Alexander Maksimenko is the hero of the match between Spartak and Zenit in the second leg semi-final of the RPL Path of the Russian Cup. The 26-year-old goalkeeper saved the red and white team from several missed goals in Saint Petersburg with his saves and will now play in his hometown. The outcome of the confrontation between the teams of Vladimir Slishkovich and Valery Karpin will largely depend on the performance of the Rostov-on-Don native.
Meetings with Rostov have so far not been very successful for Maksimenko. In nine matches (eight in the RPL and one in the Russian Cup), Alexander missed 17 goals. No other team scored more against Alexander. He also conceded 17 goals from Zenit and Krylya Sovetov, but in a greater number of games. Furthermore, Maksimenko never played with a clean sheet against the Rostov team, while against the team from St. Petersburg and Samara he played five and four times, respectively. Coincidence of circumstances or pattern: can’t cope with emotions?
In Rostov-on-Don, Maksimenko played four matches in the RPL. In April 2019, Oleg Kononov’s Spartak lost to Valery Karpin’s team 1:2. In July of the same year, the red and white team, led by Kononov and with Alexander in goal, tied in southern Russia 2:2. In April 2021, Spartak won a resounding 3-2 victory. But in April 2022, Paolo Vanoli’s Muscovites, on the contrary, were defeated with the same result. In total, Maksimenko has three victories over Rostov in his career, with one draw and five defeats.
Maksimenko has been at Spartak since he was 15 years old. The goalkeeper received an invitation to try out at the Moscow Club’s academy in 2013 and successfully passed it. Then the goalkeeper said goodbye to Rostov-on-Don, who prepared Alexander in such a way that he beat Spartak.
Maksimenko took his first steps in the local team Lokomotiv and in 2008, at the age of 10, he entered the academy named after Viktor Ponedelnik, winner of the 1960 Euro Cup as a member of the USSR national team and author of gold”. “Goal in the final. The Academy was created two years earlier on the initiative of the president of the Rostov SKA, Ivan Savvidi.
“I started in the Rostov yard, I still saw the time when they played in gangs, region against region,” Maksimenko recalled his football childhood in Rostov-on-Don. – I always played with my older brother. They put me at the door so they wouldn’t trample me. I was very little. They told me: “Stand at the goal and if you can hit something, hit it.” And it worked for me, I started beating. The boy in the yard advised me to sign up for the section. That same night I approached my father and we signed up. In the first training session they threw between 15 and 20 pieces at me. I will always remember this training. But in the next one I only conceded two goals.”
Maksimenko’s older brother is Maxim. Unlike the youngest, he did not link his life with football. But he also became a professional athlete, a volleyball player.
ALEXANDER MAKSIMENKO
Photo: from the personal archive of Maxim Maksimenko.
Interestingly, Maksimenko’s first coach at the Ponedelnik Academy was Serbian Aleksandar Veselinovic. He is a former professional footballer (the peak of his career was playing for Belgian side Molenbeek) and now a coach with a Pro license. After leaving Rostov-on-Don, Veselinović worked in the Serbian youth team, managed Lithuanian club Suduva, to Serbian Vojvodina, Spartak Subotica and Cukarichki, and in recent years he worked in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“I’ve known Sasha since I was little, so he stood out for his efficiency and it was clear that he was becoming a talented goalkeeper,” the Serbian coach recalled his work with Maksimenko. – I was very connected with him… He was always psychologically stable. He always maintained his level, he was disciplined and had character.”
In the Monday Academy, the goalkeeper stood out noticeably, playing with boys one or two years older. And Maksimenko was sent to the capital by former Rostov SKA goalkeeper and football agent Alexander Skotarenko. In addition, Rinat Dasaev personally examined the goalkeeper. The legend gave the go-ahead and Maksimenko moved to Moscow to train more often under the former Spartak and USSR national team goalkeeper. According to the then general director of the Ponedelnik Academy, Leonid Nikonov, the goalkeeper received compensation of only 312 thousand rubles, although about 30 thousand a month were spent on raising a footballer. At first, Alexander traveled frequently to Rostov-on-Don, missing his family and friends. Then he became less frequent: a couple of times a year.
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Maksimenko arrived from the Rostov Academy to the Spartak Academy already quite well trained and played well with his feet. It’s true, overweight. Spartak school coach Yuri Darwin said:
“He lacked explosive power, he was slow… The Rostov trainers considered him a bit heavy, but this was true: first they increased his speed and strength training. Sasha jumped hurdles twice a week. Sometimes he would just fly and other times he would catch the ball. “They advised him to work harder with the jump rope and he did everything diligently.”
Having gone through all stages of youth and youth football in Spartak, a native of Rostov-on-Don became the first number of the Moscow team. Candidate for the Russian national team. But he does not forget his homeland.
In 2020, Maksimenko participated in the international event “Garden of Memory” in Rostov-on-Don. This action was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and its goal was to plant 27 million trees in memory of the 27 million who died in World War II. Alexander planted a linden tree near the Rostov Arena stadium in honor of his great-grandfather.
The text uses quotes from interviews for Match TV and Sports.ru.
