 As an athlete, he was brought up by youth coaches of Shakhtar and soon made his way to the main squad, already at his 17 he played his first game.In total, Shcherbakov played in the Soviet Top League 52 games over three seasons and scored 12 times.With dissolution of the Soviet Union, he along with Shakhtar joined the Vyshcha Liha that commenced on territory of the independent Ukraine.