛ: бразильцы "Зенита", Акинфеев и катастрофа с правым защитником".
  32. "Zenit drop Ukrainian defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy for speaking out against Russian invasion". JOE. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  33. Valentina Romanenko (16 January 2023). "Rakitskyi returned to Shakhtar". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  34. "Ярослав Ракицкий покидает Зенит". fc-zenit.ru/ (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  35. "Adana Demirspor Yaroslav Rakitskiy transferini açıkladı! Sözleşme detayı..." www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  36. "Welcome Rakitskyi!". Twitter. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  37. "Ukraine vs Chile 2-1". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  38. "Romania vs Ukraine 2-2". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  39. "Бахарев — о Ракицком в "Зените": "На Украине все стали патриотами, на Россию реагируют нервно"".
  40. "Евгений Левченко: "В сборной Украины нет места Ракицкому. И да, футбол – это политика"".
  41. "Украинский журналист Франков о Ракицком: "Игрок ведущей команды России всегда достоин попадания в сборную Украины"".
  42. "Калиниченко о Ракицком: "Он поставил себя выше интересов сборной Украины в сложный период"".
  43. "Федецкий о трансфере Ракицкого: "Недопустимо переходить в чемпионат России. Надо уважать свой народ, землю и край"".
  44. "Спасибо, Ярослав!".
  45. "Ярослав Ракицкий защитник ФК Зенит, биография, фото, видео, голы, интервью".
  46. Yaroslav Rakitskyi at Soccerway
  47. "Rakytskiy, Yaroslav". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  48. "20 игроков "Зенита" впервые стали чемпионами России - новости на официальном сайте ФК Зенит".
  49. "Zenit crowned 2019/20 RPL champions". Russian Premier League. 5 July 2020.
  50. "Sensational Zenit storm to the title with utterly dominant thrashing". Russian Premier League. 2 May 2021.
  51. ""Зенит" – восьмикратный чемпион Тинькофф РПЛ!" [Zenit is the eight-times winner of Tinkoff RPL] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 30 April 2022.
  52. "Late Dzyuba penalty seals Russian Cup for Zenit". Russian Premier League. 25 July 2020.
  53. ""Зенит" обыграл "Локомотив" и стал пятикратным победителем Олимп-Суперкубка России" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 7 August 2020.
  54. "Zenit canter to second consecutive Super Cup win over error-strewn Lokomotiv". Russian Premier League. 17 July 2021.
  55. "Названы 33 лучших футболиста РПЛ сезона-2019/2020".
  56. "РФС объявил список 33 лучших футболистов России по итогам сезона-2020/21". 15 July 2021.
  57. "Футбол. РФС назвал имена 33 лучших футболистов сезона-2018/19". 26 June 2019.
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