Mikhail Sivakow

Mikhail Syarheyevich Sivakow (Міхаі́л Сярге́евіч Сівако́ў, Михаи́л Серге́евич Сивако́в; born 16 January 1988) is a Belarusian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.

Club
Sivakow began his career with Smena Minsk, before joining BATE Borisov in January 2003 where he scored 14 goals in 83 games for the reserves. At the age of 17, he received interest from German club Borussia Dortmund but never signed for them. He started playing with the senior side in 2005, participating in 13 games and scoring one goal in the Belarusian Premier League.

On 31 January 2009, he was signed by Italian Serie A side Cagliari in 4-year contract.

He made his Serie A debut on 8 November 2009, replaced Davide Biondini in the last minutes, against Sampdoria. On 27 January 2010, he was loaned to Piacenza to swap club with Radja Nainggolan.

On 28 January 2011, Sivakow signed a half-year loan deal with Wisła Kraków. He was the most remembered for his 51,1 m goal against Lechia Gdańsk.

On 25 August 2011, Sivakow left Cagliari to join Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem. He signed a four-year contract with the club.

On 28 January 2015, Sivakow signed a six-month contract with Azerbaijan Premier League side Gabala FK, linking up with fellow former FC Chornomorets Odesa players, Dmytro Bezotosnyi, Oleksiy Gai, Ruslan Fomin and manager Roman Hryhorchuk. Sivakow left Gabala at the end of his contract.

In June 2015, Sivakow signed a two-year contract with FC Zorya Luhansk.

On 19 January 2017, he signed with a Russian Premier League side FC Orenburg.

On 17 June 2017, he signed a two-year contract with another Russian club FC Amkar Perm.

On 24 July 2018, he returned to FC Orenburg after Amkar was declared bankrupt. Sivakow left Orenburg as his contract expired on 10 June 2024.

International
Sivakow played with the Belarus national football team's under 17 side from 2004 to 2005, and in 2006 with the under 19 side. In 2008, Sivakow became a member of the under 21 squad. He played his first game for the squad on 14 October 2008 and scored a goal in the 39th minute against Turkey. Sivakow was a leading member of the under 21 side that participated in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and exited at the group stage. Two years later, he captained the under 21 team that finished in 3rd place at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Sivakow appeared in all five of the matches. He also captained the Belarus Olympic squad that participated in the 2012 Toulon Tournament, playing in all three of their matches and scoring one goal. Sivakow made his debut for the senior national side of his country on 2 June 2010, in the 0:1 home loss against Sweden in a friendly match after coming on as a substitute for Sergey Omelyanchuk during the second half.

Personal life
His mother is of Polish descent.

International
Statistics accurate as of match played 9 June 2017

International goals

 * Scores and results list Belarus' goal tally first.

Honours
BATE Borisov
 * Belarusian Premier League: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013
 * Belarusian Cup: 2005–06
 * Belarusian Super Cup: 2013

Wisła Kraków
 * Ekstraklasa: 2010–11

Belarus U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship third place: 2011