Vladimir Covalschi (born 28 October 1988) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a forward.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 October 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Rada Tilly, Escalante, Argentina[1] | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011 | Central Ballester | 1 | (0) |
| Rada Tilly | |||
| CAI | |||
| Newbery | |||
| 2019 | Real Pilar | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editBorn in Rada Tilly in the Escalante Department of Argentina, Covalschi is of Russian descent.[4] Growing up he played rugby union, and represented Rada Tilly, Chubut, Calafate and Hindú Club, as well as a select team of the Unión de Rugby Austral (Southern Rugby Union).[5][6]
Club career
editIn 2010, Covalschi saw an advertisement for a new Spanish reality television show, Football Cracks, while walking to university in Buenos Aires.[7] Despite having never played organised football before, he decided to sign up, where he was one of three Argentines selected to travel to Madrid for the competition.[7] He arrived in Spain, where he was evaluated by former footballers Zinedine Zidane and Enzo Francescoli, as well as being trained by Germán Burgos, and though he was one of the last nineteen remaining candidates, he was eventually eliminated.[7]
On his return to Argentina, he featured briefly for Central Ballester, playing one game in the 2011–12 Primera D Metropolitana.[2] After this, having struggled to find a club, he returned to his hometown, joining Club Atlético Rada Tilly.[5] Initially a defender, Covalschi transitioned to play as a centre-forward while at Rada Tilly, proving himself to be a prolific goal-scorer, scoring 29 goals in 22 games in the 2015 season and being recognised with the Mara Dorada award for his performances.[5][7] This form earned him a trial with Italian side Gela, though he was unable to join due to issues with the contract.[7][8]
He moved to Comisión de Actividades Infantiles (CAI) for the 2016 season, where he represented the side in the Torneo Argentino B, and the following year he was again recognised with the Mara Dorada award in 2017.[9][10] Following this, he had a short spell with Newbery.[6] In January 2019, he joined Real Pilar, and would feature for them in their historic Copa Argentina match against Vélez Sarsfield; despite being four divisions lower than Vélez, they won 1–0 at the Estadio Alfredo Beranger, making history as they became the first team from the Argentinian fifth division to reach the last-16 of the competition.[10][11]
Later life
editFollowing his retirement from football, Covalschi took an interest in both acting and modelling, making his theatrical debut in October 2019 in Claudio Hamed's Antes de que sea tarde (Before it's too late).[12][13] In late 2020, he signed an international advertising contract with British cough drop manufacturers, Halls.[14] He later took up taekwondo, and in June 2022 he won a local tournament in Mendoza.[15]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Central Ballester | 2011–12 | Primera D Metropolitana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rada Tilly | 2015 | Liga de Comodoro Rivadavia | 22 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 29 |
| CAI | 2016 | Torneo Argentino B | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 |
| Real Pilar | 2019 | Primera D Metropolitana | 4 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Career total | 43 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 37 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the Copa Argentina
References
edit- ^ a b Vladimir Covalschi at WorldFootball.net
- ^ a b Vladimir Covalschi at BDFA (in Spanish)
- ^ Vladimir Covalschi at Soccerway
- ^ "Vladimir Covalschi, héroe chubutense del Real Pilar" [Vladimir Covalschi, hero from Real Pilar in Chubut]. diariojornada.com.ar (in Spanish). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Jugó al rugby, participó en un reality en España y dio el golpe con Real Pilar ante Vélez" [He played rugby, participated in a reality show in Spain and gave the coup with Real Pilar against Vélez]. lavoz.com.ar (in Spanish). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Covalschi: El chubutense que avanza en la Copa Argentina" [Covalschi: The Chubutense who advances in the Argentine Cup]. superdepor.com.ar (in Spanish). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "La historia que no conocías del goleador de Rada Tilly" [The story you didn't know about Rada Tilly's striker]. elpatagonico.com (in Spanish). 25 December 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Vladimir Covalschi, de Rada Tilly a la 3ª categoría de Italia" [Vladimir Covalschi, from Rada Tilly to the 3rd category of Italy]. elpatagonico.com (in Spanish). 28 July 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Vladimir Covalschi es "Azurro"" [Vladimir Covalschi is "Azurro"]. elpatagonico.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Vladimir Covalschi en boca de todos" [Vladimir Covalschi is the name on everyone's lips]. elpatagonico.com (in Spanish). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Saiz, Gastón (8 March 2019). "La historia del jugador de Real Pilar que viene del rugby, llegó al fútbol por un reality y fue entrenado por Zidane y Francescoli" [The story of the Real Pilar player who comes from rugby, came to football through a reality show and was trained by Zidane and Francescoli]. lanacion.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Tebes, Ismael (25 October 2020). "Un radatilense que juega en todas las canchas" [A man from Rádatil who plays on all courts]. jornada.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ del Real, Octavio (11 December 2020). "De las canchas al teatro y la pasarela" [From the courts to the theater and the catwalk]. serargentino.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Es de Rada Tilly y será el rostro de las pastillas Halls en todo el mundo" [It is from Rada Tilly and will be the face of Halls pills around the world]. rtn.com.ar (in Spanish). 16 September 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Covalschi lo hizo de nuevo: debutó como taekwondista y se quedó con el primer premio en lucha" [Covalschi did it again: he debuted as a taekwondo athlete and won first prize in wrestling]. adnsur.com.ar (in Spanish). 27 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.