The first number of the Russian national team, Matvey Safonov, is close to moving to PSG. This news caused mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is good that our goalkeeper was interested in the best European club in Europe, but on the other hand, I would not want Safonov, at the peak of his career, to lose a year or even several seasons on the bench in France.
How did other Russian goalkeepers perform in the five major European championships? We remember it in this text.
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Rinat Dasaev, Seville
Rinat Dasayev
Photo: Allsport/Getty Images
Dasaev was the first Russian goalkeeper in the top 5 leagues in Europe. At the end of 1988, Rinat, then 31 years old, left for Seville as a finalist at Euro 1988 and a six-time winner of the best goalkeeper of the year award in the USSR. Also in 1988, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics named him the best goalkeeper of the year in the world.
In general, the Spartak goalkeeper flew to Spain with star status: thousands of local fans met him at the airport. The Spanish club paid 2 million dollars for Dasaev. Sevilla was then in the middle of the league and at the end of the 1988/1989 season finished ninth. Dasaev immediately got a place in the starting eleven and made his debut in the home match against Real Madrid (1:1). However, the adaptation was not easy for the Soviet people. In December-January, the team suffered four defeats in five rounds, and in two of these matches Rinat missed four goals: Valladolid (2:4) and Barcelona (0:4). Sad Dasaev informed the club president of his desire to return to his homeland. The next day, an entire delegation from Seville came to his house and, nevertheless, the management convinced the Russian to stay.
“I had a hard time adapting to the Western lifestyle,” Dasaev admitted. “I am a social and sociable person; It was like I was in a vacuum. All my friends and acquaintances stayed in the Union, I don’t know the language, there were no Russians in Seville except me… Responsibility pressed me. Everyone expected a miracle from me and had no doubt that now with Dasaev Sevilla would definitely become champions. But not everything went well in the game.”
The following season, Dasaev helped Sevilla reach the top 6 and earn a ticket to the UEFA Cup. However, our legionnaire was injured and Juan Carlos Unzué from Barcelona was taken in his place. The replacement was good and Dasaev was offered to leave. However, now Rinat himself decided to stay in Seville and put an end to his career.
During two seasons in the league, the Russian goalkeeper played 59 games, in which he conceded 68 goals and scored 18 goals. Rinat’s career in Spain was uneven. Sometimes fans saw the real Dasaev, but they also made offensive mistakes; For example, in the game against Logroñés, the Russian simply threw the ball into his own goal.
A detailed story about Dasaev’s Spanish career.
“He drank beer beautifully, there were women around.” Dasaev went to Spain as a legend, but there he ended his career.
Dmitry Kharin, Chelsea
Dmitry Kharin
Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Four years after Dasaev, Kharin left for the European top flight. But the winner of the 1988 Olympic Games and the champion of the USSR in the 1991 season had an easier adaptation, since the CSKA goalkeeper went abroad when he was very young. Shortly before the move, Dmitry turned 24 years old.
After playing in the Champions League with the military team in the autumn of 1992, Kharin moved to Chelsea for £400 thousand. The Londoners were then in the middle of the Premier League table. Already in January, our legionnaire debuted in the English Championship away from home against QPR (1-1). However, that season the Russian rookie of the “Bleus” rarely appeared on the field: only five times.
But Kharin established himself at Chelsea and remained at the London club for six and a half years. For the next three seasons he was the team’s number one. I reached the FA Cup final with Chelsea, but it all ended in a big 4-0 defeat. Then Dmitry began to have problems due to injuries and the club signed the Dutchman Ed de Goey in his place. In the 1997/1998 season, which was victorious for the Londoners, Kharin was not even included in the squad.
“In England I showed that I have the right to play with my fist,” Kharin said. – They convinced me: take it! When he walked out the door, none of the defenders held their players back. As a result, one opponent set me up, the other ran for the rebound. Through Nedvetski (Chelsea’s goalkeeping coach), I conveyed my demands to the defenders, and they finally began to act my way, although I myself had to inflate my shoulder girdle in the gym. But the main thing is that for a goalkeeper to be respected in a team, he must immediately position himself as the boss. I achieved.”
Dmitry’s Premier League statistics: 118 games, 145 goals conceded and 38 clean sheets. If not for injuries, his England career would probably have been brighter.
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Stanislav Cherchesov, Dinamo Dresden
Stanislav Cherchesov
Photo: IMAGO/Sächsische Zeitung/TASS
In the summer of 1993, another goalkeeper, the future coach of our team, left Spartak to go to the higher league. When Cherchesov moved to Dynamo from Dresden, he was already 29 years old. Stanislav won three gold medals with Spartak: two in the USSR championship and one in the Russian championship. He three times recognized as the best goalkeeper of the year in the country.
Dynamo Dresden was struggling to survive in the Bundesliga and the new experienced foreign goalkeeper had to help solve this problem. Cherchesov made his debut in the German Championship in a match against Lokomotiv Leipzig (3-3). At first not everything went well. In the first five days the team never won; The Russian himself received five goals from Bayern and four from Borussia Dortmund. Going to the Russian national team, Stanislav completely lost his place in the team.
“Before leaving, knowledgeable people hinted to me: “If you come back, you won’t play,” Cherchesov recalled about how he temporarily left the lineup. – They said that if the team plays better with René Müller, then they will give him his place in goal. And so it happened. When I returned, the coach said that Müller had shown himself well: “And you still don’t understand well with the defenders. You are not leading them very well.” He could only grit his teeth and train. In my heart I was sure that sooner or later I would get my chance.
