Maksim Tsyhalka

Maksim Tsyhalka (, ; often spelt Maxim Tsigalko; 27 May 1983 – 25 December 2020) was a Belarusian football player who played as a striker.

Tsyhalka played for several teams in Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan, most notably for Dinamo Minsk where he won the Belarusian Premier League and Belarusian Cup and was capped twice for the Belarus national team, scoring one goal. He ended his professional career early, at the age of 26, in 2010 following a knee injury.

Tsyhalka became known worldwide after featuring in the Championship Manager video game series with exaggerated attacking attributes in the 2001–02 version.

Tsyhalka died, aged 37, on 25 December 2020.

Early life Tsyhalka, alongside his twin brother Yury, was born in Minsk, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union on 27 May 1983.

Club career Tsyhalka began his career with FC Dinamo-Juni Minsk – a youth side for Dinamo Minsk – in 1999. While at Dinamo, Tsyhalka played alongside his twin brother Yury and the club won the 2002–03 Belarusian Cup and the 2004 Belarusian Premier League.

While playing for Dinamo, Tsyhalka had a trial at Portuguese club Marítimo and was due to be offered a contract. However, he tore his cruciate ligaments during one of the training sessions and returned home to Minsk. The injury would plague him for the rest of his career and after retiring from football.

Tsyhalka joined Naftan Novopolotsk in 2006 before moving to Kazakhstan with Kaisar in 2007. The following year, he played briefly for Banants in Armenia before ending his career with Savit Mogilev in Belarus. His final appeance as a substitute come on 30 April in a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium in Tashkent.

In popular culture Tsyhalka and, to a lesser extent, his brother Yury both achieved a small amount of fame and worldwide renown after they were featured in the Championship Manager video game series by Sports Interactive. In Championship Manager: Season 01/02, Tsyhalka (spelt "Maxim Tsigalko" in the game) had exaggerated attacking attributes and a very high potential which made his in-game persona capable of becoming a world-class player. He is well known amongst fans of the series and is considered to be a cult hero and one of the game's legends.

After football Tsyhalka attempted to continue working in football after retiring from playing but was unsuccessful. He pursued construction work to support his family but this was limited due to his knee injury.

Death Tsyhalka died on 25 December 2020 at the age of 37.