Roman Hodovanyi, a European football champion among student teams, was killed by an enemy tank in the war against the Russian occupiers.
He was born in the Ternopil region, where he took his first steps in football. As a member of the local team «Ternopil», he won the title of regional champion. Later, the talented young man was invited to join FC «Niva» from Ternopil, with whom he played in the First and Second Leagues.
In 2009, Roman became the European champion among student teams with FC «Ternopil», and in 2010 he won bronze medals.
Later, the young centre-back signed a contract with «Volyn» from Lutsk. He helped the team to win the silver medal in the First League and get into the elite division of the Ukrainian championship. The following season, Roman made his debut in the UPL, where he played 15 matches. Then he played for a short time in Belarus, but in 2018 he had to end his professional football career due to an injury. He had spent the last few years with FC «Melnytsia» from Melnytsia-Podilska, Ternopil region, where he built a house and settled with his family.
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the football player joined the 33rd separate mechanized brigade. On the night of November 29, 2023, 33-year-old Roman Hodovanyi was on a combat mission when an enemy tank opened fire on his unit. The soldiers ran into a forest, where they hit a tripwire mine… Russian invaders took the life of a lovely husband and father of two children…