Onopko completes century

Russia captain Viktor Onopko will play in his 100th full international in his side's crucial FIFA World Cup meeting with Belgium on Friday. It is hardly surprising, as it seems that this defensive colossus has been around forever.

Second to Blokhin
Onopko will become the 63rd member of the 100 club, having racked up the total for both his current nation and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) side that replaced the Soviet Union in the 1992 UEFA European Championship.

Russian choice
Oddly enough, the sweeper who became a symbol of Russian football over past ten years, is a Ukrainian. But when the Soviet Union dissolved he chose to represent Russia - like many other players of his generation, such as Sergei Yuran, Andrei Kanchelskis or Ilya Tsymbalar.

Cool temper
The story of Onopko's international debut is truly unbelievable these days. As a young 22-year-old defender, he was uncapped with a month to go before the start of EURO 92. Then, in a friendly game against England in Moscow, he was introduced on 59 minutes to immediately win the admiration of the coaches with his smart positioning and cool temperament at the back, as the home side earned a 2-2 draw.

Lesson for Dutch
In those 31 minutes, Onopko won a trip to Sweden, where he played all three matches for the CIS. There, in Sweden, the Europe quickly learned who Onopko was - in the game against the Netherlands, the young defender completely shut down Ruud Gullit. Several months later, the CIS national team ceased to exist - and everybody, including Onopko, had to pick a new nation to play for.

'Enemies of the state'
Onopko did not hesitate to join Russia. An emerging leader of FC Spartak Moscow at that time, he also knew that the Russians had a much better choice of reaching higher goals - and so they did, aided by Onopko, when they qualified for the 1994 World Cup. The choice was bitter though: as Yuran, Kanchelskis and Onopko were ostracised in their native land of Ukraine, and even labeled 'enemies of the state'.

Numerous records
A holder of numerous records, Onopko has barely missed a game for Russia since 1992. He has survived the reigns of national coaches Pavel Sadyrin, Boris Ignatjev and Anatoly Byshovets, and has remained the favoured sweeper of current coach Oleg Romantsev, now in his second spell in charge.

World Cup experience
A captain for Russia 78 times, Onopko, who has been with Real Oviedo in Spain for the past seven seasons, also surpassed the Soviet World Cup appearance record of legendary goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev when he faced Japan in his 32nd match. To add to this endless collection of records, the defender also won the Russian Player of the Year award three times running from 1992 till 1994.

Leading by example
This World Cup will be Onopko's last hurrah. He will lead his team-mates into Friday's game against Belgium with high hopes of qualifying for the second round. "We must beat Belgium, and our fate is in our own hands", he said. "We had time ahead of that game, and we must be ready. Especially psychologically". And there is no doubt that Onopko intends to lead by example.