Daejeon Hana Citizen sign Azerbaijan centre back Anton Kryvotsyuk

Daejeon Hana Citizen have bolstered their defence with the acquisition of Azerbaijan international centre back Anton Kryvotsyuk from Polish top division side Wisla Plock. The 24-year-old is the first player from Azerbaijan to sign for a K League club.

(Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

With the new season just a few days away, Daejeon Hana Citizen have brought in a left-sided centre back with the signing of Anton Kryvotsyuk from Wisla Plock in Poland.

Krivotyuk is a full international with Azerbaijan and has made 27 caps for his country.

Speaking via Daejeon's official channels on the move, Kryvotsyuk said:

"As I joined the team late, I will try to adapt quickly by communicating with the other players. I know that this is a very important year for Daejeon, who are back in the top division after eight years. We will do our best to help the team move toward higher goals and the club's visions."

Manager Lee Min-sung has been known to dabble with a back three but, with two first-team centre backs having left over the winter and with 21-year-old Byun Jun-soo still learning his trade, has needed to bring in another left-sided defender.

He will be registered as "Anton" in K League.

Image via Daejeon Hana Citizen

Who is Anton Kryvotsyuk?

Kryvotsyuk was born in Kyiv in Ukraine and has dual nationality. While with Neftchi Baku, he won the 2020-2021 Azerbaijan Premyer Liqa title. 

He began his career in 2016 but played just once that season. It wasn't until the season after that he began to establish himself, featuring 25 times for Neftchi Baku and won the title there in his last season.

Kryvotsyuk was a regular for the team until he left for Poland and Wisla Plock in 2021.

How has his time been in Poland?

K League United spoke to Maciej Frydrych, a reporter for Przegladsportowy.pl who said:

"At Wisla, it was difficult for him to break into the first line-up on a permanent basis. From the beginning, he was a central defender, but most recently he was a left back. 

He's a solid player, but he made a lot of mistakes. Especially as a central defender, he was often unreliable. He is still a young player with potential, but Wisła fans expected more from him, as he came to Poland as a league title winner in Azerbaijan.

He is hardworking and not afraid of one-on-one contact. At times, he is unfortunately a bit of a live wire.

He didn't cope with the pressure in the Polish league at first, plus he had trouble acclimatizing. Wisła is his first foreign club. I don't think Wisła has done everything it could to help and could certainly have done more."