Fifteen minutes. That's around as much time Ivan Kaliuzhnyi spent on the field in his debut for Kerala Blasters in their Indian Super League opener against East Bengal. But he owned the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in that quarter of an hour. And how.
With the home team leading by a solitary goal – courtesy a brilliant goal from Adrian Luna - head coach Ivan Vukomanovic brought on Kaliuzhnyi in the 80th minute. A couple of minutes later, Kaliuzhnyi had the vociferous crowd eating out of his hand, with a dazzling run down the middle and a wonderful finish to put the Blasters 2-0 ahead.
Though East Bengal managed to pull one back in the 88th minute, Kaliuzhnyi sent the fans into raptures with a peach of a left-footed thunderbolt from outside the box, which left opposition goalie Kamaljit Singh with no chance.
The brace on debut has catapulted the 24-year-old into instant fame. He joined Kerala Blasters on loan from FK Oleksandriya, and was the club's third foreign signing this season, after striker Apostolos Giannou and defender Victor Mongil.
Kaliuzhnyi started his youth career with Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv. He then joined Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv and represented them in the UEFA Youth League. His senior career started with a loan stint at Metalist 1925 Kharkiv, for whom he played 27 times in his first season. The next season saw him gain more experience on loan at Ukranian side Rukh Lviv where he made 32 appearances and scored two goals.
Following consistent performances in the first division of Ukraine as an energetic and all-round midfielder, in February 2021, he was transferred to FK Oleksandriya. He continued his good form with the club, contributing four assists and two goals in 23 appearances. Prior to joining the Blasters, with the Ukrainian league suspended, Kaliuzhnyi had a brief loan stint at Iceland top division side Keflavik IF.
Kerala Blasters will next face ATK Mohun Bagan in Kochi on October 16.