Igor Denisov

Igor Vladimirovich Denisov (Russian: Игорь Владимирович Денисов; born 17 May 1984) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

For the Soviet-Russian physician and politician, see Igor Denisov (physician).

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Denisov.
Igor Denisov
Denisov with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2018
Personal information
Full name Igor Vladimirovich Denisov
Date of birth (1984-05-17) 17 May 1984[1]
Place of birth Leningrad, Russian SFSR,
Soviet Union
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Turbostroitel St. Petersburg
Smena St. Petersburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2013 Zenit Saint Petersburg 254 (23)
2013 Anzhi Makhachkala 3 (0)
2013–2017 Dynamo Moscow 62 (1)
2016–2017 → Lokomotiv Moscow (loan) 23 (1)
2017–2019 Lokomotiv Moscow 44 (0)
Total 386 (25)
International career
2003–2006 Russia U21 16 (4)
2008–2016 Russia 54 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Denisov spent most of his career from 2002 to 2013 at his hometown club Zenit Saint Petersburg, playing 354 games, scoring 29 goals and winning honours including three Russian Premier League titles and the UEFA Cup in 2008.[2] He then played for Anzhi Makhachkala, Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow, winning a further Premier League and two Russian Cups with the last of those clubs.

He made his debut for Russia in 2008, playing 54 games over the next eight years and featuring at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. He has been the subject of controversy, courting numerous arguments at the club and international level during his professional career.

Club career

Zenit
Igor Denisov warming up for Zenit.

Denisov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and started his footballing career with Turbostroitel before going to Smena, the youth team of Zenit.[2] Denisov signed his first professional contract with Zenit, St. Petersburg's only professional team, after graduating school in 2002.[3] At the age of 18, Denisov made his debut for Zenit in a league match against CSKA Moscow in 2002.[4] He made his breakthrough with the club the following year, scoring twice in 19 appearances.[3]

Under Dutch manager Dick Advocaat, Denisov blossomed as a player, developing into an advanced midfield role behind Andrey Arshavin and Aleksandr Kerzhakov, becoming an influential member of the Zenit squad that won their first Russian Premier League title in 2007.[3][5] On 3 April 2008, Denisov scored Zenit's fourth goal in their 4–1 first leg defeat of Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup match at the BayArena.[6] Denisov's performances helped Zenit reach the final against Scottish side Rangers on 15 May, after defeating Bayern Munich 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.[7] In the final, Denisov played the full ninety minutes and opened the scoring in the 72nd minute after being played in by winger Andrei Arshavin.[3] Zenit went on to win the match 2–0 and lift the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history.[8] In the resulting UEFA Super Cup, Denisov played the full ninety again, assisting Pavel Pogrebnyak's headed goal as Zenit upset English heavyweight Manchester United 2–1 on 29 August 2008.[9]

On 29 June 2010, Denisov extended his contract with Zenit for a further five years.[2] Six months later, on 22 December, Denisov was voted by the fans as the club's "Player of the Year", beating out the likes of playmaker Danny and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.[10]

On 27 October 2011, Denisov featured in his 300th competitive fixture for Zenit, in the 3–0 defeat of Volga, including 217 matches in the Premier League, 55 in European competition and 28 matches in domestic cup competitions.[11] Denisov finished as runner up behind Malafeev as the club's MVP for the 2011–12 campaign, playing 57 games (starting all of them) whilst scoring one goal and providing eight assists.[12] During the Russian Football Union awards ceremony on 26 May, Denisov was voted as the "Player of the Year" in the Russian Premier League and Zenit won five more club awards for 2011–12 including "Team of the Year."[13]

On 11 August 2012, Denisov provided two assists in Zenit's 5–0 defeat of Spartak Moscow.[14] On 3 September, Denisov was voted as Zenit's "Player of the Month" for August after playing all five league games and providing those two assists.[15] Three weeks later, Denisov was demoted to the reserve team for improper behavior according to the club.[16] Following more than a month with the youth side, Denisov was reinstated to the senior squad and began training with them again on 1 November.[17] He made his return to the first team a day later, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for Viktor Fayzulin in Zenit's 2–1 defeat of FC Rostov.[18] Denisov's first full match since his return from exile with the youth team came on 6 November in a Champions League group game against RSC Anderlecht, playing the full ninety minutes in a 1–0 loss in Belgium.[19]

Anzhi

Denisov announced his move to Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala for a fee of 15 million euros on 21 June 2013.[20]

Dynamo Moscow
Denisov with Dynamo Moscow in 2013

On 15 August 2013, Denisov moved along with fellow Anzhi players Yuriy Zhirkov and Aleksandr Kokorin to FC Dynamo for an undisclosed fee. Denisov played in only three matches for Anzhi before the cash-strapped club began to sell its players.

In April 2015, Denisov was put up for sale by Dynamo and told to train on his own for insulting head coach Stanislav Cherchesov.[21][22]

He returned to Dynamo's lineup in July 2015, after Cherchesov was dismissed as Dynamo's manager and replaced by Andrey Kobelev.

