Maksim Tsyhalka
Quick Facts
Biography
Maksim Tsyhalka (Belarusian: Максім Цыгалка, Russian: Максим Цыгалко, Maksim Tsygalko) (often spelled Maxim Tsigalko) (born 27 May 1983) is a former Belarusian football player. He had to end his professional career early (at the age of 26) in 2010 due to persistent injuries.
He began his playing career at a youth team Dinamo-Yuni Minskbefore moving up to play for the Dinamo Minsk first team, he spent 5 years with the club before moving to fellow Belarus team Naftan Novopolotsk, after an unsuccessful 2 seasons there Tsyhalka soon moved on to Kazakhstan club Kaisar Kyzylorda. Tsyhalka spent 2 seasons with the club before moving in the summer of 2008 to Armenian team Banants Yerevan, where he would spend only a short stint. He spent the rest of the season for now defunct Belarus club Savit Mogilev. He scored 2 goals in his short spell at the club before being released after Savit were relegated and dissolved.
Tsyhalka also has a twin brother Yuri who played as a goalkeeper. The brothers played alongside each other at Dinamo Minsk.
In popular culture
Maksim and, to a lesser extent, his brother Yuri both achieved a small amount of fame and worldwide renown after they were featured in the Championship Manager / Football Manager computer game series by Sports Interactive, especially in CM 01/02.Both players were present in the database with good starting stats and a very high potential, and Maksim (spelled "Maxim Tsigalko" in the game) in particular was capable of becoming a world class player, to the degree that he is very well known amongst fans of the Football Manager series and considered one of the game's legends.
International goal
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 April 2003 | Dynama Stadium (Minsk), Belarus | Uzbekistan | 1 – 0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Dinamo Minsk
- Belarusian Premier League champion: 2004
- Belarusian Cup winner: 2002–03