Former footballer Yuri Nikiforov was a unique player. He played in three different football championships of the Soviet and post-Soviet period (USSR, Ukraine, Russia). Also, Yuri Nikiforov played for four different teams (USSR, Ukraine, CIS, Russia).
Dossier
Football player Yuri Nikiforov was born on September 15, 1970 in Odessa (Ukraine). The playing position on the football field is the defender. Height 189 cm, weight 84 kg. Years of performance in big football - 1986-2004. Married. Wife Natalia gave birth to two daughters.
During the game, he performed a large amount of work, moving around the entire perimeter of the football field. Often connected to attacks. As a defender, he was distinguished by reliability, rigidity, and intransigence in martial arts. Possessed a strong delivered blow, which was used in the appointment of penalties.
Football career
As a football player, Yuri Nikiforov played in five different countries for eight different clubs. He played 375 matches, in which he scored 32 goals.
- 1986-1988 - Chernomorets (Odessa), SKA (Odessa);
- 1988-1989 - Dynamo (Kiev);
- 1990-1992 - "Chernomorets" (Odessa);
- 1993-1996 - Spartak (Moscow);
- 1996-1998 - Sporting (Spain);
- 1998-2002 - PSV (Holland);
- 2003 - "Waalwijk" (Holland);
- 2003-2004 - Urava Red Diamonds (Japan).
For four different national teams, Yuri Nikiforov played from 1990 to 2002. He spent 72 matches. Goals of Yuri Nikiforov 6 times brought points to his teams.
National Teams:
- 1990-1991 - Olympic team of the USSR;
- 1992 - CIS national team;
- 1992 - Ukraine national team;
- 1993-2002 - Russian team.
In addition, in 1987, Yuri Nikiforov took part in the World Cup among juniors (under 16), where the USSR team won first place, and Nikiforov himself became the top scorer of the tournament (5 goals). In 1988, he, playing for the national team, wins the European Championship (U-19).
In 2005, Yuri Nikiforov takes part in several international beach soccer tournaments as part of the Russian team.
Trophies and Achievements
Yuri Nikiforov was the owner of club trophies in four countries of the world. Three times he became the champion of Russia in the Moscow Spartak, twice won the Dutch championship with the PSV team, won national Cups in Ukraine, Russia, Japan. Nikiforov was a member of two world championships and two European championships. He played for the Russian team 59 matches.
Stages of a Long Way
The playing career of the pupil of Odessa football began in 1986 as part of the "Chernomorets". But the young fragile guy could not adequately fight the powerful strikers of the best teams of the backup team of the USSR Premier League and was sent to the local SKA team, where he was forced to get the necessary physical condition. A year later, Nikiforov returned to the team “Chernomorets” and began to play so that he became the object of close attention of the Dynamo Kiev coach Valery Lobanovsky. At that time, there were no obstacles to the transition of the best football players to the flagship of Ukrainian and Soviet football. Yuri Nikiforov becomes a player of Dynamo.
Perhaps the acquisition of Nikiforov was associated with an attempt to weaken the competitor, which at that time was Chernomorets, maybe Yuri himself did not show his best football qualities, but, one way or another, he spent two years in the Dynamo double without playing a single match as part of the main team. At the same time, two years of the Dynamo double were credited to the footballer as an urgent army service.
In 1990, Yuri Nikiforov returned to his native team, where he spent two great seasons. He is even involved in the USSR Olympic team. But well-known political events began, the result of which was the collapse of the Soviet Union. In search of a better share, many famous players of the Ukrainian championship left the country, choosing far and near abroad. Yuri goes to the Moscow club "Spartak" to Oleg Romantsev (photo of the coach below).
Here Yuri Nikiforov is a sought-after footballer. His football career is at its zenith. He becomes one of the best players in the championship of Russia. In 1992, Nikiforov went to the European Championship in Sweden as part of the CIS team.
After the formation of the Russian Football Federation, the athlete becomes an irreplaceable player of the Russian team for almost 10 years. He takes part in the 1996 European Championships, the 1994 and 2002 World Championships.
Yuri Nikiforov recalls Spartak as a team that provided him with the opportunity to play in the strongest European championships. And although the first foreign trip to Gijon Sporting did not satisfy the ambitions of a football player, the next stage of his career, Yuri Nikiforov, has every reason to be proud.
Legionary
As part of the Dutch PSV, he won the national championship twice, having won 99 matches in four years.
Maintaining maximum physical condition, demonstrating an impeccable defense game at 32, is already quite difficult. In addition, more and more often the old numerous injuries make themselves felt. And in 2003, in transit through the Vaalveik club, Yuri completed his football career with the Japanese team Urava Red Diamonds. Here, in 2004, a point was put in the career of a great football player.
Now Yuri Nikiforov lives in Spain (the city of Gijon), leaving the field for a local team of veterans. After graduating from the coaching courses in 2014, he worked as the second coach in the Irtysh Kazakhstan team and as an assistant to the head coach at the Kuban club (Russia).