Igor Denisov - Russian footballer, honored master of sports, plays for the Lokomotiv team as a midfielder. Without this athlete today's football would not be so bright. An ordinary Leningrad guy was able to reach such heights in his football career, which many only dream of.
Igor Denisov: biography
The future footballer was born on May 17, 1984 in the city of Leningrad in an ordinary family, where the boy had no signs of a stellar future. Parents, according to the athlete, worked ten hours a day, Igor and his sister were often left to their own devices. The boy played football in the courtyards for six hours a day, devoting little time to school.
Parents noticed the son’s hobby and thought about the development of the child’s abilities. As a result, Igor Denisov started playing football at the age of eight. It was at this age, in 1992, that he entered the football school "Turbostroitel" at a metallurgical plant, replacing it with an ordinary secondary school. The first coach of Igor was Mikhail Sharov. Two years later, the boy was transferred to the "Change". His coach was V.A. Kostrovsky. Below is a photo of Igor Denisov with his mother.
Denisov showed himself well during training, and immediately after graduation he was transferred to the youth team of the Zenit team. The young footballer was noticed by mentors, as he showed himself excellently for two seasons.
Zenit team and first successes
In 2000, Igor won the championship of Russia among youth teams. And a year later Igor Denisov transferred to Zenit as a double, and in 2001 and 2002 he won bronze and silver, respectively. After some time, Denisov becomes the captain of the understudy team.
From that moment, Igor Denisov’s career at Zenit has been a success. In 2002, at the age of eighteen, Igor in the main team played in the match against CSKA. And a year later he firmly entrenched in the main team and practically did not take part in football matches as an understudy.
The real rise in the career of the football player Igor Denisov takes place in 2003-2004, when in the first season the young athlete scores seven goals during 27 matches, and in the second - five goals in 32 matches. An excellent result, but Denisov's main achievements were still ahead.
Further Achievements
In 2007-2008, Igor became the champion of Russia and won the UEFA Cup and Super Cup. Denisov proved to be an excellent universal footballer. As a midfielder, he was very good at attack and had an amazing tenacity in defense.
Igor Denisov’s style of play was creative, the footballer was very assertive and decisive, and these are precisely the qualities that are valued in the forwards game. Therefore, Denisov could be used as a link between the attacking area of the field and the center, which was done with great success.
In 2009, Denisov in the composition of “Zenith” wins the bronze of the championship of Russia and is part of the 33 best players of this event. And according to the results of 2011-2012, the football player Igor Denisov already becomes the best in the country and receives the title of football player of the year. This is the best time of his career.
In September 2012, the first serious conflict arose between Igor Denisov, who later became famous for his controversy, and the leadership of the team. He refused to take part in the match against Wings of the Soviets, as he was dissatisfied with the size of his salary. In punishment, the athlete is transferred to the reserve. But then Denisov met with the leadership, as a result of which the player was returned to the main team.
Career at Dynamo
In 2013, Igor Denisov broke up with “Zenith” after twelve years spent in the team. Makhachkala club Anji bought it for 15 million euros. The contract was concluded for a period of four years, but the football player’s career in this club failed due to constant conflicts with other players. Denisov played three matches and did not score a single goal. He was seriously injured by ankle ligaments and was transferred to the Dynamo team in Moscow.
In Dynamo, Igor immediately got into the main team, and after three months he was scored the first goal. But then everything went not so smoothly. Denisov again demonstrated the features of his character, for which he was transferred to the understudies.
After leaving coach Cherchesov from the team in 2015, coach Andrei Kobelev was appointed in his place. He returned Denisov to the main team. But this did not last very long - until the first meeting of the new coach with the football player’s steep disposition. Soon (already in November of that year) Denisov made a scandal with the team doctor. The fact is that the doctor refused to release the player from training, which caused the outrage of the player. Following the conflict, Denisov returned to the double.
"Locomotive"
On August 31, 2016, Igor Denisov was transferred to the Lokomotiv team on a free rental basis. The football player on the official website of Lokomotiv promised the fans that he would no longer allow any scandals and would focus only on work and football.
The football player himself admits that nature endowed him with a very difficult character. This is, first of all, a punishment for himself. But the athlete tries to live with it somehow and struggles with his shortcomings.
Igor Denisov for a short period of stay in the “Locomotive” became one of the leaders of the team. The management thought about accepting the player into the team on constant terms. After negotiations with the leaders of Dynamo, an agreement was reached on the redemption of Denisov.
In February 2017, a full-fledged contract was signed between Igor Denisov and Lokomotiv. And then the footballer was appointed team captain.
After all his adventures in football clubs in Russia, Igor Denisov was able to pack up and make a breakthrough in his career. He showed himself perfectly in matches at the Russian Championship, leading his team to victory. The footballer says that he was very worried for a month before the championship, did not sleep well at night. The fact of victory was realized only a second before the final whistle and could not hold back the tears of happiness.
