Dema Kovalenko
Kovalenko with the LA Galaxy in August 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dmytro Kovalenko | ||
| Date of birth | 28 August 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Kiev, Ukraine SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1998 | Indiana Hoosiers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2002 | Chicago Fire | 108 | (26) |
| 1999 | → MLS Pro-40 (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2001–2002 | → FC St. Pauli (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | D.C. United | 82 | (12) |
| 2006 | Metalurh Zaporizhzhya | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | New York Red Bulls | 35 | (2) |
| 2008 | Real Salt Lake | 22 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 23 | (1) |
| Total | 293 | (48) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 September 2010. |
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Dmytro "Dema" Kovalenko (Ukrainian: Дмитро (Діма) Коваленко) (born 28 August 1977 in Kiev) is a retired American footballer from Ukraine.
He spent the majority of his playing career in the United States after moving there in 1992, most notably for Chicago Fire and D.C. United. His DC team won the MLS Cup in 2004. He retired from the game in February 2011 after being released by Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the 2010 season.
Kovalenko emigrated to the United States in 1992. He graduated from Greece Arcadia High School in Rochester, New York in 1996, and played three years of college soccer at Indiana University from 1996 to 1998, where he helped the Hoosiers win a national championship in 1998, and was named an NCAA first team All-American in the same year. Was long known in college for his powerful headers, which often left opponents stunned and unable to react to deflections from the goalkeeper or posts. Kovalenko often attributed this to his well developed neck muscles that he said were created from doing hundreds of sets of Ukrainian neck-snaps daily prior to his soccer training.
Upon joining the league, Kovalenko was originally allocated to the Dallas Burn, but the league complied with his demands to play for the Chicago Fire, engineering a trade to the team in exchange for draft picks. Kovalenko appeared infrequently in his rookie year, playing only 291 minutes in 11 games, but managed to score three goals for the team. Kovalenko made an impact another way, breaking the leg, and effectively ending the career, of Dallas Burn defender Brandon Pollard with a dangerous tackle.
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