BIOGRAPHY
Siarhei Rutenka’s career took him to several different countries and saw him achieve enormous success - but everything started and ended in Minsk. The Belarusian started his career at Arkatron Minsk in 1998; he retired in 2016 after one season back at SKA Minsk.
In between, the 198cm-tall left back played for clubs in Slovenia, Spain and Qatar; represented Belarus and Slovenia internationally; and also gained Spanish citizenship.
Rutenka’s first experience outside his homeland was for RK Gorenje in Slovenia, but he had his first successes at European level with RK Celje. In 2004 the club won the EHF Champions League with a four-goal aggregate victory over SG Flensburg-Handewitt. Rutenka scored 13 goals in the first, home leg, and added another 11 in the second leg. He finished the season as the tournament’s top scorer, with 86 goals.
His first year at Ciudad Real brought him his second of six Champions League titles and the first of three with the club. In 2009 Barcelona bought Rutenka for €1 million, and he spent six years at the Blaugrana, winning another two Champions League titles and two SuperGlobe titles into the bargain.
After the sixth Champions League victory, in 2015, Rutenka headed to Qatar for a short spell with Lekhwiya (now Al Duhail), before returning to Minsk in 2016 and retiring from SKA Minsk.
Rutenka acquired Slovenian citizenship in 2003 and represented Slovenia at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He was also granted Spanish citizenship in 2008. However, he made the most national team appearances for Belarus, with his last games at the EHF EURO 2016.
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