In November, Cherchesov returned to the starting lineup and produced a series of “crackers”: Dynamo won three 1:0 wins in a row. And in the spring the fans of the Dresden club recognized Stanislav as the best player on the team.
As a result, Cherchesov played for two seasons at Dynamo and then returned to Spartak for six months to play in an unforgettable Champions League with six wins in six games in the group stage. Dresden still flew out of the Bundesliga in the second year and finished in last place, in 18th place. Stanislav played 57 games in the German championship, missing 97 goals and keeping a clean sheet nine times.
You can read about Cherchesov’s career in Germany here:
Cherchesov returns to Germany after 28 years. They definitely remembered him there.
Evgeny Plotnikov, Albacete
Evgeny Plotnikov
Photo: Valery Zufarov/TASS Photo Chronicle
Plotnikov was not as famous and titled a goalkeeper in Russian football as Dasaev, Kharin or Cherchesov, however, he also played in the top league. You may not even be aware of this fact.
Originally from Krasnodar, he grew up in the Kuban, in 1993 he moved to CSKA and participated with the Moscow team in the Champions League. And in the spring of 1996, not being the main goalkeeper of the military team, he suddenly signed a contract with the Spanish championship club. Plotnikov, 23, caught the attention of the Albacete coaching staff in a friendly match between the Spaniards and CSKA at the training ground. The contract was signed for four years at a time.
However, in the league the Russian goalkeeper was not included in the lineup until the last round. Only in May 1996 did Plotnikov play his first and last match in the elite of the Spanish Championship, against Atlético (0-2) in Madrid. The first goal was scored by Diego Simeone himself.
Albacete flew to Second and Evgeniy stayed in Spain for one more season. He went out on the field on important holidays, so he returned to Russia in 1998. He played in the first division for Dynamo and Saratov Sokol.
“I quickly became disillusioned with my choice,” Plotnikov said. – Judge for yourself: in two seasons seven coaches have changed at Albacete. Almost everyone tried to add their goalkeeper to the team. Of course, they put me on from time to time, but the Spaniards have a peculiar attitude towards foreign goalkeepers: you have to shine in every match, only then is your place in the “frame” guaranteed. How did the club management see it? Completely indifferent. Some just lied, others always promised me a place in the team, but in reality they were not even interested in my destiny.”
Ruslan Nigmatullin, Verona
Ruslan Nigmatullin
Photo: Igor Utkin/TASS
Nigmatullin left Russia for Italy at the top. At the end of the 2001 season, Ruslan was recognized for the second year in a row as the best goalkeeper in the country. The departure of the 27-year-old goalkeeper from Lokomotiv was scandalous. The contract with the railway workers was ending, but the Moscow Club wanted to receive money for the transfer, but Verona refused to pay.
Nigmatullin signed a contract with the Italian club for four and a half years. However, he only played for Verona in the second half of the 2001/2002 season. More precisely, he only played one Serie A game for Inter. His team suffered a big defeat at home by 0-3. And then Ruslan appeared on the field by chance, after an injury to a competitor, who had to be replaced in the 20th minute, when the score was 0:0. The first goal was scored by Javier Sanetti, and then Christian Vieri scored a double against the Russian.
“In my case, it all came down to corruption schemes, when the coach, for reasons unrelated to football, was not interested in including me in the squad,” Nigmatullin explained why he was sitting on the Verona bench. “I remember how they forced me to be in goal for 70 minutes, I proved myself and found myself on the bench again. The year I spent in Verona became a personal tragedy for me… Italy was very stressful: I woke up in a terrible mood and spent the whole day with a bitter face. In this context, I began to have health problems and suffer from headaches; All this partly led me to finish my career at 31 years old.”
Soon Nigmatullin returned to Russia and played for CSKA. He then played another six months in Serie B with Salernitana.
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Andrei Lunev, Bayer
Andrei Lunev
Photo: Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images
Lunev’s story is the most recent, so we remember it better. In the summer of 2021, Andrei did not renew his contract with Zenit, but decided to try himself in the top league. As a free agent, the 29-year-old Russian moved to Bayer at the time. The contract was signed for two years.
Lunev’s problem was that he joined the Leverkusen team against a very strong opponent. Finnish Lukasz Hradecki received the captain’s armband, making him Bayer’s undisputed number one. Lunev could only hope for exceptional opportunities, if not in the Bundesliga, then at least in other tournaments. But Andrei was also plagued by injuries. In the 2021/2022 season he missed 129 days and the following year another 117. Thus, every appearance on the field with Bayer was a great event for our legionnaire.
However, Lunev played two of his three games for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. One for each season. The team with Andrei in goal beat Freiburg at home (2-1) and suffered a home defeat against Augsburg (1-2). In the summer of 2023, the parties did not renew the contract. Bayer achieved a unique unbeaten season in the Bundesliga without Lunev.
“Did you regret the transition? During the time of injury, doubts arose: perhaps we had to wait for another option? But the experience gained in Leverkusen is priceless. I saw football in a different way. I mentally understand that this is the right decision. Yes, it didn’t work out, but I definitely don’t regret it. And I have no regrets,” Lunev said of his German career.
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Interestingly, in addition to Lunev and Cherchesov, there was another Russian goalkeeper in the German championship – Vyacheslav Sokolov. He was included in the Bundesliga squad 11 times in three different seasons at Cologne between 2000 and 2004. However, he never took the field. Sokolov left Russia for Germany at the age of 18 and spent eight seasons in the Cologne system, coming through the youth and junior teams. He played for a farm club and was only a substitute in the first team. In the Russian championship I did not reach the RPL.
The text uses quotes from interviews for Sport Express and Sports.ru.
