Siddhesh Joshi (Editor) I enjoy creating and spreading knowledgeable content for everyone around the world and try my best not to leave even the smallest of mistakes go unnoticed.
Full nameMaksim Tsygalko 2001–2006Dinamo Minsk Playing positionForward 2000–2001Dinamo-Yuni Minsk Height1.85 m
YearsTeam RoleFootball player Place of birthMinsk, Belarus NameMaksim Tsyhalka
Date of birth(1983-05-27) 27 May 1983 (age 32)
Maksim "Maxim" Tsyhalka (Belarusian: Максім Цыгалка, Russian: Максим Цыгалко, Maksim Tsygalko) (often spelled Maxim Tsigalko) (born 27 May 1983) is a former Belarusian football player. He had to end his professional career early (at the age of 26) in 2010 due to persistent injuries.
He began his playing career at a youth team Dinamo-Yuni Minsk before moving up to play for the Dinamo Minsk first team, he spent 5 years with the club before moving to fellow Belarus team Naftan Novopolotsk, after an unsuccessful 2 seasons there Tsyhalka soon moved on to Kazakhstan club Kaisar Kyzylorda. Tsyhalka spent 2 seasons with the club before moving in the summer of 2008 to Armenian team Banants Yerevan, where he would spend only a short stint. He spent the rest of the season for now defunct Belarus club Savit Mogilev. He scored 2 goals in his short spell at the club before being released after Savit were relegated and dissolved.
Tsyhalka also has a twin brother Yuri who played as a goalkeeper. The brothers played alongside each other at Dinamo Minsk.
In popular culture
Maksim and, to a lesser extent, his brother Yuri both achieved a small amount of fame and worldwide renown after they were featured in the Championship Manager / Football Manager computer game series by Sports Interactive, especially in CM 01/02. Both players were present in the database with good starting stats and a very high potential, and Maksim (spelled "Maxim Tsigalko" in the game) in particular was capable of becoming a world class player, to the degree that he is very well known amongst fans of the Football Manager series and considered one of the game's legends.