career in the Soviet Union Kanchelskis was born in Kirovohrad in the Soviet Union's Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to a Lithuanian father, Antanas, and a Ukrainian mother. Kanchelskis started his career with hometown team Zirka Kropyvnytskyi, known at the time as Zirka Kirovograd. In 1988, he was called up to the army, and had the choice of two teams to transfer to - Dynamo Kyiv and Dnipro. Choosing Dynamo, he received a salary of 250 rubles per month, and described his time in the army as a "good school of life". At Dynamo, Kanchelskis was coached by the legendary Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who he believes is the best manager he played for. Lobanovskyi favoured a 4–4–2 formation, a system which focussed on getting the ball to the flanks and crossing into the penalty box, which Kanchelskis describes as an "English style of play". Kanchelskis had decided to become a winger having seen Brazilian Jairzinho playing in his youth. His first goal for Dynamo came on 4 November 1988 at the Republican Stadium, scoring the equalising goal against Dynamo Moscow in a 2–1 victory. Kanchelskis eventually decided to leave Dynamo due to lack of game time, causing upset to his mentor Lobanovskyi, who he admired and respected greatly. He then transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk in 1990, where his salary was increased to 700 rubles per week. Moving to England with Manchester United Kanchelskis signed for Manchester United in a £650,000 deal on 26 March 1991, with United manager Alex Ferguson describing it as a "justifiable risk". Ferguson had discovered Kanchelskis through a VHS tape sent to him by Norwegian agent Rune Hauge, and had been able to personally scout him during a Soviet Union match against Scotland. At the time, Kanchelskis was a rarity in English football, being one of just 11 players in the First Division from outside the British Isles. He made his United debut in the penultimate league game of the 1990–91 season, a match which United lost 3–0 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, with Ferguson resting several first team players due to their participation in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final. During his time with United, he received help settling in from George Scanlan, employed by the club as an interpreter, who he became close friends with and who later helped write his first autobiography. Kanchelskis came into a United squad who finished the season in 6th