Andrey Lunin was born in Ukraine in the city of Krasnograd, Kharkiv Region, on February 11, 1999. Position - goalkeeper, height - 191 cm, weight - 80 kg. He began his professional career by signing a contract with the Dnepr Ukrainian football club in 2015.
Startling take-off
Two years later, Zarya, one of the best clubs in Ukraine, noticed young talent. Having signed a contract with him on June 24, 2017, already in the season of 2018, he became the best player of the season in the Ukrainian Premier League. For the goalkeeper position, when you have to enter the game not so often, this is a very honorary title.
Before signing the contract with Real Madrid, on June 22, 2018 for 6 years, there were rumors that Napoli was offering 8 million euros for the transfer. Of course, in a less strong and status Italian club, a football player would immediately take a place in the starting lineup. But not every day you receive offers to move to the best club in the world in recent years, so Andrei Lunin made the absolutely right choice by going to the creamy camp. In addition, Madrid bosses paid more for the transition of Lunev - 8 million euros and 4 million as bonuses.
Usually, such radical changes in the life of athletes do not always support their soul mates, but the girl of Andrei Lunin did not mind moving to Spain. From this moment on, the goalkeeper was talked about in wide enough circles, as is often the case when, for no reason, a young talent appears and makes such sharp ascents on the career ladder.
Royal Club Career
For Real Madrid, Andrei made his debut on June 31, 2018 in a match against Manchester United as part of the International Champions Cup, without losing a single goal. And on August 11, he won the Santiago Bernabeu Cup, substituting in the 78th minute against the Italian “Milan”.
It is difficult at the age of 19 to compete for a place in the starting lineup at such a high level. For “Real” Andrei Lunin, the next 2-3 years will definitely not become the main goalkeeper.
Therefore, on August 27, he moved to the Spanish “middle peasant” “Leganes” on loan. It is quite common practice for top clubs to buy up young players and send them to receive game practice for a while so that they do not lose their level.
The game for the national team of Ukraine
Andrey Lunin is the youngest goalkeeper in the history of the Ukrainian national football team, who played on the field in official matches. It happened on March 23, 2018, when the Ukrainians played a friendly match against Saudi Arabia and ended the meeting with a score of 1: 1. The year before, on May 23, 2018, Lunin was also involved in the national team for a friendly match with the Malta national team and for the match for the right to enter the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but did not appear on the field.
The main features of the game style
The most powerful feature of this goalkeeper is his amazing kick game. In the not very dense Ukrainian championship, where teams often forget about defensive actions and leave the gates uncovered, Lunin was especially good.
The plasticity of his legs is the trump card when beating balls flying along a low path. In addition, Andrei always manages to not only react, but also substitute them correctly when the striker strikes practically at point-blank range towards the goal. Thanks to this, it is almost always possible to avoid unpleasant bounces, so as not to allow opponents to strike again, because the second time you can not cope and not save your teammates. A high growth of 191 cm makes it easy to stretch into the “string” when parrying complex twisted punches to the upper corners of the goal, and long strong hands allow you to hit the ball for sure, so as to easily discharge dangerous moments. All these advantages are supported by a crazy reaction and a very strong unwavering character. A football player is capable of both not showing in critical situations, while maintaining confidence, and, conversely, explode with loud speeches, motivating teammates.
Rating in FIFA-18
FIFA 2018 did not deprive Andrei Lunin of attention and gave him a rating of 76 points. It is worth noting that this figure is not as high as for a goalkeeper of the highest class, but quite promising for a young promising player. The top 50 best goalkeepers begin with a rating of 80, but among them there is only one person whose age is less than 22 years old - this is Gianluigi Donnaruma. But experts believe that this goalkeeper is even talented, but very overrated, so that Andrei Lunin has every chance in the future to become one of the best players, because he is only 19 years old.