A son of an ethnic Romanian plant worker and a Ukrainian nurse,[citation needed] Muntyan became interested in acrobatics and competed successfully in Kyiv's citywide competition, winning accolades in his age category.

His family eventually relocated to live near a professional soccer grounds in Kyiv, where young Muntyan and his friends would hang out, acting as ball boys to the elders.

Due to the boy's natural talent, he was included in Kyiv's youth team with people like Semen Altman and Anatoly Byshovets (both coaches now).

The young boy turned up outside the ground, but was so scared to see his idols Valery Lobanovsky, Andriy Biba, that he hid behind a tree and didn't make the team bus.

Despite weighing only 60 kg (9.5 stones) and being only 170 cm in height, he was encouraged to play and his skills were further enhanced by the training.