At just 54 years old
Ex-Bundesliga professional dies in charity game
November 18, 2025 – 5:48 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
He was a Ukrainian international and spent four years of his career in Germany. Most recently, Andriy Polunin regularly took part in veterans’ games for the benefit of Ukrainian soldiers. He died completely unexpectedly.
Andriy Polunin is dead. The former Ukrainian international collapsed on Saturday during a veterans game in Lutsk (Ukraine) and apparently died of a heart attack. He was only 54 years old. Several British media initially reported on it.
Polunin played in Germany for 1. FC Nürnberg, FC St. Pauli and Rot-Weiss Essen. The attacking midfielder made 16 appearances for the “Club” in the Bundesliga (two goals) in the 1998/99 season, 29 second division appearances for St. Pauli (four goals in 99/00) and 28 appearances for RWE in the Regionalliga (one goal between 2000 and 2002).
Polunin played nine international matches for the Ukrainian national team. Most recently he worked as chief scout at the Metalist 1925 club in Kharkiv. In recent years he has also regularly taken part in veteran games in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was part of the Ukrainian veterans national team.
Numerous former companions and his former clubs said goodbye on social media. The national veterans team wrote in a Facebook post that Polunin was a “wonderful person,” a “good friend” and a “great Ukrainian footballer,” according to the Nuremberg News. The memories of him would “live on in everyone.”
St. Pauli’s club icon André Trulsen also commented: “A great colleague, a wonderful person who unfortunately left us far too soon. My deepest sympathy and thoughts are with the family and relatives.”
FC Karpaty Lviv said goodbye with the words: “In eternal memory of Andriy Polunin, sincere condolences to his family and friends.”
Rot-Weiss Essen said: “Our thoughts are with his family and relatives. We wish them a lot of strength during this difficult time and would like to express our sincere condolences.”