Alex Ovechkin was back on a soccer field with Dynamo Moscow, Wednesday. While the legendary goal scorer didn’t lace up his boots for another viral appearance with the club, he did participate in the ceremonial first kick before Dynamo’s Russian Cup match against FC Krasnodar.
Ovechkin waved to the crowd and greeted multiple players before playing a pass to Dynamo midfielder Luka Gagnidze. He then shook hands with Dynamo’s manager, Valery Karpin, while making his way off the field.
Ovechkin is a longtime soccer fan who regularly plays the sport over the summer to train and participates in team-wide sewer ball games before puck drop in the NHL. He is also a lifelong fan of Dynamo, a team for which his late father, Mikhail, played professionally.
The Russian Cup is an annual midseason tournament where clubs from seven tiers of Russian soccer compete to play in the final, where, previously to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a spot in the UEFA Europa League was up for grabs.
Dynamo dropped Wednesday’s match, their second in group play, 4-0 to Krasnodar. Russian striker Kazbek Mukailov scored twice, while Armenian midfielder Eduard Spertsyan and Brazilian winger Gustavo Furtado also added goals.
Outside of attending any other soccer matches, Ovechkin is set to jump on the ice for one more friendly hockey game this summer.
He has committed to playing in Pavel Datsyuk’s “Magic Game” on August 30 before reportedly heading back to Washington, DC in early September ahead of Capitals training camp.
