Erik Sergiyovych Sviatchenko (; born 4 October 1991) is a Danish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

Club career

FC Midtjylland

Sviatchenko joined the

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

academy in 2006 at the age of 14. Prior to that he had played for clubs around his hometown of Viborg:

Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening (), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional association football, football club based in the Central Denmark Region, Central Jutland city of Viborg, Denmark, Viborg. They compete in the Danish ...

, Houlkær IF, Søndermarken IK, and FK Viborg. In 2009, he was named the Midtjylland Academy Player of the Year. On 8 May 2009 Sviatchenko made his first team and

Superliga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

debut, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win over

AC Horsens Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...

. That was his only first team appearance during the 2008–09 season. He scored his first goal for Midtjylland on 14 April 2010 to give FCM a 1–0 win against AGF. He finished the 2009–10 campaign with 5 appearances and 1 goal for the first team. The 2010–11 season saw Sviatchenko establish himself as a first team regular. He appeared in 13 of FCM's first 22 Superliga matches plus 2

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

matches. However, on 3 April 2011, Sviatchenko tore the

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

in his right knee after colliding with teammate Rilwan Hassan during training. The injury ended his season and kept him out for 11 months. FCM would finish the season 4th in the Superliga. On 4 March 2012 Sviatchenko made his return from injury, getting the start and playing 90 minutes in a 2–1 loss to

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish language, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping stre ...

. The following week he scored in a 4–1 win over Horsens. Sviatchenko ended the 2011–12 season by playing every minute of the final 15 games of the season, helping Midtjylland to a 3rd-place finish. On 23 August 2012 he made his debut in a continental competition, losing 3–0 to Swiss side

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

qualifier. Midtjylland and Sviatchenko would win the 2nd leg 2–0 but be eliminated 3–2 on aggregate. On 20 May 2013 Sviatchenko scored in the 90th minute to give FCM a 3–2 win against AGF. He ended the season with 28 appearances and scored 2 goals in the Superliga as FCM finished 6th table, plus 2 appearances each in the Cup and Europa League. Prior to the 2013–14 season he was made vice-captain. On 2 March 2014 Sviatchenko scored the opening goal in a 5–1 win over

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. During the match he sprained his ankle. He was able to finish the game but underwent ankle surgery a month later and missed the rest of the season. Sviatchenko ended the season with 17 appearances and 3 goals in the league. At the time of his injury Midtjylland were top of the table with a 5-point gap, but with Sviatchenko out injured they finished 3rd, 7 points behind champions

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

. After missing the first 3 weeks of the 2014–15 season due to his ankle, Svaitchenko made his season debut on 10 August 2014, coming on as a late sub in 3–1 win over

Sønderjyske Fodbold SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team ( SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team ( ...

. He played in 6 games before a thigh injury forced him to miss the rest of 2014. He returned on 23 February 2015, scoring a goal in a 3–0 win over

Odense Boldklub Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...

in the first match of 2015. Sviatchenko finished the season with 19 appearances and 1 goal in league play, helping Midtjylland finish top of the table and win their first Superliga title in club history. On 4 August 2015 Sviatchenko scored his first career goal in a continental competition to give Midtjylland a 1–0 win at

APOEL APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

in a Champions League qualifier. However FCM lost 2–1 at home and were eliminated on away goals. In the Europa League playoffs, Sviatchenko helped Midtjylland beat

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

2–1 on aggregate to reach the Europa League group stage for the first time in club history. He played every minute of the group stage to help FCM finish 2nd and advance to the Round of 32. Sviatchenko wore the captain's armband regularly during the season due to captain

Kristian Bach Bak Kristian Bach Bak (né Bak Nielsen; born 20 October 1982) is a Danish former professional footballer. Bak usually played centre-back, but he has a past as a striker. He has played one game for the Danish under-21 national team. Club career Mi ...

being injured for most of the season. He made 13 appearances and scored 2 goals in the Superliga prior to being sold.

Celtic

On 17 January 2016, Sviatchenko signed with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the transfer fee worth a reported £1.5 million. He made his Celtic debut on 31 January in a 3–1 loss to Ross County in the League Cup semifinals, coming off the bench after 13 minutes following a red card to

Efe Ambrose Efe Eric Ambrose (born 18 October 1988) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Workington. Ambrose has previously played for Kaduna United, Bayelsa United, Israeli club Ashdod, Scottish clubs Celtic, Hibernia ...

. Sviatchenko picked up his first goal for the Hoops on 17 April, scoring in a 2–2 draw with

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

rivals

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,penalties. He appeared in 14 Premiership games to help Celtic win their 5th straight league title. During the 2016–17 season, Sviatchenko made 28 appearances and scored a goal in league play to help the Hoops win their 6th straight Premiership title. He also made 3 appearances in the Cup and 3 in the League Cup as Celtic won both to complete the domestic treble and finish the season unbeaten domestically. On 2 August 2017 Sviatchenko damaged his knee ligaments in 1–0 win versus Rosenborg in a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

qualifier against Rosenborg, which prevented him from playing for three months. He returned to training in November and made the bench a couple of times, but did not make another appearance for Celtic.

