Taras Stepanenko

Taras Mykolaiovych Stepanenko (Ukrainian: Тарас Миколайович Степаненко; born 8 August 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for FC Shakhtar Donetsk and the Ukraine national team. He started his career at Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, making his debut in 2007, before joining Shakhtar in 2010.

Club Career

Metalurh Zaporizhzhia

Taras began his career with Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, playing for the junior team 16 times, scoring 1 goal, in the 2006–07 season, before being promoted to the senior team for the rest of the season.

He made his debut for the senior team on 4 March 2007 at the age of 17 in a 3–1 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv. He ended his first season in the senior side with 12 appearances.

In his second season he scored his first goal for the club on 21 July 2007 in a 1–0 Premier League victory over Kryvbas. He was just one month shy of his 18th birthday when he netted the goal. He went on to make 23 appearances for the club in that season, with 1 goal.

His third season saw him become an integral part of the team as he made 29 appearances for the club.

The following season he played 17 matches for the club. At the end of the season he agreed a deal to join reigning Premier League champions Shakhtar Donetsk. He made a total of 81 appearances for Metalurh's first team, scoring 1 goal.

Shakhtar Donetsk

2010–11

On 11 May 2010 the midfielder signed a five-year deal with Shakhtar Donetsk for an undisclosed, leaving Metalurh Zaporizhzhia with Serhiy Kryvtsov who also joined Shakhtar in a five-year deal. He made his debut for the club in a 7–1 Super Cup victory over Tavriya Simferopol, coming on as a substitute. This was his first trophy with the club. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 November 2010 in a 3–0 Champions League group stage victory over Partizan Belgrade. He made 20 appearances for Shakhtar in his first season, including 15 league ap

This page also has a version in other languages :  Тарас Степаненко (russian)