On Sunday, Konstantin Tyukavin scored his 50th anniversary goal as part of Dynamo and became one step closer to another club record.
Kostya has caught up with his childhood idol, Aleksandr Kokorin, in the list of the Blue-Whites' all-time top scorers. Along with Kokorin and Ivan Konov, our number 70 now shares 22nd and 24th places on the club's all-time scoring list. And if we look at the 21st century, only Kevin Kuranyi, with 56 goals, remains ahead.
It took Konstantin just under five years to reach this milestone. By comparison, Kokorin scored 50 goals in seven years, while Kuranyi took four years and four months (all without serious injuries).
It all began on that memorable frosty evening of February 20, 2021, at VTB Arena, when in the 70th minute of the cup derby, Kostya backheeled Sebastian Szymański's free kick. Even then, it was clear that Dynamo had developed an extraordinary forward with a bright future.
A month later, Tyukavin scored his first brace in Krasnodar – a volley from Arsen Zakharyan and a superb volley from the left wing, securing three points after a 2-0 deficit in the first half. In October, Kostya celebrated his 10th goal in a cup game against Orenburg. Once again, Zakha, who tied with Moomi Ngamalyo for the most assists for Tyukavin – five – assisted the goal.
2022 was memorable for Tyukavin's only goal to date from outside the penalty area. And it came in a match against his favorite opponent: in the 27th minute, Nail Umyarov made a poor back pass, and Kostya sent the ball into Spartak's net with his second touch, the only goal of the match.
Our striker's 20th goal also earned three points for the white-blues. He scored the goal against Krylia Sovetov in stoppage time of the Russian championship match. A match later, Kostya wore the captain's armband for the first time, and again scored the winning goal at the very end of the away match against Ural. The final period of the match (from the 76th minute onward) was generally Kostya's most productive – he had already scored 14 goals in the final minutes.
The 2023/24 season proved to be the talented striker's best yet. His 15 league goals included a brace in a 3-2 away thriller against Zenit, a stunning volley against Igor Akinfeev, and a five-game scoring streak at the end of the year.
Kostya made a particularly significant contribution to the championship race, finishing the season on a six-game scoring streak. This included another game-winner against Zenit, the best goal of the season by any stretch of the imagination against Sochi (again, a backheel!), and a precise strike in a frantic match in Kaliningrad, Tyuka's 40th for Dynamo. Incidentally, Mumi also scored his famous goal at the end of the season from a pass by Kostya.
The first part of last season was memorable for a brace in the country's oldest derby, with the second goal scored with a man down in stoppage time, the only penalty kick thus far converted against Rubin, and two goals against Khimki.
Kostya's goal tally remained frozen at 48 for nine long months, including a six-month recovery from a knee injury. A joyous event for all Dynamo players occurred on September 17, early in the second half of the game against Sochi – Tyukavin scored his ninth goal in the Russian Cup, once again becoming Dynamo's sole leader in that category.
Tyukavin scored his milestone goal against Akhmat on Father's Day, in front of Alexander Vasilyevich, who symbolically rang the Dynamo bell eight minutes before the momentous occasion.
"My dad was worried about me. He wrote to me right after the game, saying he was proud of me and happy. I dedicated that goal to him. It's just a shame we didn't win today," Kostya remarked after the match.
Konstantin Tyukavin's goal breakdown for Dynamo:
Most goals against teams: Spartak - 5, Ural - 5, Akhmat - 4, Khimki - 4, Orenburg - 4, Zenit - 3, Krasnodar - 3, Krylia Sovetov - 3, Pari NN - 3, Sochi - 3. In total, Kostya scored against 21 teams.
Most goals against goalkeepers: Aleksandr Maksimenko - 4, Ilya Pomazun - 4, Egor Baburin - 3, Georgi Shelia - 3, Ivan Lomaev - 3, Mikhail Kerzhakov - 3. In total, 32 goalkeepers were injured by his shots.
Top assists: Arsen Zakharyan – 5, Nicolas Ngamaleu – 5, Daniil Fomin – 4, Dmitry Skopintsev – 4, Yaroslav Gladyshev – 3, Jorge Carrascal – 3, Fabián Balbuena – 3.
By method of scoring: right-footed open play – 31, left-footed open play – 8, heading – 8, chest kick – 2, penalty kick – 1.
By time of goal: 1st-15th minutes – 8; 16th-30th minutes – 8; 31st-45th minutes – 8; 46th-60th minutes – 7; 61st-75th minutes – 5; 76th-90th minutes – 14.
The longest scoring streak in the RPL was 6 matches in April-May 2024.