Earlier this month, Tomer Yosefi and Ofek Biton received exciting news. Polissya Zhytomyr secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, repeating their success against the reigning champions from the season’s opening match in the Ukrainian Premier League. This win strengthened their chances of qualifying for next season’s Conference League.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva midfielder Yosefi and Hapoel Jerusalem midfielder Biton will join their new team in January, a club with relatively big ambitions. Now is the time to get to know their new destination.
Zhytomyr holds symbolic significance for Israeli soccer players, as it is a city with a rich Jewish heritage. Once one of the largest Jewish communities in Ukraine, at the beginning of the 20th century, half of its residents spoke Yiddish as their first language. Tens of thousands of Zhytomyr’s Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, but even after World War II, many Jews remained in the city. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, many emigrated, and today, an estimated 3,000 Jews live in Zhytomyr. They will likely be happy to welcome Yosefi and Biton.
In terms of soccer tradition, however, Zhytomyr has little to boast about. During the Soviet era, the city lacked a club of any significant stature. Its sole team, which frequently changed names, mostly played in Ukraine’s regional division of the Soviet Third League and never competed at the top. After Ukraine gained independence, Polissya Zhytomyr played in the second division until it went bankrupt in late 2004—a downfall that garnered little attention outside the region.
The club was re-established in its current form only in 2017, giving it a very short modern history. The project was led by Mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn, who allocated a respectable budget from public coffers.
The investment paid off, as Polissya progressed from the amateur leagues to the second division by 2020. This success made the club attractive, and a year later, one of Ukraine's wealthiest businessmen, Gennadiy Butkevych, took over. A supermarket chain owner with an estimated fortune of $200 million, Butkevych promised to turn Polissya into an empire by Ukrainian standards. His goal was to compete with Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv and become at least the third-best team in the country. The collapse of clubs like Dnipro and Metalist Kharkiv left this position open, and Zhytomyr is aiming to claim it.
The Russian military invasion significantly disrupted these plans, but it also created new opportunities. Shakhtar and Dynamo Kyiv can no longer sign top-tier foreign players, the overall league quality has declined, and clubs with momentum now have a chance to dream of competing for the championship.
Polissya was promoted to the top division for the first time in its history in 2023. In its debut season, the team finished fifth and reached the semifinals of the Ukrainian Cup. The bankruptcy of Dnipro even allowed Polissya to qualify for the Conference League qualifiers, though they lost twice to Olimpija Ljubljana. This demonstrates that Polissya is not yet strong enough, but Butkevych is prepared to increase investment.
“We’ve upgraded the stadium, the pitch is in excellent condition, and we are working to strengthen the squad. We will do everything to put Zhytomyr on the map, and we also contribute significantly to the country’s recovery during these challenging times,” he said recently.
For the first three years, the club’s president fully trusted head coach Yuriy Kalitvintsev, a former Ukrainian national team player and a beloved figure in local soccer. His sudden resignation last March left big shoes to fill.
Despite rumors about foreign candidates, Butkevych announced that only a Ukrainian coach would be appointed. The man chosen for the job was Imad Ashur, just 36 years old, who had previously only worked with youth teams. This was an interesting gambit on someone with a unique background.
As his name suggests, Ashur is ethnically Lebanese. He was born in Odesa to parents who were studying in the city. The family returned to Beirut when Imad was four years old due to the economic difficulties following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he attended an American school there.
In 1999, at the age of 11, his parents returned to Odesa, and Ashur considers himself fully Ukrainian. “This is the country where I grew up and where my identity was formed,” he says. However, during his modest soccer career, he also played for a team in Beirut. After retiring, he completed his studies in physical education and began working as a youth coach. He even spent time at Qatar’s prestigious Aspire Academy, which trains athletes from many countries.
Initially, Ashur intended to serve as a youth coach at Polissya, but Kalitvintsev’s resignation changed those plans. Vice President Volodymyr Tselya declared, “I am confident Ashur will be our Pep Guardiola.” However, Ashur takes inspiration from Phil Jackson, the legendary Chicago Bulls coach, as he is also interested in basketball.
Polissya’s playing style does not resemble tiki-taka in any way. Still, the new coach began his tenure with a prestigious win over Shakhtar, and his first two months were excellent. The team later encountered a rough patch, but another win against Shakhtar may get them back on track. Butkevych has given the young coach his full backing even after losses, taking personal responsibility for the squad’s shortcomings.
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“I made a mistake by signing only young foreign players. They’re all under 23, and that’s not healthy. I consulted with professionals who told me we need a more balanced squad with experienced players. We need such foreigners, and we will fix this issue,” the club president admitted.
Indeed, only Brazilian defender Lucas Taylor is 29 years old. The rest lack experience: Croatian defender Matej Matić is 20, Brazilian forward Peixao is 20, Venezuelan striker Luifer Hernández is 23, Congolese midfielder Jerry Yuka is 18, and Georgian defender Giorgi Maisuradze is 22. Yosefi and Biton, both 25, are therefore key additions to the mid-season adjustments aimed at upgrading the team immediately.
The Ukrainian squad is relatively strong, and Polissya’s standout star is 27-year-old left-back Bohdan Mykhaylichenko. A product of Dynamo Kyiv’s academy, he has played for Anderlecht and Shakhtar. He has eight caps for the Ukrainian national team and was included in its Euro 2024 squad, though he didn’t play a single minute. This was a huge source of pride for Zhytomyr, as he was the first player from the club to participate in such a major tournament.
On the other hand, the coach of Polissya’s U19 team, Hennadiy Lytovchenko, has extensive experience in major tournaments. Lytovchenko was one of the Soviet Union’s top midfielders in the 1980s and played a key role in the team that reached the Euro 1988 final. He scored the opening goal in the 2-0 victory over Italy in the semifinals, and he is still remembered in Ukraine as a legend.
His U19 goalkeeping coach, Serhiy Krakovskyi, Lytovchenko’s close friend from Dnipro, also played in Israel late in his career for Tzafririm Holon and Hapoel Hadera. Yosefi and Biton can check if he still remembers a bit of Hebrew.
Overall, this will be an intriguing adventure. Zhytomyr’s main stadium is small and outdated, the wartime atmosphere is challenging, and the Ukrainian league is struggling due to the current situation. However, the club continues to rise. If the two Israelis feel at home in the Wolves’ yellow and green jerseys, they might write an important chapter in the history of a club just beginning its journey to the top.