Andrei Kanchelskis was born in Kirovograd, Ukraine on January 23, 1969. He is probably the best known Ukrainian footballer to ever play in England.
Kanchelskis started his career with Ukrainian teams Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk before being bought by Manchester United for £650000. Along with the rest of the club, Kanchelskis went on to win medals in the 1992 League Cup, Premier League titles in 1992/93 and 1993/94, and the FA Cup in 1994.
After falling out of favor with Manchester United's manager, Alex Ferguson, Kanchelskis was transferred to English Premier League rival Everton for £5 million in 1995. He performed very well under manager Joe Royle, but never quite felt comfortable playing at Everton.
After good play on the Russian squad during the 1996 European Cup, the Italian club Fiorentina signed him away from Everton for £8 million. Unfortunately, not even Kanchelskis could save Firoentina from financial instability and relegation that season, and he was later transferred to Glasgow Rangers for a loss at £5.5 million. He did very well at Rangers, but found himself being slowly eliminated from the starting lineup. He was loaned to the Manchester City club, now headed by his former manager Joe Royle, for the remainder of the 2001 season. The loan was made with an option for a permanent transfer, but lack of finances and a very mediocre performance sent him back to Rangers at the end of the season.
Soon it became clear that Kanchelskis was not a part of the long term plans for Rangers, and he was put up for free transfer at the end of the season, and ended up at Southampton for the beginning of the 2002/03 season. He only made two appearance on the pitch during the season, both times as a substitute, and both times to the delight of cheering fans.
Southampton loaned Kanchelskis to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal in February of 2003.
Games Goals
Southampton 2 0
Manchester City 11 1
Glasgow Rangers 113 19
Fiorentina 26 2
Everton 60 22
Manchester United 162 36
Shakhtar Donetsk 21 3
Dynamo Kiev 22 1
Resources:
http://www.soccernet.com
http://www.4thegame.com
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