Kalynychenko has overcome two injuries which have commonly signalled the end of footballers' careers: a torn cruciate ligament in his elbow, and a severed achilles tendon.

Despite being in his mid-twenties Kalynychenko is considered something of a veteran of Spartak and in the 2005 season was lauded for his penalty kicks taken from long distance, several times coming onto the field as a late substitute and changing the course of the game.

After capturing international attention for his World Cup 2006 debut, Kalynychenko was linked with clubs such as Manchester United, Valencia C.F., Borussia Dortmund and most recently, Wigan Athletic.

In the winter transfer window of 2006, after Kalynychenko expressed frustration at being left on the bench for long periods, concrete offers came through from Dynamo Kyiv and his former club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, with a price of 7 million Euros cited.

[4] Previous to the World Cup, Kalynychenko's appearances for a Russian club and lingering rumours surrounding his departure from Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk led to a low profile in Ukraine's senior national side.

Kalynychenko did not feature in the 2006 qualification campaign, His surprise inclusion on the squad was due (by his own reckoning) to his good form in the tail end Spartak's 2005 season.

Called to the starting 11 in the next game against Saudi Arabia, Kalynychenko provided the opening assist from which Andriy Rusol scored Ukraine's first ever World Cup final goal.

[5] Kalynychenko put in a notable performance in the quarter-final against Italy, with dangerous crosses and a shot on goal from a rebounded attempt by Oleh Husyev.