Oleksandr Zinchenko’s challenging career-arc from war-torn Donetsk to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City featured him drawing inspiration from Fernandinho’s recovery from a career-threatening injury. Zinchenko, 21, is set to start Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Arsenal alongside the Brazilian and, when a youth team player at Shakhtar Donetsk, Fernandinho showed the kind of character required to be an elite professional. Zinchenko says: “Everyone here [at City] is a superstar and I could not choose just one of them but for me Fernandinho is No 1. When I was in Shakhtar he got a serious injury in 2010 – he broke his leg in a game I was watching – and I remember the moment. I...
Full Story »