One of the best strikers of the Russian national team and St. Petersburg “Zenith”, Alexander Anatolyevich Kerzhakov was born on November 27, 1982 in a small town in the Leningrad Region under the name Kingisepp.
First steps in football
From early childhood, Alexander Kerzhakov was diligently involved in sports. His father, a former footballer of Dzerzhinsky Chemist, purposefully instilled in his son a love for the great game of millions. Soon, on the recommendations of Anatoly Kerzhakov, Sasha was admitted to the St. Petersburg School of Sports with the Zenit team.
From 11 years old, the boy lived in a football boarding school. His first coach was the legendary Soviet player Sergei Romanov.
Big football at that time was of little interest to Alexander, but he gave all the best in the classes in the School of Sports. In 1996, there was a case when students of sports schools were given out free tickets for the decisive match of the Russian Championship, in which Alania and Spartak met. However, Alexander, along with his comrades, sold them off, and bought the goodies with the proceeds.
Professional career
After the successful completion of the sports school, Alexander Kerzhakov received a good contract from the amateur club Svetogorets, which was headed by Vladimir Kazachenok, former head teacher of the SDYUSHOR. As a member of the team, the newcomer in the first season became the top scorer of the championship.
Alexander Kerzhakov began playing for his native Zenit in 2000. The first match for the club was an away meeting with the Volgograd Rotor, which ended in a headless draw. The striker scored his debut ball for the St. Petersburg team in the summer of 2001 against the goal of the capital's Spartak. This goal allowed Zenit to equalize.
The following season, Alexander was unanimously recognized as the opening of the Russian championship, thanks to which he received a place in the national team at the World Cup in Japan and Korea. In 2004, Kerzhakov with 18 goals won the scorer of the season, after which he became interested in famous European clubs.
In the winter of 2006, the forward moved to the Spanish Sevilla for 5 million euros. The first goal of the Russian for the new club had to wait only 3 matches, before the game with Levante. In 2007, thanks to Kerzhakov's winning ball, Sevilla made it to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, beating the personal Tottenham in personal meetings.
Under
Juanda Ramos, Alexander had a constant game practice, forming a company in the attack of either Kanoute or Fabiano. The situation changed radically with the advent of the head coach Manolo Jimenez, who for a long time put the Russian on the bench. Such a course of affairs did not suit the striker, because in the best of times for Sevilla he was interested in both PSG and Manchester United.
In 2008, Alexander Kerzhakov returned to the Russian championship, but this time to the Dynamo Moscow. The first season for the capital club for the striker came out lumpy: it seemed like he played in almost every match, but the balls did not go into the goal (7 goals in 27 meetings). Nevertheless, gradually the striker’s performance began to return, so for no one was a surprise his transition back to his native “Zenith”.
Return to St. Petersburg took place in January 2010. In the “Zenith” Kerzhakov began to score on the move. The striker pounded his hundredth ball for the team with the French Auxerre, and in the debut match in the League the Champion against Anderlecht will be marked with a hat-trick. In the first season after his return, Alexander won with the Zenit not only the
Cup of Russia, but also the regular season.
In April 2011, the striker broke the club performance record, ahead of the legendary Lev Burchalkin. Over the past 4 seasons for “Zenith” Kerzhakov scored 55 goals.
Russian team
Alexander has been playing for the national team since 2002. Then the 19-year-old striker was summoned to the team by Oleg Romantsev. However, the debut World Cup for Kerzhakov was a failure, as well as for the whole of Russia. The team with a bang flew out of the group, and Alexander himself spent a few minutes on the field.
The forward began to score goals only under
Valeria Gazzayev. In a friendly match against the Swedes, Alexander managed to equalize the score (1: 1). For the next qualifying cycle Kerzhakov scored 3 goals, and then never scored a whole 2.5 years. It is not strange, but from 2005 to 2007, the Zenit native hit only the gates of Liechtenstein, Andorra, Luxembourg and Estonia. Kerzhakov did not even get to the 2008 European Championship, successful for Russia, because of low performance.
At the Brazilian World Cup in 2014, the striker scored only once - the South Korean national team (1: 1). Nevertheless, Alexander Kerzhakov is considered one of the best and most useful strikers in Russia today.
Personal life
At 32, Zenit striker is the father of two children: Igor and Daria. At the moment, divorced, is in a relationship with the daughter of the senator of St. Petersburg, the beauty Milana Tulpanova.
Alexander has a younger brother Mikhail Kerzhakov, who is the main goalkeeper of Anji.
In 2002, the football player published his own book, “Under 16 and older,” which became his autobiography. A few years later, in parallel with sports, he took up the restaurant business, in which he excelled a lot by opening two Lukomorye cafes in St. Petersburg.
In 2010, he played himself in the film "Freaks."
Sports achivments
As part of Zenit, the forward three times became the owner of the Cup of Russia and twice the champion of the country (see below in the photo). Alexander Kerzhakov was repeatedly recognized as the best sniper of the Premier League and the most useful footballer of the attack.
In addition, he has the UEFA Cup and the Spanish Super Bowl as part of Sevilla.
For the current match Kerzhakov is unconditionally the top scorer not only of Zenit and the national team, but also the most scoring striker in the
history of Russian football (221 goals).