In my earliest days of watching or listening to football, foreign players’ names were always a source of intrigue. They just sounded better, more exotic. What’s going to sound more exciting to a youngster tuned into the action on the car radio, ‘Neil Murray’ or ‘Alexei Mikhailichenko’?
Perhaps somebody out there is reviewing Murray’s time at Rangers as we read this, but today we’re focusing on his Ukrainian teammate Mikhailichenko, who spent five years in Glasgow during the 1990s.
I should start by highlighting that Alexei Mikhailichenko is the Romanised version of his native name, Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, but the former is how he was known during his playing days in Scotland.
An attacking midfielder to trade, Mikhailichenko arrived in Glasgow in 1991, aged 28, fresh from a single season with Italian side Sampdoria. Mikhailichenko made 24 Serie A appearances in a season that saw the Genoa side win their first, and to date only, league title. Prior to his short stay in Italy, Mikhailichenko had spent nine years at Dynamo Kyiv, where he came through the club’s youth system.
During the 1980s, the then Soviet Union was a major player in world football. Mikhailichenko started every match as the Soviet Union reached the final of Euro 88, only to lose out to a Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten inspired Netherlands side. Mikhailichenko was the Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1988 and Ukrainian Footballer of the Year in 1987 and 88. So, cutting a long story short: it looked like Rangers had secured quite a coup in bringing the Ukrainian to Scotland. Mikhailichenko signalled his intent on his Rangers debut, almost scoring from the half-way line against Falkirk. He went on to score 12 goals in 28 starts during his first season in Glasgow.
What’s going to sound more exciting to a youngster tuned into the action on the car radio, ‘Neil Murray’ or ‘Alexei Mikhailichenko’?
In his second season in Glasgow, 1992/93, Mikhailichenko played in three of Rangers’ six group games as the club made its debut in the UEFA Champions League. Although finishing the group unbeaten – winning two games and drawing four – Walter Smith’s men narrowly missed out on a place in the final to French side Marseille, who went on to lift the trophy.
Perhaps the Ukrainian’s stand-out match in a Rangers jersey came on New Year’s Day 1994. In the traditional New Year derby match against Celtic, Mikhailichenko scored two first half goals as Rangers raced into a 3-0 lead at Parkhead. Mikhailichenko’s compatriot, Oleg Kuznetsov (whose time in Scotland was marred by serious injury) added a fourth goal in the second half, with the game finishing 4-2 for the visitors.
Although he played a more central role in his early career, Mikhailichenko was largely deployed as a wide midfielder by Walter Smith, who was manager throughout Mikhailichenko’s time at Rangers.
Season 1993/94 saw Mikhailichenko start 24 league games, scoring five goals. However, the arrival of Danish superstar Brian Laudrup from Fiorentina in the summer of 1994 restricted Mikhailichenko to a handful of appearances in season 1994/95.
Mikhailichenko stayed at Rangers until 1996 before hanging up his boots at the age of 33. Being part of the league winning squad that season (the Ibrox side’s eighth in a row) meant the Ukrainian had won league championships in seven consecutive seasons – one in Ukraine, one in Italy and five in Scotland.
Scottish Football Stories 