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 31 August 2016, he moved on loan to FC Lokomotiv Moscow for the remainder of the 2016–17 season.[23] On 2 February 2017, he signed a permanent deal with Lokomotiv that started at the end of the season upon the expiration of his Dynamo contract.[24]

On 27 May 2019, he left Lokomotiv by mutual consent.[25] On 29 May 2019, he announced through his lawyers that he retired from playing.[26]

International career

Denisov first featured in the Russian national set up, representing the Under-19 side against Denmark in the second qualifying round for the 2003 UEFA U-19 European Championships.[27] He then went on to captain the Russia U-21 team. Denisov trained with Russia in 2005 but did not get into the team.[2]

After a good run of performances at the club level with Zenit, many sports journalists called for Denisov to be included in the squad for the European Championships in 2008, but he did not make the initial squad and later refused to be called up for the provisional 25-man squad of players after a number of injuries.[28] Denisov made his debut for Russia on 11 October 2008 in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifier against Germany, a 2–1 loss at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.[3][29]

He was confirmed for the finalized UEFA Euro 2012 squad on 25 May 2012.[30] He featured in all three Group A matches, as Russia picked up four points but ultimately failed to qualify for the knockout stage due to their head-to-head record with Greece.[31]

On 7 September 2012, Denisov was appointed by new Russia manager Fabio Capello as the captain of the national team in the wake of Andrei Arshavin's absence.

On 2 June 2014, he was included in Russia's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.[32]

On 6 June 2016, Denisov was ruled out of Euro 2016 with a thigh injury.

Controversies

Throughout his career, Denisov has earned a reputation for poor behavior both at the club level with Zenit and at the international level with Russia. In the run up to the European Championships in 2008, Denisov was left out of the original 23-man squad by then manager Guus Hiddink;[33] Denisov was called into the squad after a number of injuries but took umbrage and refused to play as Russia reached the semi-finals losing to eventual champions Spain.[34]

In August 2010, he was involved in a road rage incident, where he fought a driving instructor after the learner driver in the instructor's car almost collided with Denisov's SUV. Denisov injured his foot in the incident and broke the instructor's nose. The instructor refused to press charges.[35]

In September 2010, Denisov was involved in a training ground bust up with coach Vladislav Radimov, the argument escalated from a call Radimov made in a practice game and reports claim that Denisov was readying to punch Radimov before teammates physically stopped him.[36] Two months later in a match against Spartak Moscow, Denisov verbally abused Spartak's manager Valery Karpin, subsequently leading to a brawl with both sets of players and a four match ban for the combative midfielder.

On 22 September 2012, Denisov was left off the teamsheet for Zenit's 2–2 away draw with Krylya Sovetov. The following day, the club issued a statement that read, "The decision to send Igor Denisov to the youth team for an indefinite period... is connected to the fact that the player issued an ultimatum, refusing to take to the field against Krylya Sovetov after demanding a renegotiation of his contract." According to the Zenit website, Denisov's current contract runs to 2015 and that he is one of the highest earners in all of the Russian Premier League.[37] Media speculation reported that this pay strike was a result of Zenit's overhaul in the transfer market, bringing in Axel Witsel and Hulk on big contracts and in combined deals worth over $130 million. Denisov replied in an interview with Sport Express, stating that his stand-off with club management was over "The proper organisation of the team. And respect for the Russian players which Zenit has always relied upon."[38] Two months after his protest, Denisov released a statement, telling the media that he was finished protesting over his pay strike and has apologised not only to the club but also to the fans, as he was wrong to walk out on the club.

On 7 April 2015, he was removed from training with the main Dynamo Moscow squad and transfer-listed by the team for "interfering with the work of the head coach" Stanislav Cherchesov.[21]

Denisov, 7, representing Russia against Poland at the European Championships

In November 2015, he was again moved to Dynamo's reserves squad by the new manager Andrey Kobelev after Denisov demanded that the club management fire the club's doctor whom Denisov called incompetent.[39]

On 16 April 2018, he was fined 1 million rubles by his club Lokomotiv Moscow for insulting a doping control official during a test.[40]

Personal life

Denisov and his wife Elena have four children: Viktoria, born in 2005, Igor Jr., born in 2008, and twin sons Ivan and Daniil who were born on 18 December 2011.[41] He owns two South African pitbulls and is known in Russia as being a very good chess player and for never giving interviews to reporters.[42]

Denisov has publicly opposed the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by saying: "These events are a disaster. Complete horror. I don’t know, maybe I’ll be imprisoned or killed for these words, but I am speaking as it is."[43]

Career statistics

Club
As of 13 April 2019[44]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2001 Russian Premier League 0000––00
2002 Russian Premier League 100000–10
2003 Russian Premier League 19221–2[lower-alpha 1]0233
2004 Russian Premier League 2060061–267
2005 Russian Premier League 2055070–325
2006 Russian Premier League 2546051–365
2007 Russian Premier League 2534030–323
2008 Russian Premier League 291001421[lower-alpha 2]0443
2009 Russian Premier League 2812040–341
2010 Russian Premier League 2403081–351
2011–12 Russian Premier League 401401201[lower-alpha 3]0571
2012–13 Russian Premier League 23020801[lower-alpha 4]0340
Total 254232816755035429
Anzhi 2013–14 Russian Premier League 30–––30
Dynamo Moscow 2013–14 Russian Premier League 24110––251
2014–15 Russian Premier League 1300080–210
2015–16 Russian Premier League 23020––250
2016–17 Russian Football National League 2010––30
Total 621408000741
Lokomotiv Moscow 2016–17 Russian Premier League 23151––282
2017–18 Russian Premier League 270101011[lower-alpha 5]0391
2018–19 Russian Premier League 17020601[lower-alpha 6]0260
Total 6718116120933
Career total 386254029167052233

