Sergei Baltacha

Personal life His ex-wife, Olga, master of sports in athletics, could have been on the Soviet olympic pentathlon team in 1980 Summer Olympics, but instead opted to remain at home to care for their one-year-old son, Sergei Jr, who became a professional footballer.

Their daughter, Elena, was a professional tennis player. She died from liver cancer in 2014, aged 30.

Baltacha was married to Oksana.

Born in the Ukrainian part of the Soviet Union, Baltacha regards himself to be multi-national. His career achievements resulted in him being inducted into the Viktor Leonenko Hall of Fame in March 2012. Baltacha has stated in interview "I'm a citizen of the Soviet Union, but I love Ukraine. As for now, I've been in the United Kingdom for over 23 years, it's my home. But I still go back to Ukraine regularly. It's a beautiful country with good, kind people. I want to see it become more like European countries. But, I don't think it has to lose ties with Russia, we are similar people, it's in our blood."

Career statistics International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 19 June 1982 Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain 3–0 Win 1982 FIFA World Cup 2. 13 October 1982 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 1984 qualifyingCorrect as of 21 May 2016