HE HAS roots in Ukraine and was a World Cup stand out for Russia.
But he didn’t pull up many trees at Rangers.
youtubeHe has grown his beard – and his hair – much longer than his 1990s heyday[/caption]
As a well-known sports star, he now utilises his status calling for peace against the current conflict in his homeland.
He played for both countries, and has a foot in both camps.
One of those feet once wore a Golden Boot. A World Cup Golden Boot no less.
And earned with a tournament record.
Before tournament top scorers like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Miroslav Klose and Ronaldo, came Oleg Salenko.
A £2.5m signing from Valencia, his recruitment made Scottish headlines 12-months after he set a World Cup record of five goals in one game.
But the striker, now based in Kyev, was always in the shadow of Paul Gascoigne, who also arrived that same summer.
It took the Russian international 20 games to score eight Scottish goals under Walter Smith – yet just three to hit six a year before at USA 94.
Included in that was a five-goal haul against Cameroon – the one and only time a player has reached that figure in a World Cup match, which surprisingly turned out to be the striker’s last at international level.
But what a way to go.
No-one has been able to eclipse his record in the 30 years that followed. And no-one will ever deny his award – shared with Hristo Stoichkov – and place in the history books.
Now he is still involved in football at Dynamo Kyiv and looks far removed from the smiling, clean-shaven striker of the mid-1990s, with shaggy long hair, stubble and scars – but he wears his clothes just as baggy as he did his adidas Rangers shirt.
PA:Press AssociationSalenko set his record in the same game Roger Milla became the tournament’s oldest player in 1994.[/caption]
Alan MacGregor Ewing – The Sun GlasgowSalenko was a short-lived signing under Walter Smith[/caption]
Not that he wore that for too long.
He was transferred to Istanbulspor after just six months of action – in a deal that brought Smith’s long-term Dutch target Peter van Vossen to Glasgow.
It’s the one and only time – so far – Scotland has been home to a World Cup top scorer.
Salenko is the son of a Ukrainian mother and Russian father and played in both countries – he featured in Ukraine’s first ever international before declaring for Russia.
Nowadays he often speaks out against the on-going aggression in the region – and even suggested a friendly football match between both a few years before tensions escalated.
Unlike many of his contemporaries at Ibrox – like David Robertson, Derek McInnes and Alexei Mikhailichenko he has never stepped into the dug-out himself, although he did take charge of the Ukrainian BEACH FOOTBALL squad for a spell in 2003.
But he remains the only Golden Boot winner, never to make it beyond the group stage.
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