Ukrainian became the author of a historical achievement
Ukrainian striker Bayera Artem Stepanov commented on his debut for the German team in the Champions League match with Salzburg (5:0).
“I was nervous. This is fine. Xabi Alonso told me that I should enjoy the moment and keep working.”
“Just before the end of the game I told Granit Xhaka where to stand for a corner. Then he approved of his position. I helped him.”
Stepanov appeared on the field in the 73rd minute. On the day of the match, the player’s age was 17 years, 3 months and 16 days. The Ukrainian’s historic debut was noted by Pharmacists coach Xabi Alonso.
Thus, Stepanov set a new record among Ukrainian football players. Artem also became the youngest Ukrainian among foreign players (surpassing Alexander Zinchenko, who made his debut for PSV at the age of 19 years and 10 months), and also became the youngest Bayer player in the Champions League (surpassing Kai Havertz, who played at the age of 17 years and 4 months) .
Artem is a Shakhtar graduate who moved to the Leverkusen club in the summer of 2022. In January 2024, his contract was extended until the summer of 2027. Last season Artem played for Bayer U-17. Since this summer, the Ukrainian has already been tearing apart his division as part of the U-19 team – 16 matches, 11 goals, four assists.
At the end of August, Stepanov was included in the first team of Bayer for the first time – in a cup match against Carl Zeiss (1:0). Several times the Ukrainian found himself on the bench in Bundesliga matches, but Artem has not yet appeared on the field in the championship.
Bayer is sixth in the overall Champions League standings with 10 points. In the next round of the Champions League, Xabi Alonso’s team will host Inter: the match is scheduled for December 10.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
