Career
He is the highest scoring defender of the Ukraine national football team Popov is a graduate of the Donetsk sports school of Olympic reserve and started to compete at senior level at age of 17 playing for the Novator Mariupol (Zhdanov). After the fall of the Soviet Union Popov signed with Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukrainian Premier League, with which he stayed until 2004.
In the mid 90s he also spend couple of seasons for the Russian Zenit Saint St. Petersburg.
Before retiring in 2006 Popov played for Metalurh Zaporizhia.
