Georgiy Sudakov: The present and future of Ukraine’s next generation
Father, at 19, conflicted at full-scale war, has become the star that many in his homeland expected him to be at club level and now for the national team.
This article is the latest piece of xG Files’ ‘EuroFiles’ series for the upcoming European Championship, profiling 24 players from the qualified nations with expert opinions from journalists, writers, editors, and media guides from each respective nation, which you can find here.
The words ‘golden generation’ are often thrown around in international football: France ’98, England ’04, Spain ‘08-’12, Belgium ’16. It's often the bigger nations that land on a cycle of a collective of players capable of producing great things on the international stage. For Ukraine, even without a rich international pedigree and a country in the midst of a full-scale war, they've arrived at theirs, and it's only going to get better.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Real Madrid’s season No. 1 deputy Andriy Lunin are established names in England and Spain, respectively. The same can be said for Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsyhankov following their exploits with Champions League-qualified Girona this season. Nonetheless, as Ukraine gears up for the upcoming European Championships, one player who has yet to step foot in Europe’s major leagues garners attention above all: Georgiy Sudakov.
“He [Sudakov] has been highly rated for many years [within] Ukrainian football,” Andrew Todos, British Ukrainian sports journalist and founder of Zorya Londonsk, says.
Sudakov, like Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk before him, has been touted for the elite echelons of European club football. The pair have been intertwined in comparisons since they were young due to their similar youth journeys. Both came through the academy of Metalist Kharkiv before reuniting at Shakhtar Donetsk, and have kept a close connection as best friends since.
“Whilst Mudryk was always the headline grabber, especially with his more outlandish style on the pitch and looks, Sudakov was working away in the background and equally a hot prospect,” said Todos.
As Mudryk continues to acclimatise to his €100 million move to the Premier League, Sudakov, a father to his two-year-old daughter Milana when he was 19, and his wife, Yelyzaveta, continue to navigate the ongoing war as he manages superstardom in his homeland.
Being a young father, Sudakov has had to balance, at times, a hectic personal life while maintaining a burgeoning trajectory since almost the start of his professional career.
While the 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League season was terminated due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sudakov and his then-pregnant wife were going from bomb shelter to bomb shelter, navigating adulthood in conflict.
On the pitch, the invasion enabled foreign players to leave Ukraine or Russia under FIFA sanctions. The likes of David Neres, Marcos Antônio, and Manor Solomon left for other European clubs, to the vantage of Sudakov.
“Ironically, the exodus of foreign players at clubs like Shakhtar, allowed him to stake a claim in the side when it may have been more difficult to do so in the past (pre-full-scale war),” Todos stated.
Mudryk’s emphatic rise in the first half of last season saw him snatched by the Premier League even to Shakhtar's resistance; Mudryk’s departure would relinquish Shakhtar's sheer pace and one-half of a promising and compelling duo, but Sudakov would ease doubts. Taking up a vital role as the club’s top assister (7) as Shakhtar won their first title in three seasons.
Sudakov’s relationship with former clubmate Mudryk is almost telepathic.
“When they play together, they read each other really well,” added Todos.
It's understandable to see why the pair combine for such admiration. Sudakov is a smooth operator in the midfield. Often, the player driving plays forward at any opportunity, gliding, in fact. Complementing the verticality of Mudryk that attracted such a move.
Alongside the creative craft, he has the industry. One that can be credited to hours of watching idol Luka Modrić etch himself as a Galáctico.
It's what draws interest, specifically international recognition. His game is stylish yet understated.
Then-Ukrainian national team head coach and now FA president Andriy Shevchenko would call-up Sudakov as a wildcard in his EURO 2020 (21) 26-man squad. He wouldn't play a minute in the run to the quarter-finals but when most teenagers would cut a frustrated figure in not being able to strut their stuff on the global stage, Sudakov’s willingness to observe and learn was lauded by the Ukrainian media and staff.
“He’s a popular figure amongst his teammates, not overly loud and domineering,” reiterated Todos.
“He’s intelligent [showed] on and off the pitch despite his young age.”
This summer coming, Sudakov’s role in the national team will take on a significant rise—one he has shown he can handle.
Qualifying for Ukraine wasn’t easy. It started with under-23 and Olympics head coach Ruslan Rotan taking charge on an interim basis before changing hands with Serhiy Rebrov, as well as being impacted by the ongoing conflict, having to play home games in Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia.
However, they would earn a playoff spot, and a decisive goal from Sudakov in a win against North Macedonia—who started every game in qualifying—would ensure a chance of qualification.
He may not be fighting on the battle line, but when his nation needed him most, he stepped up. When others displayed an understandable erraticness, Sudakov provided a level-headed incision. A sweeping crossfield ball would set winger Tsyhankov, who would level in solo fashion.
In typical calculated fashion, the winner would come from picking the best option (Mudryk, unmarked on the edge of the box).
Two pivotal moments that would send Ukraine to the European Championships in the summer, and ultimately what has attracted the elite club interest.
In this year’s January transfer window, Napoli reportedly had a €40 million deal turned down. A month later, Shakhtar would renew his contract (with a reported €150 million clause).
For the rest of the summer, Sudakov will have all eyes on Ukraine and represent them, and importantly, the people back home, in their EUROs campaign after helping Shakhtar retain the title.
A month after the Championships, potential Olympic participation in Paris looms.
A new contract with a significant release clause might have staved off some admirers in the short term, but Sudakov is growing in reputation and name and looking to lead Ukraine’s next generation on the pitch if he can’t do it on the battlefield.