Uladzimir Ivanavich Zhuravel (9 June 1971 – 18 November 2018) was a Belarusian professional football player and coach whose career spanned the late Soviet period and the first decades of independent Belarus. His name is rendered in the two major regional languages (Belarusian and Russian) and appears in many club and national records. Contemporary summaries and profiles use a variety of short biographies and statistical listings (player profile entries) to record his contributions at club and international level.
Early life and club career
Zhuravel was born in Semipalatinsk in the Kazakh SSR and came through the football system that produced many players active at the end of the Soviet era. He made his professional debut in 1990 in the Soviet Top League for FC Dinamo Minsk, the leading Belarusian club of that period. After the breakup of the Soviet Union he continued his career in domestic leagues and regional competitions, representing several clubs and bringing experience gained at a high level of competition.
International career
Following Belarusian independence, Zhuravel was selected for the national side and was capped between 1992 and 1997. He belonged to the first generation of players to represent independent Belarus in international football and took part in friendly matches and qualifying campaigns as the new national team established itself. Contemporary match lists and national team summaries (national team records) document his years of service.
Coaching career and style
After retiring as a player Zhuravel moved into coaching and technical roles. He worked with youth and senior teams, and later held head-coach positions. In 2018 he was appointed head coach of Shakhter Karagandy in Kazakhstan, a role that reflected the common movement of coaches within the post‑Soviet football space. Reports and club announcements describe him as a coach focused on organisation and development of squad cohesion.
Death and legacy
Zhuravel died suddenly on 18 November 2018 in Minsk at the age of 47. Accounts indicated the cause was a cardiac arrest. His passing was noted across Belarusian and regional football communities; clubs, former team‑mates and supporters paid tribute to his contribution as a member of the early Belarus national team and as a coach.
Summary
- Professional debut in top-level Soviet football in 1990 with Dinamo Minsk.
- Represented Belarus internationally from 1992 to 1997 during the national team's formative era.
- Transitioned to coaching and managed clubs including Shakhter Karagandy in 2018.
For match lists, managerial records and contemporary reports consult club announcements and national federation summaries that preserve line-ups, match reports and coaching appointments.