Return to FC Midtjylland

On 16 January 2018, Sviatchenko returned to

on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season. He made his first appearance in 7 months on 9 February, playing 90 minutes in a 2–0 win over

. Sviatchenko scored 1 goal and played in 16 of the 17 possible league games during the loan, helping Midtjylland win their 2nd

title in club history. That loan move was made permanent on 27 May 2018 for a fee of £1m and Sviatchenko agreeing to a four-year contract. During the 2018–19 season Sviatchenko made 27 appearances and scored 1 goal in league play as FCM were unable to defend their title, finishing 2nd in the table, 11 points behind

. In the cup, Sviatchenko made 4 appearances and scored once to help Midtjylland win their first

title in club history. Sviatchenko became club captain during the 2019–20 season, with the previous captain

Jakob Poulsen Jakob Bendix Uhd Poulsen (born 7 July 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and current head coach of Danish Superliga club AGF. Poulsen started his senior career with Esbjerg fB, before moving to Dutch sid ...

departing the club. On 18 August 2019, Sviatchenko scored in the 90th minute to rescue a draw with

Hobro IK Hobro Idræts Klub (), commonly referred to as Hobro IK or HIK, is a professional football club based in Hobro, Denmark. The club currently competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system, and plays its h ...

. He finished the season with 6 goals and 32 appearances, anchoring a defense that allowed a league best 29 goals all season to lead Midtjylland to a Superliga title. Following the season he was named Superliga Player of the Year. On 12 June, Sviatchenko agreed to a contract extension until June 2024. During the 2020–21 season, Midtjylland reached the Champions League group stage for the first time in club history, with Sviatchenko appearing in 5 of the 6 group games as FCM finished bottom of the group. On 24 October he scored in the 90+4th minute to give Midtjylland a 3–2 win over Brøndby. Sviatchenko ended the Superliga season with 28 appearances and 3 goals, helping FCM have the fewest goals allowed for the second straight year. They were unable to repeat as champions though, finishing 1 point behind Brøndby. He made 25 appearances and scored 4 goals in the Superliga during the 2021–22 season as FCM finished second, 3 points behind champions Copenhagen. Sviatchenko helped Midtjylland win their second ever Danish Cup, making 4 appearances and scoring 1 goal during the tournament. Sviatchenko made 26 appearances and scored 3 goals across all competitions in the 2022–23 season prior to being sold. His 325 total games for Midtjylland are the second most in club history.

Houston Dynamo

On 24 March 2023 Sviatchenko was sold to American

side

, signing a two-year contract with a club option for 2025. The official transfer fee was undisclosed, but was reportedly just over 10 million

Danish krone The krone (; plural: ''kroner''; sign: kr.; code: DKK) is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes ...

/1.48 million

U.S. dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

International career

Due to his dual citizenship, Sviatchenko was eligible to play for

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, but agreed to a call-up for the Danish national team in March 2015. He made his international debut on 25 March 2015 at

NRGi Arena Ceres Arena (formerly NRGi Arena) is an indoor arena mainly used for handball matches and public events in Aarhus, Denmark. The arena was opened in 2001 and has a capacity of 5,001 spectators (4,394 seats). It is part of the Aarhus Sports Park, ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, starting against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in a 3–2 friendly win, in central defence alongside

Simon Kjær Simon Thorup Kjær (; born 26 March 1989) is a Danish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Kjær was named 2007 Danish Football Player of the Year#Young Players of the Year, Danish under-19 talent o ...

. He scored his first international goal on 11 October 2015 in a 2–1 friendly loss to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Personal life

Erik Sviatchenko was born in

Viborg, Denmark Viborg () is a city in central Jutland, Denmark, the capital of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the Courts of Denmark, High Court for the Jutland peninsula. Viborg Municipality ...

to Sergei and Helena Sviatchenko 4 October 1991. His parents moved to Denmark from

with Erik's older brother, Phillip, in 1990. Erik also has a twin sister, Alexandra. Erik is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. His wife, Anne Sviatchenko (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Rudmose), is a former professional footballer and has played for Team Viborg's women's team,

Skovbakken IK Vejlby Skovbakken Aarhus (; commonly known as VSK Aarhus) is a Danish Association football, football club based in Risskov, a neighbourhood in Aarhus. The club was founded in 2016 when the football departments of :da:Vejlby IK Fodbold, Vejlby IK F ...

, ASA,

and the Denmark national team. Erik and Anne met when they were 14 through his sister Alexandra. Anne signed for the

women's team in February 2016, one month after Sviatchenko had joined the men's team. They got married in June 2017 in Viborg. Together they have two kids.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results table. Denmark's goal tally first:

Honours

Midtjylland *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

(3): 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20 *

(2): 2018–19, 2021–22 Celtic *

(2): 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2016–17 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

(2): 2016–17, 2017–18 Houston Dynamo *

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

(1):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * ''

Tipsbladet ''Tipsbladet'' is a weekly sports magazine focusing on football which has been in circulation since 1948. It the oldest football magazine in Scandinavia and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. History and profile ''Tipsbladet'' was founded ...

'' Player of the Fall: 2019 * ''

'' Player of the Spring: 2020 *

Player of the Year: 2019–20

References

External links

*
Erik Sviatchenko
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com
FC Midtjylland profile

tipsbladet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sviatchenko, Erik 1991 births Living people Danish twins Danish men's footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish people of Ukrainian descent Sportspeople from Viborg Municipality Footballers from the Central Denmark Region Men's association football defenders Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Viborg FF players FC Midtjylland players Celtic F.C. players Houston Dynamo FC players Danish Superliga players Scottish Professional Football League players Major League Soccer players Danish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Danish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States 21st-century Danish sportsmen