Dmitry Radchenko is one of the stars of Soviet and Russian football. During his bright career, he played not only at home, but also in one of the strongest championships of the Old World - in Spain in such clubs as Deportivo and Rayo Vallecano, as well as in Croatia and very exotic Japan, where he became the country's champion . Among the awards and titles are the champion of Russia, the winner of the Cup of the USSR and Russia, the winner of the Super Cup of Spain. But first things first.
Early career
Dmitry Radchenko was born in a truly footballing city - Leningrad in 1970. In early childhood, he began to study in the sports youth school of the Olympic reserve "Change". The first coach of the future member of the national team was Yuri Iosifovich Kantor. It was he who then instilled in his still small Dima his basic qualities - the ability to quickly make decisions and organize the game on the field.
He began his adult career in 1988 in Leningrad Dynamo, from where he moved to St. Petersburg Zenit the following season. True, at that time the flagship of domestic football in the last few years was going through hard times. In the major league of the all-Union championship, the team took last place, having gained only 5 victories per season, and dropped out of the football elite.
However, in the first league, “Zenith” looked pale, being in the camp of outsiders. Therefore, 20-year-old Dmitry Radchenko stood out especially brightly against the rest of the team. A footballer straight from the first league at the end of 1990 moved to Moscow Spartak, and the USSR national football team took over into his ranks.
Career in the camp of "red and white"
In 1991, Dmitry Radchenko took part in the last USSR championship as part of Spartak Moscow. A promising footballer immediately got a place in the starting lineup, took part in almost all matches, marking 13 goals. True, then it did not work out to become the best goalscorer, since the title of the most productive player that season went to Igor Kolyvanov, who played in the capital's Dynamo. He upset goalkeepers rivals 17 times. The whole team in the fight for the championship was not enough. Spartak lost two points to CSKA, content with a ticket to the Cup Winners Cup for next season.
The end of the season turned out to be blurry. In the game against the Greek AEK in the second round of the UEFA Cup Dmitry broke his leg. Spartak dropped out of the European competition at that time, and Radchenko took six months to recover. Returning to service, Dmitry in 1992 as part of Spartak became the champion of Russia and was recognized as the best striker of the tournament.
The beginning of a foreign career
In 1993, the country began to live a new life in a market economy, and it became possible to freely go abroad to not only relax but also work. This contributed to the beginning of the Spanish period in Radchenko's career. Specialists from the Iberian Peninsula drew attention to the Russian striker two years ago, when his double at Santiago Bernabeu in the Moscow Spartak knocked out Real Madrid from European cups.
In the summer of 1993, Radchenko transferred to the Santander "Racing" under the leadership of Javier Iruureta. The mid-season Spanish premiere, with Radchenko at the cutting edge, is conducting a quite successful season. The club will finish in 8th place. In the offseason, the team was headed by a new coach, he was Vicente Miera. Radchenko played at the base, but did not score much. The fans got the impression that he specially tuned in for matches with giants - Real Madrid and Barcelona. That season, the Russian striker scored doubles into the goal of both leaders of Spanish football. “Barcelona” and was completely beaten by “Racing” with a score of 5: 0. True, these successes did not affect the final position in the standings - the Santander did not get into the top ten.
Dmitry Radchenko at the US World Cup
The USSR national football team became the first national team for Radchenko. He spent 2 matches for her, and after the collapse of the USSR, he played for the Russian team.
In the qualifying tournament for the World Cup, the team took second place in their group, losing to the Greeks. In 8 matches, the Russians won 5 victories (over Luxembourg and Hungary - 2 times each), played a draw with the Greeks and Icelanders and lost to Greece in Athens 0-1. Radchenko in the national team scored one goal scored in a home game with Luxembourg (the Russians won 2-0).
In the World Cup final, Russia ended up in Group B with Brazil, Sweden and Cameroon. In the first match with the South Americans, Radchenko came out in the starting lineup, but could not make serious problems for the defense of the magicians of the ball, because of which he was replaced in the 76th minute by Alexander Borodyuk. The opening match Russia lost 0: 2. The second meeting with the Swedes again brought defeat - 1: 3. Oleg Salenko scored from the penalty spot in the Russian national team. After two defeats, our team lost the chance to leave the group, the last match with Cameroon was symbolic. The Russians defeated the opponent with a score of 6: 1. Forward Oleg Salenko set a record in that match, scoring 5 goals. Dmitry Radchenko, who scored 82 minutes, also took part in the defeat.
As a result, the Russian team took only 3rd place in the group and could not reach the playoffs.
Continuation of the Eurotour
After a rather unsuccessful performance at the mundial, Radchenko still found himself a new team. In 1994, he moved to Deportivo La A Coruña. Moreover, among the alternative options during that offseason were the Scottish Celtic and the Birmingham Aston Villa. However, Radchenko remained in the familiar Spain. Things at Deportivo didn’t work out for him. It was not possible to score a lot, and Dmitry lost a place at the base. The next year he was leased to Rayo Vallecano, then Merida and Compostela were in the Spanish career. None of these teams managed to show a vivid game. For three seasons Radchenko scored only once.
Japanese football exotic
In 1999, Radchenko ended up in a very exotic country - in the Japanese championship, in the team of "Dzhubilo Iwata". At that time, it was one of the strongest Japanese clubs, having issued the champion title two years earlier. The 99/00 season turned out to be “Gold." The Radchenko team won 12 out of 15 meetings and designed the second title. Dmitry was marked by 4 goals scored. Returning to Europe, briefly played for the Croatian Hajduk from Split and completed his professional career.
Dmitry Leonidovich Radchenko went into the shadow of big football quite early - even before the age of 30. He himself notes that he always had a good speed, but a series of injuries negatively affected physical abilities. After the official completion of his career, he was engaged in coaching, he studied at the Deportivo school. Since 2010 he has been working in the structure of St. Petersburg "Zenith".