Ruslan Valeev Midfielder-Forward Date of Birth: 31.10.1981 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Ruslan Valeev

Ruslan Valeev, a midfielder-forward, was born in Odessa. In 1998, he joined the youth team of Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he played alongside Andrei Voronin. They shared the same agent, Andrey Golovash, which explains his move to the club. Valeev was also selected to play for the Ukrainian national youth team. He even became the vice champion at the U-21 Euro 2000. After making a name for himself, he transferred to the Dutch club De Graafschap, which was a mid-table team but still better than Borussia's youth squad. Despite being at the bottom of the league, Valeev quickly became the leader of the team from Doetinchem.

Valeev's technical skills on the field did not go unnoticed, and there were even rumors of interest from Feyenoord. However, nothing came of it. In the 02/03 season, he suffered an injury and had to undergo treatment, while his club continued to play without him and eventually got relegated to the second division. Valeev remained with the team, and they quickly returned to the top flight, finishing sixth in the league and securing a playoff spot. However, the following season did not go well for Valeev, and the club got relegated once again. According to an agreement, Valeev could leave the club if they did not maintain their place in the top division.

Valeev received offers of long-term contracts from clubs in the top division, but due to personal reasons, he could not commit to lengthy agreements. As a result, he signed a one-year contract with Emmen, a team in the second division. Despite immediately becoming a leader for the team, Emmen conceded 56 goals in the championship, making their promotion prospects unlikely.