Aleksandr Grebenozhko Midfielder-forward Date of Birth: 04.12.1978 Country: Ukraine

1. Early Career
2. Ukrainian Colony in Mönchengladbach
3. Breakthrough Under Bonhof
4. Leipzig Adventure and Return Home

Early Career

Alexander Grebenko, a forward-midfielder, initiated his career with the second-tier team "Obolon". Soon after, he relocated to Belgium to join a mid-table club in the second division. However, the salary was barely enough to cover his expenses, leading him to join Borussia Mönchengladbach, where Andriy Voronin was already playing.

Ukrainian Colony in Mönchengladbach

During his tenure at Borussia Mönchengladbach, a sizeable Ukrainian contingent emerged, including Voronin, Grebenko, Nechiporuk, Negara, Valeev, Levchenko, and Kucher. Grebenko initially played for the reserve team for two years before being promoted to the first team for another two seasons.

Breakthrough Under Bonhof

Grebenko's opportunity to break into the first team arose when the club was relegated to the second Bundesliga and Reiner Bonhof took over as manager. The Ukrainian players became key members of the second team, but ultimately none of them managed to establish themselves in the first team, despite many of them remaining with the squad in subsequent seasons.

Leipzig Adventure and Return Home

Grebenko received an offer from "Leipzig", the only professional team from Germany's third-largest city. At the time, Leipzig played in the Regionalliga Nord and aspired to gain promotion with the support of financial investments. Under former Bulgaria national team coach Hristo Bonev, Grebenko made 19 appearances and scored once during the 2000/01 season. However, financial difficulties plagued the club's sponsor, leading to unpaid registration fees. Due to the subsequent delay in processing paperwork and the closure of the transfer window, Grebenko returned to Ukraine to join Volyn Lutsk after six months.