Igor Akinfeev

Igor Akinfeev

Akinfeev with Russia in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev
Date of birth	8 April 1986
Place of birth	Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast, Soviet Union
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	CSKA Moscow
Number	35
Youth career
1991–2002	CSKA Moscow
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2003–	CSKA Moscow	336	(0)
National team^‡
2004–	Russia	86	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 April 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2016

Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev (Russian: Игорь Владимирович Акинфеев; IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ɐkʲɪnˈfʲeɪf]; born 8 April 1986) is a Russian international football goalkeeper who is the captain of PFC CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League.

He has spent his entire career at CSKA, making over 450 official appearances. He won five Russian Premier League titles, and five Russian Cups, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2005.

A full international for Russia since 2004, he has earned over 80 caps and has been selected in their squads for three UEFA European Championships and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Akinfeev is a member of the Lev Yashin Club and has kept more clean sheets in Russian football than any other goalkeeper.^{[Note 1][1]}

Early life

Igor Akinfeev was born on 8 April 1986 in the town of Vidnoye in Moscow Oblast. When he was 4 years old his father sent him to the Sports school of CSKA. He has been a goalkeeper since his second training. As a member of the junior CSKA Moscow team he won the Russian Junior Championship in 2002, in the same year he graduated from the CSKA Football Academy.

Club career

Akinfeev made his professional debut for CSKA Moscow at the age of 16, saving a penalty kick and keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 win over FC Krylia Sovetov Samara.^[2] He broke into the starting line-up at the age of 17 in 2003, winning the club's first Russian Premier League in the same season.^[3] In 2005, CSKA won a treble of the Russian Premier League Russian Cup and UEFA Cup.^[3] During this season, Akinfeev all 19 of CSKA's European matches,^[3] including the 2005 UEFA Cup Final, which the Army Men won 3–1 against Sporting CP at their opponents' Estádio José Alvalade.^[4] In 2006, he won a third Russian league title and second Russian Cup with CSKA^[3] and was awarded the Zvezda trophy, for the year's best football player from the former Soviet Union.

Akinfeev playing for CSKA Moscow in 2015

In the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League, Akinfeev went 362 minutes without conceding a goal until Ricardo Quaresma scored past him for FC Porto in the fifth gameweek.^[5] This began a record breaking run of 37 matches without keeping a clean sheet in the Champions League.^[6]

In May 2007, Akinfeev sustained a knee injury which kept him out for the remainder of the 2007 Russian Premier League season.^[3] CSKA ended the season third in the league behind city rivals Spartak Moscow and champions Zenit St. Petersburg. Akinfeev returned for the 2008 season, starting in all 30 league matches and winning the Russian Cup.^[3] In 2009, he again started all 30 Russian Premier League matches and kept a clean sheet in the 1–0 Russian Cup Final defeat of league winners Rubin Kazan.^[3]

In May 2011, Akinfeev captained CSKA to a fifth Russian Cup of his career. In 2012–13, CSKA won their first Russian Premier League title in seven years,^[3] with Akinfeev named Russian Footballer of the Year. Akinfeev also saved Yuri Zhirkov's kick in CSKA's penalty shootout win over Anzhi Makhachkala in the 2013 Russian Cup Final.^[7]

In 2013–14, Akinfeev won a fifth Russian Premier League title. On 14 May 2014, he overtook Lev Yashin as the goalkeeper with the third-highest number of clean sheets in Russian football.^[8] On 14 November 2015, he broke this clean sheet record with his 233rd career shutout in the Russia national football team's 1–0 win over Portugal.^[1]

International career

Akinfeev made his debut for the Russian national team in a friendly match against Norway, Russia lost 2-3, on 28 April 2004, aged 18 years and 20 days. He thus became the third youngest player to compete for Russia after Eduard Streltsov and Sergey Rodionov and the youngest international footballer ever in the history of the Russian Federation.^[9] He was later included into the Russian UEFA Euro 2004 squad as the third choice goalkeeper behind Sergei Ovchinnikov and Vyacheslav Malafeev.

His major competitive debut was on 30 March 2005, in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Estonia and he was later promoted to Russia's first-choice goalkeeper after a long-term injury to Malafeev. Akinfeev kept his first choice place under Yuri Semin and later Guus Hiddink. On 6 May 2007, Akinfeev suffered a knee injury in a 1–1 draw against FC Rostov which put him out of action for four months. As a result, he lost his first choice position to Vyacheslav Malafeev and later Vladimir Gaboulov. He returned to the Russian national squad in early November but was deemed unfit for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel. Akinfeev later re-established his first choice place for Russia at UEFA Euro 2008, and played every match as the nation reached the semi-finals.

