Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev^[a] (‹ThetemplateLang-rus is beingconsidered for deletion.› Russian:Дми́трий Евге́ньевич Сычёв,romanized:Dmitriy Yevgen’yevich Sychyov,IPA:[ˈdmʲitrʲɪjjɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕsɨˈtɕɵf]^ⓘ; born 26 October 1983) is a Russian professionalfootball official and a former player who played as aforward or as amidfielder. He is the president ofIrtysh Omsk. He was hailed by the international press as "The RussianMichael Owen", because of his pace, and was dubbed "the most sensational young Russian forward sinceVladimir Beschastnykh".^[1] He was well known for his blinding pace and agility.

Dmitri Sychev

Sychev in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev
Date of birth	(1983-10-26)26 October 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth	Omsk,Soviet Union
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward,midfielder
Team information
Current team	Irtysh Omsk (president)
Youth career
1993–1998	Dynamo Omsk
1998–2000	Smena-Zenit Saint Petersburg
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2001	Spartak Tambov	42	(9)
2002	Spartak Moscow	18	(9)
2002–2003	Marseille	33	(5)
2004–2016	Lokomotiv Moscow	224	(73)
2013	→Dinamo Minsk (loan)	10	(0)
2013–2014	→Volga Nizhny Novgorod (loan)	16	(0)
2015–2016	→Okzhetpes (loan)	19	(3)
2017–2018	Kazanka Moscow	20	(1)
2019	Pyunik	0	(0)
Total		384	(100)
International career
2000	Russia U-17	12	(14)
2002	Russia U-19	7	(6)
2003	Russia U-21	1	(1)
2002–2010	Russia	47	(15)
Managerial career
2024–	Irtysh Omsk (president)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sychev was born inOmsk, a city in south-central Russia. He spent his formative years atSt. Petersburg's famousSmena football academy before joiningFC Spartak Tambov, a second division club. At that time he played as amidfielder.^[2]

After having trials at clubs inFC Nantes andFC Metz, Sychev was picked up bySpartak Moscow in January 2002, where he scored eight goals in his first 12 matches, and it was during that time when he was transformed into astriker. With Spartak he reached the final of the 2002Commonwealth of Independent States Cup. He scored 6 goals and finished second on the top scorer list, after coming in as a substitute in every match he played.^[3] He entered the symbolic top players list of the tournament.^[4]

In August 2002, Sychev announced he was quitting Spartak, by giving his employers three months' notice. Having already signed a five-year contract with the Russian club he was banned from football for four months by theRussian Professional Football League (RPFL).

After finishing this suspension, Sychev signed a five-year contract withOlympique de Marseille, rejecting an offer fromDynamo Kyiv. He was used as amidfielder, both left and right, but was usually a substitute during his time in France.^[5][6]

In late January 2004, Sychev returned to Russia to joinLokomotiv Moscow on a four-year contract. His transfer played a role in managerYuri Syomin's decision to change the starting formation from 5–3–2 to 4–2–3–1 or 4–4–1–1, which would help Sychev form a strong attacking partnership with team's primary playmaker and captainDmitri Loskov.^[7] He went on to claim the2004 Russian Premier League title and theRussian Footballer of the Year award in his first season back in Russia, courtesy of his 15 goals and 4 assists in 27 league games. The following year, he continued his victorious streak with the club by winning the2005 Russian Super Cup. However, in August 2005, he sustained ananterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced to miss the rest of the year, which saw Lokomotiv dropping points in the closing stages of the league and eventually losing the title toCSKA Moscow. In May 2007, Sychev also won the2006–07 Russian Cup. Sychev played mostly as a striker, except the period when Lokomotiv was coached byAnatoliy Byshovets andRashid Rakhimov respectively. During those times, he was mainly employed as amidfielder. Sychev started playing again in his natural position with the appointment ofYury Syomin. In2009, he was voted by Lokomotiv fans as the player of the season. In the2012–13 season, under managerSlaven Bilić, Sychev lost his place in the line-up (only four games in the first half of season, including the national cup).

In March 2013, Sychev moved toDinamo Minsk on loan until July of the same year.^[8]

In July 2013, after returning from Dinamo Minsk, Sychev moved to fellowRussian Premier League sideVolga Nizhny Novgorod on a year-long loan deal.^[9] Sychev featured in 16 league games for Volga, failing to score in any of them, and returned to Lokomotiv Moscow at the end of the season following Volga's relegation to theRussian National Football League.

On 16 March 2015, Sychev moved toFC Okzhetpes on a season-long loan deal.^[10]

After over a year away from football, Sychev signed forFC Pyunik on 31 August 2019.^[11] On 6 December 2019, he left Pyunik by mutual consent having failed to make a first team appearance for the club.^[12] On 10 December 2019, he announced his retirement from playing.^[13]

Sychev was selected to play for theRussian national team at the2002 FIFA World Cup, where he became the youngest player to appear for theSoviet Union or Russia at 18 years and 222 days. In the event, he scored a goal and set up other three in an otherwise disappointing Russian campaign. This goal made him the fourth youngest goalscorer in theFIFA World Cup.

Sychev was called up to Russia's squad forUEFA Euro 2008 in Austria andSwitzerland. Despite playing as astriker atLokomotiv Moscow, duringGuus Hiddink's stint with the Russian national team, he was used as a midfielder.^[14] He won his last cap in 2010.^[15]

On 30 January 2024, Sychev was appointed president of his hometown clubIrtysh Omsk in the third-tierRussian Second League.^[16]

He appeared in the seventh season of ice show contestIce Age.

Besides football, Sychev is a fan ofice hockey and his hometown teamAvangard Omsk.^[17] He also likes tennis andbilliards.^[18] Outside of sports, he plays the guitar and was seen rapping at the MTV Russia Music Awards ceremony in Moscow with national teammateDiniyar Bilyaletdinov.^[19]

Aside from his native Russian, Sychev also speaks English, French, and plans to learn more.^[18]

In 2007, Sychev received a degree from theRussian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism.^[20]

Sychev was inDanila Kozlovsky's directorial debutCoach which was released in 2018. Sychev portrayed Dodin, the player who scored the winning goal for his team.

Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sychev goal.

Lokomotiv Moscow

• Russian Premier League:2004
• Russian Cup:2006–07
• Russian Super Cup:2005
• Commonwealth of Independent States Cup:2005

Russia

• UEFA European Football Championship Bronze medal:2008

Individual

• Footballer of the Year in Russia (Sport-Express): 2004
• Footballer of the Year in Russia (Futbol): 2004

• Dmitri Sychev –FIFA competition record (archived)
• Dmitri Sychev atfussballdaten.de(in German)
• Dmitri Sychev at WorldFootball.net
• Dmitri Sychev at National-Football-Teams.com
• Personal blog at theWayback Machine (archived 2011-08-14)
• Player profile(in Russian)