Mykola Kudrytsky

Kudrytsky was a Ukrainian footballer who stood 1.66 meters tall and played as a forward or attacking midfielder.[1][2] Before moving to Israel, he played for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, with which he won the Soviet league championship in 1988 and the Soviet Cup the following year.[2]

Reports differ about his international record. A 2018 Ynet retrospective says he had previously been in the Soviet Union national-team squad, while a 2017 Ynet article says he played for the Commonwealth of Independent States side formed after the Soviet breakup.[1][3] A 2024 Mako item credits him with playing for both the Soviet Union and Ukraine.[4] The cited reports do not provide a consistent appearance total.

Kudrytsky arrived at Bnei Yehuda in mid-November 1991, during the 1991/92 season.[1] Coach Giora Spiegel was later credited with discovering him in Ukraine.[5] Kudrytsky scored in his Toto Cup debut and recorded an assist a week later in his first league appearance, with both matches coming against Maccabi Netanya.[1] He finished his first league season with 14 goals, helped Bnei Yehuda win the Toto Cup, and contributed to a runner-up league finish.[6][1]

In his second season, Kudrytsky scored 17 league goals while playing in an attack alongside Haim Revivo and Alon Mizrahi.[6] He was appointed captain during his second year, becoming Bnei Yehuda's first foreign captain.[3] The club finished third in 1993.[1]

By the 27th round of the 1993/94 season, Kudrytsky had scored 20 of Bnei Yehuda's 29 league goals and stood second in the league's scoring table.[1] In his final league match before his death, he scored twice within five minutes in a 3–1 away victory over Tzafririm Holon.[1]

Kudrytsky was remembered as a quick forward and became a major favorite of Bnei Yehuda's supporters in the Hatikva neighborhood, who called him "Tsar Nikolai."[3][1] He learned Hebrew well and adapted closely to daily life in Israel. People in Hatikva reportedly said, "He was a real Israeli," and that he ate spicy food as if he had been born there.[1]

One of the defining performances of his Israeli career came on February 20, 1993, when he scored a hat-trick in Bnei Yehuda's 3–1 victory over Beitar Jerusalem at Ramat Gan Stadium.[7] His third goal was a solo effort finished with a chip over goalkeeper Yaakov Asayag. Beitar went on to win the league title that season.[7]

A 2018 Ynet retrospective dates Kudrytsky's fatal crash to the early hours of March 16, 1994. He had attended a gathering in Haifa following Ukraine's March 15 friendly against Israel and left for central Israel at approximately 3 a.m.[1] At about 4 a.m., he lost control of his car near Ra'anana while reportedly traveling at 160 km/h. The vehicle overturned, and he died at the scene.[1]

A 2008 Ynet account says Kudrytsky was not wearing a seat belt.[8] He was 31 and was survived by his wife and their three-year-old daughter.[1]

Kudrytsky's scoring rate placed him among Bnei Yehuda's most productive forwards. A 2022 Ynet retrospective credits him with 51 league goals in 85 appearances and identifies him as the Israeli league's leading scorer among players with fewer than 100 appearances.[5]

Before his body was flown to Kyiv, Kudrytsky's coffin was placed at Bnei Yehuda's stadium in the Hatikva neighborhood.[1] A 2008 Ynet account says thousands of supporters filed past it, while a 2017 account places the number at 10,000.[8][3] Before the club's next league match, his teammates held his empty number 9 shirt while the crowd sang Zohar Argov's "Sea of Tears." Supporters chanted "Nikolai, Nikolai, Nikolai" whenever Bnei Yehuda scored.[1] The club subsequently held annual memorial ceremonies, and a large mural of Kudrytsky was painted on a stadium wall.[8][9]

Sources agree that Kudrytsky made 85 league appearances for Bnei Yehuda but disagree about his goal total. A 2018 Ynet retrospective gives 50 goals, while Ynet retrospectives from 2016 and 2022 give 51.[1][6] Mako also reports 51 goals, whereas a Sport5 article gives 54.[4][10]

The date of his death is also inconsistent. Ynet reports from 2008 and 2018 date the crash to March 16, 1994, while a 2006 Ynet report says he was killed on March 15.[8][1] All three accounts connect the crash with the March 15 Israel–Ukraine friendly.[9]

His international affiliation is variously described as the Soviet Union squad, the Commonwealth of Independent States team, or both the Soviet Union and Ukraine.[1][3] None of the cited reports supplies a consistent cap total, so the precise extent of his international career remains unclear.[4]