Biography
Igor Smolnikov - Defender of FC "Krasnodar" and the Russian national team. The football player has long and hard built a sports biography. There were few optimists who believed in him, but Igor did not lower his hands and eventually received a place in one of the best teams of the country.Childhood and youth
Igor was born in August 1988 in the Sverdlovsk region, the city of Kamensk-Uralsky. Like all the boys, chased the ball with friends, but in a sports school chose the karate section. And when seriously became interested in football, lucky with the first coach Yuri Vostroudhov.
The teacher enthusiast brought up a team that won the All-Russian Ole tournament, Coca-Cola, whose main prize was a trip to the European Championship. Along the way, "luck" played in Moscow with a double "Locomotive". The tournament was observed coach Ravil Salekhov and director of the Football Academy Mikhail Linkov. They invited the Ural guy to the capital.
However, at the end of the Academy, the Railway workers did not like their new graduate, and Smolnikov went to Torpedo.
Football
The road in Greater Sport Igor was opened by Torpedo's mentor Georgy Yartsev, who led the club when he flew out of the Premier League. He determined the position of low growth (179 cm with a weight of 70 kg) a guy on the right flank, in the midfield, and Vadim Evseeva gave the partner, who had already earned the Lavra of the country in Spartak.In 2007, Smolnikov declared itself on the youth world championship. Torpedovtsy offered a new contract football player, but here Lokomotiv called Igor back. In the old club, Rashid Rakhimov did not bet on a young player, an athlete spent more time on the bench. In order not to lose the form, played in Double. Then, consulting his wife, moved to Ekaterinburg. In the Urals, gaming practice was also lacking.
From the Yekaterinburg team, the player was leased to the Trans-Baikal "Chita". Here the role of football player has expanded significantly. The club suffered from a lack of players, and Igor visited in net protection, and in the attack, and Havbek. Defender, according to Smolnikov, be more comfortable than constantly scoring goals.
"If a team friend has opened and asks the ball, I will always give. But if you give it no one, then you can already break through. "In 2010, Smolnikov tried to consolidate in the "locomotive", played in the country championship. In addition, he received an invitation to the youth team and a chance to speak in the continental championship, but did not come out on the field.
Then the "Loko" returned Yuri Semin, and the football player began to rent again. This time in the Sochi "Pearl" to Stanislav Cherchesov. But the club fell apart soon, and Igor attracted the leadership of Rostov. However, and there the defender was lingering for a while.
In 2012, Smolnniks switched to Krasnodar, which at that moment was quite high rose in the tournament table. Southerners signed a defender for 4 years, after which they sold a player for € 6 million to St. Petersburg. In Zenit, Igor found complete mutual understanding with the head coach of Luciano Spalletti. Leonid Slutsky lured a football player in CSKA, offering a full-fledged game cycle, but the athlete then preferred "Krasnodar".
The athlete did not expect everyone to happen so quickly - under the flag of the new club Smolnikov came to the game in 2 days. Looking around the country and on the teams of diametrically different levels, Igor concluded that if he would go where, then only with an increase in Europe. Footballer like England and Germany. However, in the "Zenith" will calmly reach the end of the career.
In 2015, the Nevsky Club on his own initiative extended a contract for 5 years with the Defender of Zenit. The agreement was the point for which FC is obliged to release the player if he wants to go to another team. The amount of the indentation would be € 40 million. The owners of blue-white-blue were not afraid to offer Igor improved conditions right on the eve of departure to England.
Smolnikov had an operation on the leg. Heavy injury - the separation of the inguinal muscles - it was difficult to treat, a football player went to London three times. The last operation was made in January 2016, and in February Igor began individual training.
Another injury of Zenit defender received at one of the qualifying games to the Europa League in 2018. Damage to the hand when a collision with a player of the Norwegian team was not hazardous, but the athlete left the field after replacing.
In the 2017/2018 season, Zenitian was not marked by goals, but I remembered a fight with an attacking of the Moscow "Spartak" Louis Adriano. Red and white showed an indecent gesture to fans and quarreled with Denis Terentyev. Such clashes on the football field are not uncommon, but this time Igor came running to the rescue, and the usual quarrel became the subject of discussions in the media.
At the FIFA-2018 World Championships, not only ratings with a plus sign were conducted. The defeat of the Russian national team from the Uruguay team was the stenching cold shower for fans staying in Euphoria from two previous victories.
Smolnikov earned the 2nd yellow and automatic red card. Removal weakened the Russian national team in the current game and, as a result, led to the disqualification of the player on the match against the Spanish "Red Furi."
English Tabloid The Sun included the defender of the Russian national team in the list of worst Mundial players along with Robert Levandowski, Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi.
Instagram account of the football player was full of both angry and supporting comments. Athlete's wife Ekaterina Smolnikov in his own profile called for fans and ill-wishers to refrain from insults to her husband. In such a situation, according to Catherine, everyone risks to turn out to be on the field with the ball. Igor was motivated to win, and the team still left the group and even turned out to be for the first time in the history of the final of the final, where he lost to Croats in the series of post-match dealership.
Playing Zenit, the athlete participated in the Russian Football Championship 2018/2019 and even scored 1 goal in the season, and at the 2018/2019 Cup, the football player added another 1 goal to the team's piggy bank.
On July 29, 2020, the contract with Zenit in Smolnikova ended. Over the entire career in the club, the football player held more than 200 matches, scored 10 goals and gave 11 efficient gears. As part of the team, he became the 3-fold champion of the Russian Federation, won the 2nd Cup and 1 Super Cup of the country.
Igor moved to FC Krasnodar. The player's agreement with a new club was calculated for 2 years. The offer from Zenit for further cooperation athlete was not suitable due to the term for 1 year. Smolnikov has already reached the middle retirement age of the football player, so chose a longer contract.
Personal life
With blue-eyed blonde, Katerina Igor met, thanks to the bride of his friend on the "locomotive" Seeds of Fomin - Katya was friends with a girl. The future wife at the time of acquaintance was going to enter theatrical, but later retrained into a journalist.
She did not believe that football for a man is not just a hobby, and even wanted to seriously talk to the theme of further prospects until Igor assured that it was breathing and lives in this game. At the insistence of spouse, the football player received a diploma of the Moscow Institute of Physical Education.
Now in the family of Smolnikov, two children - the sons of Luke and Alexander. But Catherine did not become a housewife, and a couple with a friend of Victoria, the wife of the midfielder "Zenit" Oleg Shatov, created a charity project to collect funds for children suffering from incurable buglese epidermolysis.
The athlete leads a page in "Instagram", where the photo is laid out with training, matches and shares events from personal life.
Igor Smolnikov now
In 2021, Smolnikov took part in the Games of the UEFA Europa League, the Russian and Cup of Russia.The athlete managed to distinguish between the Games of the Premier League in the match with the Ural: Having received 2 yellow cards in the first half, Igor was removed from the field. teams tied.
In March 2021, Smolnikov was summoned to the Russian national team of the qualifying stage of the World Championship - 2022.
Achievements
- 2015 - Champion of Russia, owner of the Russian Super Cup
- 2016 - Winner of the Cup and Super Cup of Russia