Maksim Tsyhalka (Belarusian: Максім Цыгалка, Russian: Максим Цыгалко, romanized: Maksim Tsygalko; often spelled Maxim Tsigalko; 27 May 1983 – 25 December 2020) was a Belarusian football player. He ended his professional career early (at the age of 26) in 2010 due to persistent injuries.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maksim Tsygalko | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Minsk, Belarusian SSR | ||
| Date of death | 25 December 2020 (aged 37) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Dinamo Minsk | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2001 | Dinamo-Yuni Minsk | 27 | (17) |
| 2000 | → Dinamo-2 Minsk | 10 | (3) |
| 2001–2005 | Dinamo Minsk | 53 | (24) |
| 2006–2007 | Naftan Novopolotsk | 24 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | Kaisar | 21 | (7) |
| 2008 | Banants | 4 | (2) |
| 2008 | Savit Mogilev | 8 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Belarus U21 | 11 | (3) |
| 2003 | Belarus | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Honours edit
Dinamo Minsk
- Belarusian Premier League champion: 2004
- Belarusian Cup winner: 2002–03
In popular culture edit
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.[1][2]
Personal life edit
Tsyhalka also had a twin brother Yury who played as a goalkeeper. The brothers played alongside each other at Dinamo Minsk.
Death edit
Maksim Tsyhalka died on 25 December 2020 at the age of 37.[3]
References edit
- ^ "Spotlight on CM/FM Legends : Maxim Tsigalko and Cherno Samba". footmanager.co.uk. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012.
- ^ Rob Smyth (November 14, 2008). "The Joy of Six: great Championship/ Football Manager players". The Guardian.
- ^ Умер футболист Максим Цыгалко. Ему было 37 лет (in Russian)[dead link]
External links edit
- Maksim Tsyhalka at National-Football-Teams.com