And then the leadership of “Zenith” started talking about the idea that it would be nice to return the player to the team.
The fact is that over time, Igor Denisov went down deep into the defense, where he shows himself as a tenacious, unyielding and tough defender. The absence of such a player in the “Zenith” - one of the reasons for the loss of the team in the championship.
Professional quality
The leadership of Lokomotiv calls Denisov Russia's best midfielder. This may be an exaggeration, but, nevertheless, very close to the truth.
According to statistics, Igor Denisov has a very high rate of victories in dueling during the defense. In the Premier League, this figure is higher only for the Amkar Ogude player, despite the fact that this player spent most of his matches in the center of defense.
The athlete has some professional shortcomings, but they are not very significant for the reference midfielder. For example, due to the low growth of the athlete, he does not win even half the martial arts in the air.
It is much more important that Denisov in average number of interceptions surpasses such famous football players as Paredes, Erokhin, Kranevitter and Kuzyaev. And this despite the fact that Denisov violates the rules of the game much less often.
In addition, Igor Denisov has an excellent indicator of gear accuracy - 89.8%. He takes the twelfth place among the championship players and the first among midfielders.
Igor himself does not consider himself a talented player, he claims that he benefits the team using his ability to work. Therefore, the football player works hard to maintain his physical fitness.
According to Denisov, it is known that the football player plans to play for another three years. After completing a football career, an athlete would like to return to Zenit. If this does not work out, then Denisov suggests that he will quit football altogether.
Russian team
Denisov began training with the Russian national team back in 2005, but he was not able to get into the team until 2008.
In November 2008, Denisov finally made his first debut in the Russian national team at the European Championship.
In 2010, at the World Championships, Denisov played for the Russian team during the qualifying match. All the while the game against the German national team continued, Denisov spent on the field. Unfortunately, the Germans won, and the Russian team dropped out of the competition.
In 2016, the football player was supposed to fight for the Russian team at the World Cup. But during a friendly match with the Serbs, he was injured and replaced by Zenit midfielder Arthur Yusupov.
Personal life
Despite the scandalous behavior, Igor Denisov is an excellent family man. The athlete himself claims that in football, where he plays very aggressively, and in ordinary life he is completely different.
Igor Denisov and his wife Elena are parents with many children. They have three sons and one daughter. First, daughter Victoria was born in 2005, then - son Igor in 2008, and then - twin boys in 2011.
He says about the sons of Denisov that they probably will not become football players. To play football qualitatively, there must be a great desire, and nothing good will come out from under the stick.
Wife Elena
Igor Denisov’s wife is patient with patience, even a little lenient.
Elena is a real beauty, a slender tall blonde. Her appearance does not reflect in any way a lot of worries about the family and the upbringing of four children.
Igor met Elena in 1999 at her workplace in a sporting goods store. The couple does not advertise the details of the acquaintance and further personal life and hides it in every possible way from the public.
Apparently, the family lives together, as the yellow press would quickly become aware of the scandals. According to Igor, his wife supports him, takes an interest in his successes, shares troubles and takes a sincere part in her husband’s hobbies. Igor’s main hobbies are dogs and diving, which he has been practicing for a long time.
Today Elena conducts housekeeping and brings up children. A large family requires a lot of effort. In addition to the children, Elena also has to take care of the three huge dogs that live in their house.
Denisovs do not appear at social parties. The couple prefers a secluded lifestyle and communication with children.
Igor loves to give presents to his family members; he is ready for anything for them. To help relatives, the football player is even ready to break from the training. He is a devoted and loving husband who values his wife very much. So Elena Denisova is a happy woman who was lucky with her husband.
All team achievements
Achievements in the “Zenith”:
- three times champion of Russia (2007, 2010, 2011/2012);
- twice winner of a silver medal at national championships (2003, 2012/2013);
- bronze medalist of the championship of Russia in 2009;
- Premier League Cup 2003;
- Russian Cup 2009/10;
- twice winner of the Russian Super Cup (2008 and 2011);
- UEFA Cup 2007/08;
- UEFA Super Cup 2008.
Achievements in the Moscow Lokomotiv:
- winner of the championship of Russia (season 2017/2018);
- Winner of the Russian Cup season (2016/2017).
Personal achievements of Denisov
Personal achievements of Igor Denisov in his football career:
- six times in the lists of 33 best players of the championship of Russia: in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2017/2018;
- footballer of the year in the 2011/2012 season;
- recognized as the best midfielder of the championships of Russia in the period 1992 - 2012;
- in 2015 he became a member of the Igor Netto club.
Igor Netto Club is a symbolic club whose members are football players who have played 50 or more matches for the national teams of the USSR, Russia and the CIS countries.