Dynamo Kyiv and Ukrainian national team player Oleksandr Karavaev is celebrating his birthday today. Karavaev is a winger who has played on the right side of midfield for many clubs, including Shakhtar, Sevastopol, Zorya, and Dynamo Kyiv. He has also been moved to defense for the Ukrainian national team, where he has played 47 matches and scored two goals. Over the course of his career, Karavaev has become an indispensable player and captain for the Ukrainian national team, and has won numerous titles with Dynamo Kyiv, including the Ukrainian Cup and Super Cup.
Today, Dynamo Kyiv and Ukrainian national team player Oleksandr Karavaev celebrates his birthday. He is a graduate of Shakhtar, who did not spend a single minute in the first team of Pitmen, and became the champion of Ukraine with Dynamo.
Noted at youth level for his sniper qualities, in adult football Alexander Karavaev is known as a winger. He acts on the right side of midfield, although in many clubs and even in the Ukrainian national team they always take the opportunity to move him to defense for the sake of the team.
Today is Sasha’s birthday, and FanDay.net, as per tradition, looks back on the birthday boy’s career and his football evolution – from Shakhtar’s indispensable player to the irreplaceable footballer of the Ukrainian national team.
I have been skating since childhood, but they did not immediately take me to the Miner’s Academy
Alexander Karavaev was born on June 2, 1992 in Kherson. He started playing football in his hometown.
As a child, Sasha played hockey with his older brother, because their father was very fond of playing the puck, he was good at skating and played for an amateur team.
“For five or six years, we were always skating on the rink, playing hockey,” the Dynamo player recalled. – Besides, I do a lot of sports and often do it for myself. Our area is called Ostrov, it is completely washed by the Dnieper. The river froze over, and we often went out riding with father and brother.”
At the age of 13, the future player of the Ukrainian national team ended up at the Shakhtar Academy.
“At first, they didn’t take me to Shakhtar. I went to Kherson. Don’t know what will happen next. But then a month or two later they called me and said: “Come.” I arrived and then I took the opportunity, and climbed the “ladder”: both the Second and First League – I passed everything.”
Like many young Pitmen, Sasha can only dream of making his debut in Mircea Lucescu’s Brazilian team, which is why he spent so long on loan.
In adult football, Karavaev made his debut as part of Sevastopol, where for two and a half seasons he was a player of the main team – first in the First League, and then in the Premier League.
He played his first game in the elite division on 21 July 2013 against Shakhtar, replacing Denis Kozhanov (1:3) 22 minutes before the final whistle. He scored his first goal in the Ukrainian Cup, hitting the door of Kryvbas (2:1). In the elite division, the first ball scored against Dynamo Kyiv (1:2).
The golden age under the leadership of Vernydub, a business trip to Turkey and a contract with Dynamo
In the summer of 2014, he and several other young Shakhtar talents, including Shevchenko, Malinovsky, Malyshev and Budkovsky, were hired by Zarya. In six Europa League qualifying games, Karavaev, who plays as a right midfielder, provided three assists.
In the 2015/16 season, Karavaev scored seven goals and provided eight assists in the championship, and also scored four goals and made one assist in the Ukrainian Cup.
Sasha is still not seen in Shakhtar’s first team, while his performance in Zorya’s line-up worries the management of the Donetsk club, who do not want to strengthen their rivals. As a result, a promising player was sent abroad.
For half a year, the Ukrainian played in the Turkish championship for Fenerbahce (six matches, one goal, one assist), after which the Zorya boss managed to convince their counterparts in Donetsk to let Karavaev go forever.
Oleksandr spent two more seasons in the Lugansk club, where he reached the position of captain, and when Yuriy Vernydub left the team, he moved to Dynamo. The people of Kiev paid two and a half million euros for the 27-year-old footballer, who at that time was finally retraining as a defender.
For four years at the most titled club in the country, Karavaev became the champion of Ukraine, a two-time winner of the Ukrainian Cup and Super Cup, and also made his debut in the Champions League. Based on his 166 matches, four goals and 15 assists in “blue and white”.
Sasha’s current contract with Dynamo expires on June 30. According to rumors, the Kiev club will not renew it. Therefore, it is possible that the experienced footballer will start the next season in a new, possibly foreign club.
The fight with Seleznev
In the first round of the last tournament, where Dynamo and Minai met, Karavaev had a conflict with Yevgeny Seleznev. After the game, Dynamo players waited for the opponent in the lower room of the tribune, but the veteran refused to speak in front of the camera and offered to settle it on the street.
Regarding this, the situation has exhausted itself, which did not prevent the two players from talking about the incident a little later.
Karavaev’s version:
“I don’t want to comment on it. What can be a conflict? We play football, someone is not satisfied with something, expresses something. Someone has some personal problem or claim. I have no complaints. We play football, show us our game and the result. And what happens there – happens on the field.
Seleznev’s version:
“In his field [Караваев] start talking to the judge. I told him: “Shut your mouth. It’s too early for you to tell. You’re only Karavaev.” He started telling me something, I told him that we will talk after the game.
He came in front of the camera: “I’m waiting for you.” I said, “We’ll talk later.” He: “No, I won’t.” I said: “Then without the camera.” That’s all there is.”
Konoplyanka was appointed captain of the Ukrainian national team
Even during the performance in the youth tournament, where Karavaev was known as one of the main scorers, Pavel Yakovenko began to invite him to the youth team of Ukraine.
Sasha made his debut for the national team under Mikhail Fomenko. On October 9, 2015, in the 85th minute of the Euro 2016 qualifying match with North Macedonia, he replaced Andriy Yarmolenko and two minutes later he passed to Artem Kravets, who set the final score (2: 0).
Karavaev entered the Ukrainian national team application for the final part of the European Championship in France, but did not play a single minute in the group stage match. But under Andriy Shevchenko, he played more often, and at Euro 2020 he became one of the few to play all five games without a substitute.
To date, the Dynamo defender has 47 matches, two goals and 13 assists in the national first team. He scored his first goal in a yellow-blue T-shirt in March 2018 in a friendly match with Japan (2:1), the second – in a League of Nations match with Armenia (3:0) last year.
At the same time, perhaps the most memorable for our hero was the friendly match with Turkey (0:0), where the substitute Evgeny Konoplyanka handed him the captain’s armband.
“It was an interesting moment,” Karavaev said of the episode. – Konoplyanka came from the other half of the field to replace, and I saw that there were very few older and experienced players on the field. He came, gave me a bandage, I asked: “Are you serious?”. He said, “Yes. Don’t worry, everything will be fine”.
Two marriages, two children and parents who survived the colonization
Karavaev met his first wife while playing for Sevastopol. They signed a contract with Lyudmila in 2014, and a year later their daughter Ariana was born.
Alexander’s current wife, Inna, is the founder of a company that manufactures and sells pajamas and other silk clothing. Lovers played a wedding in 2020, and in February 2021 their son Cyril was born.
Ariana, Kirill and ten-year-old daughter Inna from their first marriage live in a football player’s family.
Karavaev’s parents continued to live in Kherson. They did not leave their beloved city even during the occupation by the Russian army, which is why their children are gray.
“My father always wrote to me that they believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They also have my brother’s wife with two children, she gave birth to her second child who is already at work, – said Sasha. – Help them, because the bank card works.
Of course, there are days when the connection is completely lost. I can’t think of anything else, because we still remember Mariupol, and Bucha, and all the other cities where these racists committed atrocities.”
