Rebrov was born in Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast. He joined Shakhtar Donetsk as a youth in 1990. In his debut 1991 season, then a 17-year-old, he scored two goals in seven games in the USSR Premier League. In his second season, playing in the newly established Ukrainian Premier League, he became a joint 3rd goalscorer, catching the eye of Dynamo Kyiv scouts.
