Bayern confirm Tymoshchuk acquisition

FC Bayern München have confirmed that FC Zenit St. Petersburg captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk will join them in the summer, with reports suggesting a fee of around €11m being paid for the midfielder.

Move confirmed
The 29-year-old Ukrainian international has long been linked with a move to Germany and Zenit coach Dick Advocaat said on Tuesday that the player was sure to leave the UEFA Cup holders. Bayern have now announced that Tymoshchuk will stay in St Petersburg until mid-June before joining the Bundesliga champions on 1 July as they start preparations for the 2009/10 season. "We have agreed that with St. Petersburg president Aleksandr Dyukov and coach Dick Advocaat," confirmed the chairman of the Bavarian club's board, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. No contract details have been released.

Zenit successes
Defensive midfielder Tymoshchuk started his career in his home town with SC Volyn Lutsk in 1995, moving on to FC Shakhtar Donetsk two years later. He won three league titles and a trio of Ukrainian Cups with Shakhtar before joining Zenit in 2007. In his debut season with the Russian club, Zenit won a first league title since their 1984 Soviet Supreme League success, and Tymoshchuk went on to skipper Advocaat's team to glory in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup too. In a recent interview with Champions magazine, Tymoshchuk – who has scored once in 83 games for Ukraine – outlined his ambitions at club level saying: "Every player would like to try himself in Europe's top leagues. I'm no exception and would definitely like to play in one of these leagues."