In the summer of 2016, the composition of “Mordovia” replenished a number of newcomers, among whom was Alexander Degtyarev - a football player of the Saratov “Falcon”. Despite just one season in the Premier League as a midfielder, many football fans remember the performance of the 33-year-old midfielder in Russia's elite division.
Career start
Degtyarev Alexander Viktorovich was born on September 7, 1983 in the city of Novoaleksandrovsk, Stavropol Territory. From a young age, he began to study at a football school, but his midfielder began his professional career only at 22, having signed a contract with Elista, who played in the Second Division. The successful start of the season in the first club allowed in the summer of that year to switch to another team - Vladikavkaz “Spartak”, which was soon renamed “Alania”.
As part of the club from Vladikavkaz, the midfielder continued his successful performance and contributed to her entry into the First Division. Speaking the second season for the “red-yellow”, Degtyarev Alexander showed excellent performance for the midfielder, scoring 9 goals in 40 meetings, and in March 2008 joined the ranks of Novosibirsk “Siberia”.
Parish in Siberia
Degtyarev Alexander joined the Novosibirsk club during the club’s growth - in 2007 they were one step away from getting into the Premier League, taking third place in the First Division. However, the first season in “Siberia” did not become for the club, as well as for the midfielder, a major breakthrough - Degtyarev, despite regular trips to the field, could not boast of super-performance, and the club not without difficulty retained a residence permit in the FNL, largely because leaving in the middle of the championship of his main scorer Dmitry Akimova.
However, a year later, the Siberians were able to achieve what they wanted - the successful Degtyarev game, combined with the high performance of the player and the team as a whole, allowed Sibir to take second place and be in the Russian football elite. In addition, Novosibirsk were able to reach the final of the Cup of the country, where they lost to Zenit, so the team was a member of the Europa League.
Hit the Premier League and the minute of fame
The transition to the Major League of Russian football provoked the acquisition of a number of newcomers to the team, which is why it was possible to find the line “Degtyarev Alexander Viktorovich” in the list of starting lineups much less often. Nevertheless, the midfielder was in the near reserve of the base, but most of the time he watched the first minutes of the match from the bench. This was his first match in the Champions League - in a return meeting with the Cypriot Apollo, the midfielder entered the field when the team lost 1-0, and in general did not ruin the game - despite the final score 2-1 in favor of the islanders, Siberia "went to the next round of qualification.
In the last round of the qualification round, the formidable Dutch club PSV opposed the Novosibirsk team, and the Russians played their first match at home. And that meeting was a real moment of glory for the midfielder. Starting the match on the bench, at the end of the game, Alexander Degtyarev, a football player who rarely delights fans with beautiful goals, was able to arrange a real celebration for his fans in 26 minutes allotted, bringing the team a victory, scoring in the 92nd minute. And, despite the relegation after the defeat in the second leg, the Premier League had high hopes for the experienced midfielder.
But in the main division of the country, “Siberia” was not lucky - after failing several segments of the season, the team took last place, returning to the FNL. Returning to the First Division allowed Degtyarev to appear on the field more often, but he, having played another season for his legendary team, then changed the club to Volgar.
Career at Falcon
His career in Astrakhan, Alexander Degtyarev, whose biography had a line with a winning goal in the Europa League, began quite successfully - in his debut match he was able to distinguish himself by bringing “Volgar” with a draw in the game with “Khimki” - 1: 1. But at the end of the season, the midfielder did not renew the agreement, moving to the Saratov “Falcon”.
In the PFL championship, where the club from Saratov was playing then, Alexander played with new colors, his 15 goals contributing to the exit of the team to the FNL. The next two seasons spent in the “Falcon”, the midfielder did not lower the bar, annually scoring at least 10 goals, which was a quarter of all club goals. This performance was appreciated by several clubs, of which the Russian chose “Mordovia”.
Trying to save Mordovia
The Saransk club at that moment completed its performance in the Premier League, moving to the FNL, and urgently needed experienced players to return to the Russian elite in the coming season. But, despite the arrival of Degtyarev, who scored four goals for the locusts by the end of 2016, Mordovia almost said goodbye to the chances of a fight for a place in the Premier League and is now struggling to maintain residence in the First Division, being in 18th place. Nevertheless, the club management is counting on a decent result according to the results of the championship, and Alexander Degtyarev is one of the club's players who are able to achieve this result.