Andrey Varankow

Varankow was on the books of Ukrainian powerhouses Dynamo Kiev in the first six years of his career, going frequently out on loan while starring for his country at youth and full international levels.[2] He severed ties with Dynamo in 2013 and returned to Belarus with initially FC Slavia Mozyr and then FC Gorodeya, performing modestly for a few years.[3]

Towards the end of 2018, Varankow attended a trial at Bruneian professional club DPMM FC who were in the market for an import striker after the departure of Volodymyr Pryyomov. He impressed head coach Adrian Pennock who signed him along with Charlie Clough and Blake Ricciuto for the 2019 Singapore Premier League campaign, with club hierarchy citing his international experience as a huge deal.[4]

Varankow made his official debut for DPMM on 3 March away to Home United when he scored in the 21st minute for the only goal of the game.[5] He would then made himself known to everyone in his fifth game against Balestier Khalsa, hitting the back of the net five times in a 1–7 victory.[6] DPMM finished the first half of the season unbeaten thanks to the form of Varankow who has managed to top the goalscoring charts with 14 goals at this point.

The one month break proved detrimental for DPMM who proceeded to lose to Tampines Rovers right after the league resumed.[7] This also marked a barren spell for Varankow who suddenly could not score for the next five games before being taken off injured at half-time in a 3–1 defeat to Hougang United on 19 July.[8] With Hougang catching DPMM on the league table and their striker Faris Ramli scoring for fun, the mid-season acquisition of brothers Adi Said and Hakeme Yazid Said cushioned the blow of Varankow's absence for DPMM in a morale-boosting 3–0 win against Geylang International.[9]

Varankow rediscovered his scoring boots upon his return in September, netting a brace in a 1–4 victory over Balestier Khalsa which included a powerful free-kick into the bottom corner.[10] A fortnight later, he scored a hat-trick against Warriors FC to pull DPMM ahead of the pack in the title race.[11] The following day, title rivals Hougang faltered in a 4–4 draw to Geylang which sealed DPMM as league winners.[12] Varankow finished the season as top scorer with 21 goals as well as joint-highest number of assists with 10.[13]

Varankow debuted in Belarus national football team in a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Luxembourg on 13 October 2007.[14] He was a member of the Belarus U21 that finished in 3rd place at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, playing all five matches and scoring twice, against Iceland U21 and Spain U21.[15] He was part of the Belarussian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, scoring a goal against Egypt.[16]

• Andrey Varankow at National-Football-Teams.com
• Profile at Official Site FFU
• Andrey Varankow at Soccerway