Sergey Perkhun: a bright career and sudden death

One of the brightest and most promising goalkeepers of the Russian championship of the end of 1990 - early 2000 - Sergey Perkhun. His career developed quickly and rapidly, just as suddenly and tragically interrupted. According to many experts, he rightfully can be considered one of the most promising goalkeepers of recent decades, however, he failed to show his talent to the full.

Early career

Sergei Perkhun was born in Ukraine, in Dnepropetrovsk, in 1977. Since the age of 7, he began actively pursuing football. The first club, which is not surprising, was the "Dnepr". Sergei first played for him in 1993, at the age of 16. In the team the goalkeeper spent 5 seasons at the very beginning of his career, having played a total of 23 matches, in which he missed 31 goals. A good indicator for a young, beginning goalkeeper.

During the performance for "Dnepr" Sergei Perkhun twice went on lease to other clubs. First in Novomoskovsk "Metallurg", speaking in the championship of the Dnepropetrovsk region, then in the double of the main "Dnieper".

In 1999 he left his hometown and went to the championship of Moldova, in one of the strongest clubs of the championship - Sheriff Tiraspol. In the 1999/2000 season, he was the team's main goalkeeper, having played 29 matches on the field, winning silver medals of the national championship and the Moldavian Cup with the team.

To Moscow

A bright and promising player could not help but notice in the Russian championship. The pencil was taken by army scouts. In 2001 Sergey Perkhun moved to CSKA.

That season developed for CSKA is very difficult. At the start, the team lost to "Chernomorets" and "Wings of the Soviets" with a total score of 0: 5. Therefore, in the third round, Sergei Vladimirovich Perkhun took the position at the gate instead of the unsuccessfully played Andrey Novosadov. The first opponents was the Moscow "Spartak", in the derby CSKA lost 0: 1. However, Perhon proved himself to be the best.

The next match, again defeated 0: 1 from the capital "Torpedo", Sergei misses only with a penalty. In the fifth round of CSKA Moscow scored the first point, playing a draw with "Rotor" - 1: 1.

Challenge to the national team

On August 15, 2001, Perkhun will make his debut as a member of the national team of Ukraine. His legendary Valery Lobanovsky summoned him to a friendly match against the Latvian team. The game took place in Riga at the stadium "Skonto".

Guests brought forward Melashchenko in the 20th minute. The gate of the Ukrainian team in the first half defended Maxim Levitsky, who spoke at that time for the Moscow "Spartak". In the break, he was replaced by Perhun. Like his predecessor, he showed a reliable game, as a result the national team achieved a minimum victory of 1-0, and Sergei became one of the main contenders for a place in the goal before the upcoming qualifying matches.

The last match

However, many dreams and plans of the young goalkeeper were not destined to come true. On August 18, he came out in the first leg of the 22nd round match against Anji in Makhachkala. The game was tense, without goals scored, on the 75th minute in the jump Perkhun Sergey Vladimirovich faced heads with the future of Makhachkala residents Budun Budunov. Both players could not continue the match. Budunov suffered a serious trauma, lost his memory, but managed to survive. In the future Budunov retreated from a serious injury and was even able to continue his career.

Perkhun was conscious until the end of the meeting, at first his injury seemed average, he talked with partners, was interested in the result of the match (the game ended well 0-0). However, on the way to the airport, I fell into a coma. In Moscow, he was urgently hospitalized in the Burdenko Neurosurgery Institute, but he did not come to consciousness any more, irreversible processes began in the brain. After 10 days, without regaining consciousness, Perkhon Sergey Vladimirovich passed away. The cause of death is cerebral edema. Doctors say that the injury was so serious that nothing could be done.

Memory of a football player

Perkhun Sergey Vladimirovich 04.09.1977 - 28.08.2001, this inscription appeared on August 30 at the cemetery in Dnepropetrovsk on the grave of a young football player. To say goodbye to the athlete came about 10 thousand people. And not only CSKA and Dnipro, for which Perkhun played, but also other clubs. In all the remaining matches of the season, the army fans exhibited in the stands a T-shirt with the player's number and surname. He was only 23 years old.

Sergei left his wife Julia, two-year daughter Catherine and Anastasia, who was born four months after the death of his father.

His statistics in the championship of Russia is really impressive. In 13 matches, Sergei missed only 6 goals, one of them from the penalty spot. 7 games defended "to zero." I never missed more than one goal per game.

In addition, he became the youngest goalkeeper in the history of the Ukrainian football championship, played in the match of the highest league. Despite the fact that he held very few meetings in the championship of Russia-2001, was included in the list of 33 best players of the championship.

Since 2001, in the native city of Perkhuna, Dnepropetrovsk, tournaments among young men of the memory of the famous football player have already become traditional. Near the stadium is a monument. In the near future, it is planned to open a museum dedicated to one of the most promising goalkeepers in the modern history of Ukrainian football.