Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev ( rus, Дми́трий Евге́ньевич Сычёв, Dmitriy Yevgen’yevich Sychyov, ˈdmʲitrʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ sɨˈtɕɵf, Ru-Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev.ogg; born 26 October 1983) is a Russian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

official and a former player who played as a forward or as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is the president of Irtysh Omsk. He was hailed by the international press as "The Russian

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Newcastle United ...

", because of his pace, and was dubbed "the most sensational young Russian forward since

Vladimir Beschastnykh Vladimir Yevgenyevich Beschastnykh ( rus, Влади́мир Евге́ньевич Бесча́стных, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈɕːasnɨx; born 1 April 1974) is a Russian football manager and a former player who ...

". He was well known for his blinding pace and agility.

Early life

Sychev was born in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

, a city in south-central Russia. He spent his formative years at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

's famous Smena football academy before joining FC Spartak Tambov, a second division club. At that time he played as a

Club career

Spartak Moscow and Marseille

After having trials at clubs in

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...

and

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

, 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 The Commonwealth of Independent States Cup () is a defunct annual regional association football tournament, recognized by FIFA. The tournament was initially established for football clubs of the former Soviet Union republics in 1993 (a year late ...

. 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 The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the Professional Football Lea ...

(RPFL). After finishing this suspension, Sychev signed a five-year contract with

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

, rejecting an offer from

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

. He was used as a

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

Lokomotiv Moscow

In late January 2004, Sychev returned to Russia to join

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

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 An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

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 CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. 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

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

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he was voted by Lokomotiv fans as the player of the season. In the 2012–13 season, under manager

Slaven Bilić Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...

, Sychev lost his place in the line-up (only four games in the first half of season, including the national cup).

Loan spells

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 The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

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 The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Russian football league system. The Russian Professional Football League (PFL) used t ...

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

Pyunik

After over a year away from football, Sychev signed for

FC Pyunik Football Club Pyunik (), commonly known as Pyunik (), is an Armenian professional sports club based in the Kentron neighbourhood of Yerevan. Pyunik is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its creation in 1992, has always ...

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.

International career

Sychev was selected to play for the Russian national team at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, where he became the youngest player to appear for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. Sychev was called up to Russia's squad for

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

in Austria and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Despite playing as a striker at

, during

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

's stint with the Russian national team, he was used as a midfielder. He won his last cap in 2010.

Post-playing career

On 30 January 2024, Sychev was appointed president of his hometown club Irtysh Omsk in the third-tier

Russian Second League The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional Association football, football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the :ru: ...

Television

He appeared in the seventh season of ice show contest ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

''.

Personal life

Besides football, Sychev is a fan of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

and his hometown team

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a professional ice hockey club based in Omsk, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Franchise history Early years of Omsk hock ...

. He also likes tennis and

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

. Outside of sports, he plays the guitar and was seen rapping at the MTV Russia Music Awards ceremony in Moscow with national teammate

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov Diniyar Rinatovich Bilyaletdinov (, ; born 27 February 1985) is a Russian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at FC Lokomotiv Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, where he made 185 appearan ...

. Aside from his native Russian, Sychev also speaks English, French, and plans to learn more. In 2007, Sychev received a degree from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism. Sychev was in Danila Kozlovsky's directorial debut '' Coach'' which was released in 2018. Sychev portrayed Dodin, the player who scored the winning goal for his team.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sychev goal.''

Honours

Lokomotiv Moscow *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* Russian Cup: 2006–07 * Russian Super Cup:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Russia * UEFA European Football Championship Bronze medal:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Individual * Footballer of the Year in Russia (Sport-Express): 2004 * Footballer of the Year in Russia (Futbol): 2004

Notes

References

External links

* * * * *
Player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sychev, Dmitri 1983 births Living people Footballers from Omsk Russian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Russia men's youth international footballers Russia men's under-21 international footballers Russia men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players Russian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Belarus Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Russian Premier League players Ligue 1 players FC Spartak Tambov players FC Spartak Moscow players Olympique de Marseille players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players FC Dinamo Minsk players FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod players FC Okzhetpes players Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism alumni Russian podcasters Russian expatriate sportspeople in France Russian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Russian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan 21st-century Russian sportsmen