Roman Yaremchuk
Roman Olehovych Yaremchuk (; born 27 November 1995) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Ukraine national team. After coming through Dynamo Kyiv's youth academy, Yaremchuk began playing for the club's reserve side in 2013 and was promoted to the first team two years later. He was subsequently loaned to fellow Ukrainian side Oleksandriya during the 2016–17 season, before moving to Belgium side Gent in 2018. Yaremchuk's performances sparked the interest of Benfica, who signed him in 2019 for a transfer worth €18,5 million. After  representing Ukraine at various youth levels, Yaremchuk was called up to the full international side for the first time in September 2018, playing at UEFA Euro 2020. Club career. Dynamo Kyiv. Early career. Yaremchuk is a product of Karpaty Lviv and Dynamo Kyiv academies. Yaremchuk's first coaches were Mykola Dudarenko in Karpaty and Oleksiy Drotsenko in FC Dynamo. On 6 September 2008, Yaremchuk made his debut for Dynamo in Ukrainian National Youth Competition. In his first match against FC Yunist Chernihiv he scored twice. That season he made 21 appearances and netted 10 goals. He made his debut for  FC Dynamo-2 entering as a second-half substitute against Desna Chernihiv on 14 July 2013 in the Ukrainian First League. Loan to Oleksandriya. While playing for Oleksandriya in October 2016, Yaremchuk was selected as player of the month in the Ukrainian Premier League. He also became the first recipient of the award. He scored the fastest goal in the history of the Ukrainian Premier League, after seven seconds on 31 October, in a 2–2 draw against Vorskla Poltava. Gent. In August 2017, Yaremchuk signed a four-year contract with Gent in the Belgian First Division A. He made his competitive  debut for the club on 27 August 2017, coming on as an 86th minute substitute for Mamadou Sylla in a 0–0 home draw with Anderlecht. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 3 November 2017 in a 1–0 home victory over Standard Liège. His goal, assisted by Deiver Machado, was scored in the 50th minute. In the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Yaremchuk three goals for Gent in the group stages, including a brace against VfL Wolfsburg on 24 October, before being eliminated in the round of 32 to Roma 2–1 on aggregate. On 20 January 2020, Yaremchuk  had a surgery on the injured achilles tendon. The recovery was estimated to take two to three months, rulling him out for the rest of the season. During the 2020–21 campaign, Yaremchuk featured in 34 games and ended the season with a career-best 20 league goals and seven assists, including two hat-tricks against Waasland-Beveren on November 1 and Mouscron on February 15 in the regular season. Benfica. On 31 July 2021, Benfica announced the signing of Yaremchuk on a five-year deal worth €18,5 million for 75% of his economic rights. He made his debut for  the club on 10 August, creating Benfica's second goal in the 2–0 home victory over Spartak Moscow in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Four days later, Yaremchuk made his debut in the Primeira Liga, scoring his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 home victory over Arouca, and netted a brace in a 3–1 away victory over Vitória de Guimarães. The following matches, Yaremchuk struggled to score goals, being 10 matches scoreless, before scoring his first goal in over three months, the opening goal for Benfica in a 2–0 home victory over his former  club Dynamo Kyiv in the club's last UEFA Champions League group match, ensuring his teams' qualification to the round of sixteen. On 23 February 2022, Yaremchuk scored the equalizer in a 2–2 home draw against Ajax, in the first leg of the round of 16 tie of the Champions League. Yaremchuk celebrated his goal by unveiling a shirt with Ukraine's coat of arms on it, as way of supporting his nation amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Four days later, after coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Darwin Núñez, Yaremchuk received the club's captain  armband by Jan Vertonghen, before receiving a standing ovation from Benfica's supporters, due to his country's invasion, during a 3–0 home victory against Vitória de Guimarães. On 13 April, Yaremchuk scored Benfica's second goal in a 3–3 draw against Liverpool in the second leg of the quarter-finals tie. However, Benfica were eliminated after losing to Liverpool 6–4 on aggregate. International career. Yaremchuk represented Ukraine at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, for a total of 33 youth caps and scoring 4 goals overall. With the under-20s, Yaremchuk participated in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World  Cup, helping Ukraine to a round of 16 finish, after losing to Senegal in a penalty shootout. He made his international debut on September 9, 2018 in a UEFA Nations League group stage match against Czech Republic, which Ukraine won 2–1. Yaremchuk scored his first goal for the national team and provided an assist on June 7, in a 5–0 win against Serbia in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers. Yaremchuk prolific form continued on October 14, scoring from close range after an initial save from Rui Patrício, to help Ukraine to a 2–1 home win over reigning European champions Portugal , ensuring his team qualification to the 2020 UEFA European Championship, at top of their group. In their last match for the qualifier, Yaremchuk also scored a goal on November 17, in a 2–2 away draw against Serbia in Belgrade. He was included in the squad for Euro 2020. In their first group stage match, Yaremchuk assisted the first and scored the second goal in a 3–2 loss against the Netherlands at Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, and scored in a 2–1 win against North Macedonia at Arena Națională in Bucharest. After finishing as one of the best third-placed teams , Ukraine was eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals by England on 3 July, after a 4–0 loss at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Personal life. On 15 November 2020, it was announced that Yaremchuk tested positive for COVID-19. Yaremchuk is in a relationship with Christina Yaremchuk, marrying her in 2017. The couple have a son named Nikita born on 19 July 2019. Honours. Benfica Individual