Valeri Popovitch

Valeri Popovitch
	Popovitch with Ilves in a charity match in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Valeri Aleksandrovich Popovitch
Date of birth	18 May 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth	Gorky, USSR
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker, Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1986	Khimik Dzerzhinsk
1987	Lokomotiv Gorky
1988–1989	CSKA Moscow
1990–1991	Spartak Moscow
1992–1993	TPV
1994	Ilves
1994–2008	Haka
1995–1996	→ Ikast (loan)
1999–2000	→ Heerenveen (loan)
2009	HJK
2010–2012	Ilves
International career
	USSR U-17
	USSR U-19
Managerial career
2010–2012	Ilves (player-coach)
2012	Haka (youth coach)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Valeri Aleksandrovich Popovitch (Russian: Валерий Александрович Попович; born 18 May 1970) is a Russian former football forward.^[1] Popovitch is the all-time scoring leader of FC Haka. After his contract ended with HJK in 2010, he joined Ilves Tampere playing in Kakkonen, as a player-coach, signing a two-year contract. Currently he is a youth coach at FC Haka. Popovitch also holds the Finnish citizenship.

He has also capped several times for Soviet U-17 and U-19 National football teams. U-17 finished third in the 1986 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, and U-19 won the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in 1988. Popovitch played in both tournaments.

Popovitch played for FC CSKA Moscow in Soviet First League and FC Spartak Moscow in the Soviet Top League.^{[citation needed]}^[2]

Legacy

Popovitch holds a legendary status in Finland and especially in Valkeakoski, where his regarded as one of the best players ever to play for FC Haka. FC Haka retired his number, 14. During his career, he made 395 appearances and scored 166 goals in Finnish top-tier, making him the top scorer in the Veikkausliiga history.

His son Anton Popovitch is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Ilves.