He was confirmed for the finalized UEFA Euro 2012 squad on 25 May 2012,^[10] but Malafeev played all of Russia's matches and the nation was eliminated in the group stages. On 2 June 2014, Akinfeev was included in Russia's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad,^[11]

In Russia's first group match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup against South Korea, Akinfeev fumbled a long-range shot from Lee Keun-ho, dropping it over the line to give the Koreans the lead. Russia then went on to equalize, and the match finished 1–1.^[12] The final group stage match between Algeria and Russia on 26 June ended 1–1, advancing Algeria and eliminating Russia. A win for Russia would have seen them qualify, and they led the game 1–0 after six minutes. In the 60th minute of the game, a green laser was shone in Akinfeev's face while he was defending from an Algerian free kick, from which Islam Slimani scored to equalise. Both Akinfeev and Russian coach Fabio Capello blamed the laser for the decisive conceded goal.^[13][14]

Montenegro v Russia

On 27 March 2015, in a European qualifier away to Montenegro, Akinfeev was struck in the head by a flare launched from the crowd, 20 seconds after kick-off. The game was called off for 35 minutes while he was treated, and resumed with his substitution for Yuri Lodigin. It was eventually abandoned after a brawl, while Akinfeev was taken to a Podgorica hospital with a neck injury and light burns.^[15]

Career statistics

As of 03 April 2016

Club	Season	Russian Championship		Russian Cup		Premier League Cup		Russian Super Cup		UEFA Cup/ Europa League		Champions League		UEFA Super Cup		Total
		Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA	Apps	GA
CSKA Moscow	2003	13	11	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	18	15
	2004	26	15	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	10	7	0	0	38	24
	2005	29	17	7	4	0	0	0	0	15	11	0	0	1	3	52	35
	2006	28	25	7	2	0	0	1	2	0	0	8	5	0	0	44	34
	2007	10	6	2	1	0	0	1	2	2	1	3	8	0	0	18	18
	2008	30	24	2	3	0	0	0	0	6	6	0	0	0	0	38	33
	2009	30	30	4	3	0	0	1	1	4	3	6	10	0	0	45	47
	2010	28	22	1	0	0	0	1	1	7	3	4	4	0	0	41	30
	2011–12	28	22	4	5	0	0	1	1	4	3	0	0	0	0	37	31
	2012–13	29	22	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	33	25
	2013–14	29	24	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	17	0	0	39	42
	2014–15	30	27	2	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	6	13	0	0	39	42
	2015–16	22	22	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	9	7	0	0	32	30
Career total		332	267	37	23	2	1	8	9	40	28	53	73	1	3	473	404

Honours

Club

CSKA Moscow

• Russian Premier League (5): 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Russian Cup (6): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
• Russian Super Cup (6): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014
• UEFA Cup (1): 2004–05

Individual

• 2012–13 Russian Premier League Player of the Year
• Baltic and Commonwealth of Independent States Footballer of the Year ("Star") by Sport-Express (2006)
• The best young football player of Russian Premier League (2005)
• List of 33 best football player of the Russian Championship: # 1 (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012/13, 2013/14); # 2 (2011/2012); # 3 (2004).
• The best Russian goalkeeper according to Russian Football Union (2008, 2009, 2010)
• The best young goalkeeper of Europe (2008)
• member of Lev Yashin club
• Russian CSKA Prize "Golden Horseshoe": one golden horseshoe (2010) and four silver horseshoe (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)
• Order of Friendship (2006)
• Lev Yashin Prize "Goalkeeper of the year" (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)

See also

• List of one-club men

Notes

^{^[Note 1]} This includes matches for Russian clubs and for the Russian national team.

References

1. "Акинфеев обогнал Дасаева по «сухим» матчам за российские команды". Sport.ru (in Russian). 14 November 2015.
2. "Igor Akinfeev fast becoming the heir to the legendary Lev Yashin". Goal.com. 22 August 2013.
3. "Igor Akinfeev". UEFA. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
4. "Sporting 1-3 CSKA Moscow". BBC Sport. 18 May 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
5. "CSKA Moskva 1-2 Porto". UEFA. 22 November 2006.
6. "PSV through to last 16 after CSKA thriller". UEFA. 8 December 2015.
7. "Africans seal CSKA's Russian double". BBC. 1 June 2013.
8. "Вратарь ПФК ЦСКА Акинфеев обошел Яшина по числу "сухих" матчей за карьеру". Rossiya Segodnya (in Russian). 14 May 2014.
9. "Хорошо! Но мало..." (in Russian). Sovetsky Sport. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
10. "Advocaat announced the finalized Euro Squad" (in Russian). 25 May 2012.
11. "Состав национальной сборной России на ЧМ-2014" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2014.
12. "Russia v South Korea: World Cup 2014 – as it happened". The Guardian. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
13. Sid Lowe at the Arena da Baixada (26 June 2014). "Algeria 1-1 Russia; World Cup 2014 Group H match report". The Guardian.
14. "World Cup 2014: Fabio Capello unhappy at laser shone at keeper". BBC Sport. 27 June 2014.
15. "Russia keeper Akinfeev hit by flare in abandoned Montenegro match". BBC Sport. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.

External links

• CSKA Moscow profile
• Igor Akinfeev unofficial website
• Igor Akinfeev photo gallery
• Igor Akinfeev at the Forbes