- Alex Ovechkin took the ceremonial first kick at Dynamo Moscow with UFC fighter Sharabutdin Magomedov
- He walked out at VTB Arena with sons Sergei and Ilya, and Dynamo rallied to win 3-1
- Read below for full details on Ovechkin’s afternoon in Moscow
Alex Ovechkin spent Sunday afternoon on a soccer pitch.
The Capitals captain handled the ceremonial first kick before Dynamo Moscow hosted Dynamo Makhachkala in the Russian Premier League, walking to the middle of VTB Arena with UFC fighter Sharabutdin Magomedov and his two sons, Sergei and Ilya.
Magomedov played him a short pass. Ovechkin scooped the ball up and handed it off to Dynamo striker Konstantin Tyukavin:
None of this is out of character for him. Ovechkin plays soccer through the summer, runs sewer ball with his Washington teammates before puck drop, and sat in the stands for the 2026 World Cup Final in New Jersey last month.
His tie to this particular club goes back further than that. Ovechkin’s late father, Mikhail, played professionally for Dynamo.
The home side could use the good vibes. Dynamo walked in at 0-1-1 against a Makhachkala team that had won its first two matches, and nothing happened for 77 minutes.
Then all four goals of the afternoon arrived. Timofey Marinkin, Dmitri Skopintsev and Anton Miranchuk scored to turn it into a 3-1 Dynamo win:
Ovechkin was asked afterward how the afternoon had gone, and he told Match TV he had not expected much:
“The kids are happy, I’m happy. Everything’s great. I thought it would be a boring match, but we scored a lot at the end.”
Someone followed up by asking whether Dynamo can chase the RPL title this season.
“Well, we hope so. God willing. I’m a Dynamo fan.”
Once it ended, he went back out onto the field to sing along with the supporters. Take a look:
