Position: Defender
Born: 16.01.83
Club: Dnipro

Andriy Rusol is one of Europe's most promising young centre-backs.

He joined Dnipro from FC Kryvbas in 2003 and less than a year later he was making his international debut in a friendly defeat to Macedonia.

His international call-up came out of the blue, after just one Under-21 cap, and an unspectacular record at club level.

But Rusol's selection has proved an inspired decision, and he has gone from strength to strength, quickly establishing himself as an automatic selection at the heart of a miserly defence in front of Alexandr Shovkovski.

Indeed, Rusol played in every qualifying game as Ukraine reached the World Cup finals for the first time in their history, scoring his first international goal along the way in the 2-0 victory against Albania.

Rusol, whose footballing idol is Chelsea and England defender John Terry, will get the chance to test himself against the world's best players this summer after his meteoric rise to the top of the sport.

He is a player who could well come to the attention of managers in Europe's bigger leagues if he has a good tournament, and admits it would be "a dream" to play in the Premiership. One to watch.