Andriy Demchenko
Andriy Anatoliyovych Demchenko is a Ukrainian football coach and former player who is the manager of Azerbaijan Premier League club Araz-Naxçıvan. He played as an attacking midfielder or forward.
Club career
Playing football Demchenko started out in his native Zaporizhzhia where his first coach was Borys Zozulya and Viktor Vysochyn. When Demchenko turned 13, his new trainer was Anatoliy Vasyleha who coached him before Demchenko moved to Moscow. During his teenage years Demchenko was spotted by Gennadiy Kostylev, a Soviet Union national team coach, and Demchenko participated in some international tournaments among junior teams. During dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1990 Demchenko was invited as a prospect player to play for PFC CSKA Moscow where Kostylev also became the club's manager.At the 1994 European U-18 Championship Demchenko, playing for the Russia national team, became a top scorer of the tournament. At that tournament played such football personalities like Raúl, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, Lars Ricken, Francesco Totti and others. Following the European championship Ajax offered $1 million Moscow team for the 17-year-old Demchenko and both player and club agreed. At Ajax, Demchenko mostly sat on the bench and had limited amount of playing experience. Following end of contract with the Dutch club, he returned to Zaporizhzhia where he joined Metalurh Zaporizhzhia.