Quick Facts
Biography
Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher (Ukrainian: Олександр Миколайович Кучер; born 22 October 1982) is a Ukrainian footballer who currently plays for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. He is a powerful defender who is good in the air and provides good coverage in the back. He also can play as a defensive midfielder.
A Shakhtar player since 2006, he has won honours including four Premier League titles and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He made his senior international debut in 2006 and has since earned 40 caps, representing Ukraine when they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012.
Career
Club
Kucher started his career with Youth Academy alumnus "Athlete" Kiev and Arsenal Kyiv, playing 59 times and scoring 5 goals. He joined Metalurh Donetsk in 2002, spending a season on loan at FC Kharkiv during the 2002–03 season, a season at Armenian side Banants Yerevan during the 2003–04 season and another spell with FC Kharkiv in the 2004–05 season. He made 26 appearances for FC Kharkiv over his two seasons on loan. He scored 3 goals in 19 appearances for Banants. Having made 9 appearances for Metalurh, Kucher moved to Metalist Kharkiv during the 2005–06 season playing 28 matches with his only two goals coming in 5–2 defeat to Chornomorets Odesa. Oleksandr joined Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2006–07 season. He made his debut for Shakhtar as a substitute in a 5–0 victory over his former club Metalist. He scored in a 4–1 victory over Metalurh Donetsk on 9 August 2009. He netted an extra time winner in the final of the 2011–12 Ukrainian Cup. Kucher scored a brace in a 3–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 4 September 2012 in a man of the match performance.
On 11 March 2015, he was given the quickest red card in the history of the Champions League when he was sent off in the third minute of a last 16 second leg against Bayern Munich for conceding a penalty on Thomas Müller; Bayern won 7–0.
International
Kucher made his debut for the Ukrainian national team on 15 August 2006 at the age of 23 years, 9 months and 24 days in a 6–0 friendly victory over Azerbaijan. He scored his first goal for Ukraine on 11 October 2006 in a 2–0 Euro 2008 qualifying match victory over Scotland. He was part of Ukraine's squad as they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012 with Poland, but did not feature in the group stage exit.
Statistics for Shakhtar
- As of 5 May 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Super Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shakhtar | 2006–07 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | - | - | 33 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | - | - | 26 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 18 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
| 2013–14 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2014–15 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| 2015–16 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
| Total | 145 | 7 | 37 | 4 | 78 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 266 | 12 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Ukraine's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 February 2006 | Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kiev |  Scotland | 1–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 2. | 13 November 2012 | Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia |  Bulgaria | 0–1 | 0–1 | International Friendly |
Honours
Shakhtar Donetsk
- Ukrainian Premier League: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
- Ukrainian Cup: 2008, 2011, 2012
- Ukrainian Super Cup: 2008, 2010, 2012
- UEFA Cup: 2009