Nikita Rukavytsya

Personal Details Date of Birth: 22 June 1987 Place of Birth: Mykolayiv, Ukraine Height: 183cm (6' 0") Position: Striker Club Summary Club Games Goals Torpedo Mykolaiv (juniors) - - Inglewood United (juniors) - - Perth SC (2003-2004) ? 1 Australian Institute of Sport (2005-2006) - - Perth Glory (2007-2009) 50 20 Perth SC (2007, on loan) 17 17 FC Twente (2009-2010) 9 2 KSV Roeselare (2010, on loan) 14 5 Hertha Berlin (2010-2012) 58 6 Mainz 05 (2012-) Total (as of start June 2012) 148 33 International Summary Games Goals Australia 'A' (2009-) 9 1 Australia Under-23 (2008) 13 1

Career Brief

Rukavytsya moved to Western Australia from the Ukraine at the age of 14 and played at youth level for Inglewood United and Perth SC, making his State League debut for the later as a 17-year old. In early 2007, fresh from completing a stint at the Australian Institute of Sport, he signed a short-term contract with Perth Glory and did enough in three inital appearances to be offered a two-year deal.

Loaned back to Perth for the first half of the 2007 State League season, the teenage Rukavytsya found the net a staggering twelve times in just nine league appearances. In June of that year he re-joined Glory but didn't really hit his straps until the closing weeks of the 2007/08 campaign, scoring six goals in the last eight games. Having committed his international future to Australia, Rukavytsya represented his adopted nation at the mid-2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, China.

His knack of finding the net returned Rukavytsya 10 goals in season 2008/09 and a share of the club's Golden Boot award with French import Eugene Dadi. January 2009 trials with FC Twente resulted in a one-and-a-half-year contract with the Dutch club, for whom he first scored goal an 8–0 Dutch Cup drubbing of SC Joure. Rukavytsya made his senior Australia debut in August 2009 by coming on as a second half substitute in a friendly win against the Republic of Ireland.

With first team opportunities limited at Twente, Rukavytsya went on loan on January 2010 to Belgium side KSV Roeselare. That moved paid dividends in June when he was included in Australia's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Rukavytsya came off the bench in the pre-tournament friendly with the United States of America and made similar appearances in World Cup competition with Germany and Ghana. The striker joined second tier German club Hertha Berlin following the tournament and soon after earned his first Socceroos start against Slovenia.

Rukavytsya was a regular starter in his first season with Hertha, scoring four goals and setting up numerous others to assist the club win promotion to the Bundesliga. The following season he featured mostly off the bench and, following Hertha's relegation, the striker opted to remain in the top flight by signing with Mainz 05. Rukavytsya's second Socceroos start came a few days later in a 3-0 friendly over Lebanon.

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This page was last updated on the 15th November, 2012.