Viktor Savelyevich Onopko (Russian: Виктор Савельевич Онопко; born 14 October 1969) is a former Russian football defender. He is the assistant manager of both FC Rostov in the Russian Premier League and the Russia national team.
Onopko in 2011
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Viktor Savelyevich Onopko | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-10-14) 14 October 1969 (age 54) | ||
| Place of birth | Voroshylovhrad, Ukrainian SSR (now Luhansk, Ukraine) | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rostov, Russia (assistant coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986 | Stakhanovets Stakhanov | 4 | (0) |
| 1986–1988 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | (0) |
| 1989 | Dynamo Kyiv | 0 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 45 | (4) |
| 1992–1995 | Spartak Moscow | 108 | (23) |
| 1995–2002 | Real Oviedo | 216 | (7) |
| 2002–2003 | Rayo Vallecano | 28 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Alania Vladikavkaz | 7 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Saturn | 51 | (1) |
| Total | 462 | (33) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992 | CIS | 4 | (0) |
| 1992–2004 | Russia | 109 | (7) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2020 | CSKA Moscow (assistant) | ||
| 2021– | Russia (assistant) | ||
| 2022– | Rostov (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
As a player, Onopko held the record for most international appearances for the Russia national team until 2015.[1]
Onopko's career as a player started in 1986. During that time, he played for Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow, Real Oviedo, Rayo Vallecano, Alania Vladikavkaz and Saturn Ramenskoye. He retired as a player in 2005.
Eligible to play for both the Ukrainian and Russian national teams, Onopko chose the latter (unlike his brother Sergey, who opted to play for Ukraine). He amassed 109 caps (plus 4 for the CIS, including in the 1992 Euros). He played in the 1994 and 2002 world cups, as well as 1996 Euros. Onopko was in the preliminary squad for Euro 2004 but was dropped due to injury. With the national team, in 2003 he won the Cyprus friendly tournament[2]
After retiring, in 2009, he was part of the Russia squad that won the 2009 Legends Cup.
Onopko worked for 11 years as an assistant coach for CSKA Moscow.
On 26 July 2021, he was hired as an assistant to Valeri Karpin in the Russia national team.[3]
In February 2022, after FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian clubs and the national teams from international competitions amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Karpin returned as manager to FC Rostov and hired Onopko as his assistant there as well.[4][5]
Onopoko was born in Voroshilovgrad (now called Lugansk) in the Soviet Union. Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, he acquired both Ukrainian and Russian citizenships.
Viktor has a younger brother, Serhiy, who also played as a professional footballer.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stakhanovets Stakhanov | 1986 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1988 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Dinamo Kyiv | 1989 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 1990 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| Total | 45 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 2 | |
| Spartak Moscow | 1992 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 8 |
| 1993 | 30 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 43 | 13 | |
| 1994 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| Total | 108 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 5 | 145 | 29 | |
| Real Oviedo | 1995–96 | 19 | 1 | — | — | 19 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | 31 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 1998–99 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 1999-00 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | ||
| 2001–02 | 30 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| Total | 216 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 221 | 7 | |
| Rayo Vallecano | 2002–03 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |
| Alania Vladikavkaz | 2003 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Saturn Ramenskoye | 2004 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 1 | |
| Career total | 458 | 33 | 29 | 2 | 27 | 5 | 514 | 40 | |
Spartak Moscow
Individual