Dmytro Chygrynskiya 35-year-old Ukrainian central defender who played for Barça in the 2009-10 season, continues to compete regularly in the Greek Super League, a competition that hosted him in 2016, when he signed for AEK Athens after passing through the Shakhtar Donetsk (2010-2014) and the Dnipro of his country (2014-16). This is his first season in the modest Ionikos Nicea, where he has played 23 league games, the last emotionally marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In his teammates and in the fans of his club he has found solidarity and support so as not to collapse in such a difficult moment.
The veteran defender played this weekend and won 2-3 at OFI Cretealthough it was last February 26 when an emotional moment was experienced in the PAOK-Ionikos (1-1). When his teammate Thuram, a Brazilian, scored the equalizer, they raised a Ukrainian flag that ended up in the hands of an excited Chygrynskiy.
Although in the Barça He had no luck, the center-back left his mark among those who knew him most deeply for his humanity and his culture.