Andrei Kanchelskis and His Remarkable One-of-a-Kind Record

Football is full of impressive individual records that often crop up in pub quizzes worldwide. This week, on these very pages, you learned about the handful of players who scored a goal in each of Europe’s top five leagues. This latest article also revolves around goal-scoring prowess, although it highlights a feat only one player has managed in football history. Andrei Kanchelskis’s 97 career goals do not rank him anywhere near the top of the global goal-scoring charts, but he remains the only player to find the back of the net in a Manchester, Merseyside, and Old Firm derby.

Kanchelskis started his professional playing career with the Ukrainian team Zirka Kirovograd before transferring to Dynamo Kyiv in 1988. At Kyiv, Kanchelskis played under legendary head coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who favored a 4-4-2 formation that focused on getting the ball out wide and crossing into the penalty box. Kanchelskis’ lightning pace enabled him to thrive in Lobanovskyi’s system.

Making His Mark on the English Premier League

The winger only played 33 games for Dynamo Kyiv before heading to Shakhtar Donetsk. After making a mere 27 appearances across one-and-a-half season, Kancheslskis signed for Manchester United in a £650,000 deal in March 1991. Although he only played once during the 1990-91 season, Kanchelskis became a regular starter the following season. Sir Alex Ferguson deployed Kanchelskis on the right wing and the then-youngster Ryan Giggs down the left. This deadly duo frightened the life out of opposition defenders and was one of the reasons the best sportsbook websites priced Manchester United as favorites in almost every game they played.

Kanchelskis was one of only 11 foreign players in the Premier League in 1991-92. His five goals in 34 games helped United win the first-ever Premier League, the team’s first in 26 years. The winger’s most productive season was 1994-95, when Kanchelskis finished the campaign as United’s top goalscorer with 15 goals in 32 games. Three goals were a hat trick in a 5-0 demolition of United’s arch-rivals, Manchester City. Little did anyone know back then that those goals were the start of a one-of-a-kind record.

After falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson and the pair unable to reconcile their differences, Manchester United placed Kanchelskis on the transfer list in July 1995. Everton paid a club record of £5 million for Kanchelskis and tied him to a four-year contract worth £13,000 per week.

He scored 15 goals in 32 games during his first season at Goodison Park, including ten goals in the last ten games, the most of any Everton player during a Premier League season. Kanchelskis became an Everton icon after scoring a brace of goals in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

Heading to Italy in the Purple of Fiorentina

Kancheslksis’ performances had not gone unnoticed by some of Europe’s top teams, and he was subject to a £6 million offer from Fiorentina of Italy’s Serie A in January 1997. Everton accepted the offer, a then-record for a Russian player. Unfortunately, injuries marred Kanchelskis’ time in Italy, and he only managed 28 appearances over two seasons. Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as their head coach toward the end of Kanchelskis’ time in Serie A, and he did not see him as being part of his plans.

Setting a Scottish Transfer Fee Record

Fiorentina accepted a £5.5 million offer from Scottish Premier League team Rangers, which set a national record in Scotland. Kanchelskis broke his arm in the first Old Firm derby he played against Celtic, something of a baptism of fire for the Russian. The following season, on March 26, 2000, Giovanni Van Bronkhurst slotted a through-ball into Kanchelskis’ path, and he scored the second goal in a 4-0 win over Celtic. That goal meant Kancheslkis had become the only player in history to find the back of the net in a Manchester, Merseyside, and Old Firm derby, a feat unlikely to be repeated.

After a training ground bust-up with Fernando Ricksen and a falling out with manager Dick Advocaat, it became clear Kanchelskis was on borrowed time in Scotland. Rangers sent him on loan to Manchester City during the 2000-01 season, a time when City were fighting relegation. Kanchelskis failed to reproduce the form of his earlier career, and City decided against signing him permanently.

After leaving Rangers at the end of the 2001-02 season, Kanchelskis’ career became nomadic. He played a solitary game for Southampton, three times for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, and signed for Dynamo Moscow. However, Dynamo Moscow sacked Kanchelskis on the eve of the 2004 season for a disciplinary offense, so he never played for them. He spent two seasons with Saturn Ramenskoye before ending his career with Krylia Sovetov in 2006.

Playing International Football For Three Countries

Kanchelskis is also one of only a few players to have represented three different countries at international level. He made his Soviet Union debut in 1989 and was capped 17 times. The Soviet Union became the CIS, and he received six caps for them. Kanchelskis scored the last goal in Soviet national team history.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kanchelskis decided to represent Russia, which FIFA considered the USSR’s official successor team. Through his parentage, he qualified to play for Lithuania and Ukraine. Kanchelskis played 36 games for Russia and scored four goals.

Final Thoughts

Andrei Kanchelskis finished his glistening career, playing 575 professional games and scoring 97 goals. He won 14 trophies, including two Premier League and two Scottish Premier League titles. However, it is the fact the hard-working, pacy winger managed to score in a Manchester, Merseyside, and Glasgow Old Firm derby that he will forever be remembered for. Nobody has managed the same feat since, nor are they likely to in the near future.