Notes

  1. Two appearances in the Russian Premier League Cup
  2. One appearance in the Russian Super Cup
  3. One appearance in the Russian Super Cup
  4. One appearance in the Russian Super Cup
  5. One appearance in the Russian Super Cup
  6. One appearance in the Russian Super Cup

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[45]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Russia 200820
200990
201030
201180
2012130
201350
201460
201560
201620
Total540

Honours

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Lokomotiv Moscow

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2020.
  2. "Denisov extended his contract". Zenit FC. 29 July 2010.
  3. "Igor Denisov". UEFA. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. "Igor Denisov". Zenit Football Club. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010.
  5. "2000s". Zenit Football Club. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  6. "Rampant Zenit floor Leverkusen". UEFA. 3 April 2008.
  7. "Zenit shoot down Bayern to reach final". UEFA. 2 May 2008.
  8. "Advocaat enjoys all time high". UEFA. 15 May 2008.
  9. "Dynamic Zenit taste Super Cup glory". UEFA. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2010.
  10. "Igor Denisov is Zenit fans' player of the year!". Zenit Football Club. 22 December 2010.
  11. ""Peter" congratulated Igor Denisov with three hundred of the match for the "Zenith"". Zenit FC. 27 October 2011.
  12. "Malafeev voted Zenit's MVP for the season!". Zenit Football Club. 18 May 2012.
  13. "Russian Football Union awards Russia's best". Zenit Football Club. 26 May 2012.
  14. "Zenit 5–0 Spartak Moskva". UEFA. 11 August 2012.
  15. "Igor Denisov voted Zenit player of the month for August". Zenit Football Club. 3 September 2012.
  16. "Soccer-Demoted Denisov demands Zenit parity over wages". Reuters. 24 September 2012.
  17. "Official statement by Igor Denisov". Zenit Football Club. 1 November 2012.
  18. "Zenit 2 - 1 Rostov". ESPNFC. 2 November 2012.
  19. "Mbokani keeps Anderlecht in hunt". ESPNFC. 6 November 2012.
  20. "Anzhi Acquires Star Midfielder Igor Denisov". R Sport. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  21. Игорь Денисов выставлен на трансфер. fcdynamo.ru/ (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  22. Станислав Черчесов: Игорь Денисов сказал, что не считает меня за тренера и человека. www.eurosport.ru/ (in Russian). Eurosport. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  23. Игорь Денисов – в «Локомотиве» на правах аренды (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 31 August 2016.
  24. Игорь Денисов подписал контракт с «Локо» (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 5 February 2017.
  25. Игорь Денисов покидает «Локомотив» [Igor Denisov leaves Lokomotiv] (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 27 May 2019.
  26. Игорь Денисов подтвердил, что завершил карьеру игрока [Igor Denisov confirms retirement from playing] (in Russian). Sport Express. 29 May 2019.
  27. "Igor Denisov". UEFA. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  28. http://en.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/news/newsid=697586.html Denisov says no to EURO role
  29. "Germany - Russia2:1 (2:0)". FIFA. 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011.
  30. "Advocaat announced the finalized Euro Squad" (in Russian). 25 May 2012.
  31. Care, Tony (16 June 2012). "Euro shocker: Greece stuns Russia, advances to quarter-finals". CBC Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  32. Состав национальной сборной России на ЧМ-2014 (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2014.
  33. "Russia Euro 2012 Roster: Analyzing the Team's Starting 11 and More". Bleacher Report. 5 June 2012.
  34. "Euro 2012: Igor Denisov turning from badboy into golden boy". NDTV Sports. 16 June 2012.
  35. ДТП не было, был мужской разговор (in Russian). Fontanka. 11 August 2010.
  36. "Zenit's success leaves a bitter taste". The Football Ramble. 18 November 2010.
  37. "Igor Denisov sent to Zenit's youth squad". Zenit Football Club. 23 September 2012.
  38. "Zenit's $130m dilemma". ESPNFC. 24 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  39. «Кобелев занял правильную и принципиальную позицию по Денисову» (in Russian). Izvestia. 19 November 2015.
  40. ФК "Локомотив" оштрафовал Игоря Денисова за оскорбление инспектора допинг-контроля (in Russian). TASS. 20 April 2018.
  41. "The Denisov family has twins!". Zenit Football Club. 18 December 2011.
  42. "Euro 2012: Russia – the secrets behind the players". The Guardian. 30 May 2012.
  43. Former Russia captain Denisov risks life with critical Ukraine war statement, goal.com, 15 June 2022
  44. "Igor Denisov". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  45. "Igor Denisov". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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