Introduction
Viktor Savelyevich Onopko (Russian: Виктор Савельевич Онопко) (born 14 October 1969) is a football coach and a former defender. He held the record for most international appearances for the Russian national team until 8 September 2015, when he was overtaken by Sergei Ignashevich. Currently he works as an assistant manager for PFC CSKA Moscow.
Club career
Born in Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk), Soviet Union, Onopko's career as player started in 1988 and finished in 2005, during this time he played for Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow, Real Oviedo, Rayo Vallecano, Alania Vladikavkaz and FC Saturn.
International career
Although he was eligible to play for Ukraine, Onopko chose to play for Russia and amassed 109 caps (plus four for the CIS, including in Euro 92), the first coming in 1992. He played in the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, as well as Euro 96. Onopko was in the preliminary squad for Euro 2004 but was dropped due to injury.
In 2009, he was part of the Russia squad that won the 2009 Legends Cup.
Personal life
Viktor has a younger brother Serhiy Onopko who also played as a professional footballer.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stakhanovets Stakhanov | 1986 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| Shakhtar | 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 | 1990 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| Total | 45 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 2 | |
| Spartak | 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 | 2003 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Saturn | 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 | |
Honours
- Russian Premier League champion: 1992, 1993, 1994
- Soviet Cup winner: 1992
- Russian Cup winner: 1994
Individual
- Footballer of the Year in Russia: 1992, 1993
- Footballer of the Year in Russia: 1993