Following the news of the death of Sergei Blanchuk, Maccabi Haifa's former player, who was killed in battle in Ukraine, the team published an obituary in memory of Blanchuk on Sunday."The Maccabi Haifa soccer club is shocked and bowed its head when word of Blanchuk's death came to us," read a statement from the club, to which were added the words of Lesia, Blanchuk's son's mother who was with him in Israel during the time he played for the team.
The team's former brakeman played with them between 1996-1999 and even scored one of the two goals in its favor in the 1998 National Cup final.
"My son and I cried non-stop, Sergei is a man full of love. I know that in the last stage of his life he was happy, I have never met in my life more warmth and care than Sergei had," Lesia said.
Nir Davidovich, who played with Blanchuk, also said goodbye and said in a conversation with Walla! Sports: "This is really sad news. I really liked playing with him, he was strong and fast. As a human being, he was quiet and shy, did not know so much English and because of that he had a hard time adapting, but after a while, he got into things and integrated."
Blanchuk fighting in Ukraine
According to reports, the 47-year-old Blanchuk volunteered for the Ukrainian army immediately after the invasion of the Russian forces, and due to his relatively advanced age was not supposed to be stationed at the front.
Blanchuk insisted on enlisting and was eventually sent to Donbas, where the toughest battles of the war were conducted. "Heroes never die. Sergei will be remembered forever as someone who sacrificed his life for the homeland," local media reported.
"Heroes never die. Sergei will be remembered forever as someone who sacrificed his life for the homeland."
Ukrainian media
Blanchuk grew up in the youth department of Dynamo Kyiv, and came to Maccabi Haifa in the mid-90s. He made 92 appearances in team uniform in all competitions, scoring five goals.
After leaving Israel Blanchuk continued to the daughter team of Dynamo Kyiv, from which he moved to Verskala and before retirement also played for Metalist Kharkiv.Blanchuk worked as a mediator in recent years after being certified as a lawyer post-retirement.