Alex Ovechkin and UFC fighter Sharabutdin Magomedov participated in the ceremonial first kick ahead of Dynamo Moscow and Dynamo Makhachkala’s match in the Russian Premier League on Sunday.
Ovechkin, who once played for Dynamo in a friendly match, walked out to the center of VTB Arena with his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, and Magomedov to get the match underway. Magomedov played a short pass to Ovechkin, who then picked the ball up and handed it to Dynamo’s star striker, Konstantin Tyukavin.
Ovechkin is a longtime soccer fan who regularly plays the sport over the summer, participates in team-wide sewer ball games with the Washington Capitals before puck drop in the NHL, and attended the 2026 World Cup Final in New Jersey last month. He is also a lifelong fan of Dynamo, a team for which his late father, Mikhail, played professionally.
Dynamo entered Sunday’s match 0-1-1 in their first two matches, looking to pick up their first victory of the season over the 2-0-0 club from Makhachkala. Perhaps inspired by Ovechkin’s attendance, Dynamo pulled out a 3-1 win, getting goals from Timofey Marinkin, Dmitri Skopintsev, and Anton Miranchuk.
All four goals scored came after 77 minutes of the match had already elapsed.
“The kids are happy, I’m happy,” Ovechkin told Match TV post-match. “Everything’s great. I thought it would be a boring match, but we scored a lot at the end.”
Ovechkin was also asked if he thinks Dynamo can compete for the RPL title this season. “Well, we hope so,” he replied. “God willing. I’m a Dynamo fan.”
After the match, Ovechkin went back onto the field to join in the chants with Dynamo’s happy supporters.
He also unsuccessfully attempted to get Sergei and Ilya to dance with him as the supporters cheered.
“Ovechkin was in the locker room just now,” Dynamo’s general director Pavel Pivovarov told Match TV. “He’s a motivator, a legend, a star of our sport. Should we invite him to training? We’ll invite him wherever he’s comfortable; we have a good relationship with him.”
Dynamo does have a few more home matches scheduled before Ovechkin is expected to return to North America to begin training camp preparations for his 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. The club will next be at VTB Arena in Moscow on August 19, hosting Krasnodar in a Russian Cup match.
