Igor Akinfeev is a well-known Russian football player, as well as an honored master of sports of the Russian Federation. There were many victories and defeats in his life, but the most impressive should be told.
early years
Igor Akinfeev was born in the suburbs, in 1986, on April 8. When he was four years old, his father decided to send his son to the CSKA football club for children and youth. In the second training, the boy was identified at the gate. So, from 1991 to the present, Igor Akinfeev has never changed his club. For 24 years now, he has been protecting the colors of PFC CSKA.
His first victory took place in 2002 - then, at the age of 16, a young and promising goalkeeper, along with his youthful team, became the champion of Russia. Then, in 2002, he graduated from the football academy and became a full-fledged player in the army team. In the same season, he and his teammates spent ten matches for the second team of CSKA. Then he was invited to the Russian national team, however, to the youth team. The debut in the national team also took place in 2002 - he went on the field against the match with the Swedes. In general, the year 2002 was eventful for Igor. But that was only the beginning.
The beginning of a career at the heart of CSKA
Igor Akinfeev, whom we today know as the main goalkeeper of the “army”, was in the first roster almost immediately. In 2003, he entered the field in the 1/8 finals of the Russian Premier League (and it was a match against the archenemy - St. Petersburg “Zenith”). Igor, having replaced Dmitry Kramarenko, played his piece dry. An excellent reaction and complete composure, which are his key goalkeeper qualities, Akinfeev demonstrated even then.
The debut in European competitions took place also in 2003. It was a game against FC Vardar. Despite the fact that the match ended in favor of the Macedonians and not the Muscovites, the coach assured that the goalkeeper was not to blame.
Igor Akinfeev: biography and interesting facts
The footballer has a wife, his same age, her name is Ekaterina Gerun. A wife was born in Kiev and chose the activities of a model and actress for herself. In the past, 2014, May 17, a son was born to young people. Then, in the next, 2015, a daughter was born. The player of the Russian team for the second time became a happy father in early September.
Interestingly, Igor Akinfeev is a goalkeeper with education. After graduation, he decided to enter the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. He studied there for five years and successfully graduated with a diploma written on a topic that reads as follows: “Tactical and technical actions of a goalkeeper during a football match”. So Igor is a professional Russian player from both a theoretical and a practical point of view.
But this is not the only interesting fact concerning him. Igor Akinfeev, whose photo introduces us to the well-known goalkeeper, in fact, since 2012 is also a confidant of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
By the way, even Akinfeev is friends with the lead singer of the group “Hands up!”. And they, along with Sergei Zhukov, recorded the song “Summer Evening”. Igor also starred in the video “Open the door for me”. And the football player wrote a book, which he gave the name “100 penalties from readers”, where he answered all the fans' exciting questions. So Igor Akinfeev is not only an athlete, but also a creative person with a higher education.
Achievements
Igor Akinfeev, whose photo shows us a young and strong guy, has won many awards throughout his career. With CSKA, he became the five-time champion of Russia and six times - the owner of the Super Bowl of the country. In 2004/2005 he received, together with the team, the UEFA Cup. Another 6 times (almost all in a row) became the owner of the Cup of Russia. Together with his native club, he received 18 trophies! And with the national team he became the bronze medalist of the European Championship, which was held in 2008.
The goalkeeper also has a huge amount of personal achievements. Eight times he received a prize named after Lev Yashin called “Goalkeeper of the Year”, became the best young soccer player of the Premier League, became the owner of the Order of Friendship. And he set a record for the longest “zero” series in the history of Russia and the national teams of the USSR. Igor managed to keep the goal dry for 761 minutes in a row.
Akinfeev has a huge number of awards and statuses. But the most important achievement that he achieved through his own work is the recognition of fans and the faithful love of CSKA fans.