A veteran goalkeeper who has spent the best part of his 20-year career with FC Metalist Kharkiv, Olexandr Goryainov had made just one appearance for Ukraine before he was surprisingly named by Oleh Blokhin in the co-hosts' provisional squad for UEFA EURO 2012.
• A son of Kharkiv, his first club was FC Olympic Kharkiv; he moved to top-flight Metalist at 18 but suffered relegation in his first season and spent the next two years in the second division.
• Had a brief spell at FC CSKA Kyiv before returning to Metalist to help them win promotion back to the elite; over the next five seasons he was the club's regular keeper, accumulating 135 top-division appearances before the club endured another relegation, in 2003.
• Remained a top-flight player by signing for FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih and made 49 league starts over the next two campaigns before embarking on a third spell with Metalist that would bring six successive third-place finishes in the Ukrainian Premier League under coach Myron Markevich, who appointed him as the club captain.
• Markevich was also responsible for giving him his first international cap – a month before Goryainov's 35th birthday – in his first game as Ukraine head coach, a 4-0 friendly win against Lithuania in Kharkiv on 25 May 2010.
• Made his UEFA club competition debut for Metalist at 32; also kept goal regularly during the club's run to the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals despite often playing second fiddle to Vladimir Dišljenković on the domestic front.
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| UEFA Europa League | ||
| Club | P | GS |
| Metalist | 37 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 0 |
|---|---|---|