Childhood and family
Yuri Zhirkov was born in Tambov in 1983. The boy's family was very far from the world of sports. Mom worked as a postman, and father worked at. In total, there were four children in the family (Yuri has a sister and two brothers). Parents' salaries were always not enough, so the future football player knew from early childhood what poverty and misery were.
The entire Zhirkov family lived in a one-room apartment. By the way, it was this circumstance that prompted Yuri to play football. The thing is that due to limited space, it was quite difficult for family members to be at home all together at once. Therefore, Zhirkov disappeared on the field from morning to evening, coming to the apartment only to spend the night and eat.
Biography, which clubs he played in, achievements
So, Yuri Stoleshnikov is a successful football player.
The film does not fully reveal what he was like as a child. From a very early age, the child dreamed of becoming a football player, largely because he saw before him the example of his father, who was also a popular and successful player in the past, and then became a coach. The boy actively attended sections and headed the school football team.
Yuri grows up and enters the university, where he studies to become a teacher, and then to a physical education school, where he also receives an appropriate education. However, the football player is in no hurry to sit on the coaching bench. He plays on the national football team. Slava quickly finds a talented athlete. People recognize him, cheer for him, and ask for autographs. Women are crazy about the charming and charismatic football player, and men are eager to get to know him.
The plot of the film revolves around one interesting event. The Spartak team, in which Stoleshnikov played, met in a match with the Romanian team. The events took place within the framework of the World Cup. The game unfolded in such a way that it was necessary to score a penalty. And this mission is entrusted to none other than Yuri. No one doubts the young football player; everyone knows his talent and accurate shot.
But, unfortunately, the game went according to a different plan. Yuri accidentally knocks down a representative of the opposing team, begins to argue with the referee, and then receives a red card. This is not just an unpleasant incident, but a real collapse of a football player’s career. Also, Yuri Stoleshnikov, leaving the field emotionally, heard from the stands how fans were trying to shame him. A fight ensues. As a result of all these incidents, the player is called to the head coach and then disqualified from the team.
Every footballer understands what this means. The road to big-time sports is now closed to him.
For two whole years Yuri Stoleshnikov has been in an uncertain state. Many friends and acquaintances turned their backs on him and no longer remembered their friendship with the once famous football player. Nobody was in a hurry to offer me a job either. Former fans turned away from their idol.
Realizing that there is nothing else to catch in Moscow, Yuri accepts the offer to go to a small provincial town in the very south of Russia - Novorossiysk. There, Stoleshnikov is offered a position as head coach in one of the football clubs called Meteor.
When the future coach accepted the offer, he had no idea what he would have to face. At the very first training session, the man was horrified by what he saw. The team did not come to train at full strength. Many were overweight and did not try at all to train on the field. In addition, the team had no idea what the new young mentor required of them. Many terms were completely unfamiliar to football players.
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Many would have given up and hastened to leave Meteor. But Yuri understood that he had one last chance in life to prove something to someone. And so he took up the task of re-educating Meteor. It was hard for him. Initially, the club performed very poorly, but over time, thanks to the painstaking work of the coach and the efforts of the players, they managed to achieve the impossible. The team began to win tournament after tournament, thanks to which it was able to move from regional competitions directly to the world sports arena.
Separately, it is worth paying attention to the relationship between Yuri Stoleshnikov and his father. At the very beginning of the film, the father appears before us as a harsh critic who always discusses the actions and actions of his son in a negative way. Yuri Stoleshnikov is often angry with his father and does not always speak politely to him. When making decisions, he is in no hurry to seek advice. It was as if a blank wall had grown between the men.
However, when the football player leaves for the small town of Novorossiysk, the father appears before us as an anxious parent. He often watches tapes of his son's matches. It is clear that the father truly cares about the life and fate of his son and wants to help him in every possible way, but due to his physical characteristics he can only give advice from the outside.
During the course of the film, the father, who was seriously ill at that time, dies. This is a real blow for the young footballer and coach.
However, it is the death of his father that gives him the strength to live, fight and achieve his goals. It’s as if he understands that this is a real push forward, and if he doesn’t use it now, he will remain in place and will never be able to rise again. Therefore, the role of the father in this film, although not the main one, determines the life path of the main character.
Personal life
In 2008, Yuri Zhirkov, whose biography was presented above, married a girl named Inna Gracheva. According to her, she has never worked a single day in her life. At the moment, the couple has three children: Dmitry (2008), Milana (2010) and Daniil (2015).
In 2012, Yuri Zhirkov’s wife won the Mrs. Russia competition. But after a scandalous interview, the girl refused this title because she was unable to answer several simple questions. In 2013, Inna decided to take part in the reality show “Island”. His players had to learn to get their own water and food without outside help.
Personal life (parents, children, girlfriends, wife, ex-wives, weddings, divorces)
The personal life of the fictional character Yuri Stoleshnikov is a real mystery. According to the script of the film, Stoleshnikov, who is grieving the death of his father, meets the girl of his dreams. She becomes Varya, a local rehabilitation doctor who works with the Meteor team. She is pretty, easy-going and cheerful. Stoleshnikov, at the moment when this girl showed interest in him, experienced a strong tragedy and loss. It was she who was able to console him, understand him, and most importantly, return him to duty. After all, the football player was going to give up everything and move away from the then hated team.
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However, it was Varya’s love, her faith, and strong will that helped the football player get up from his knees and finally pull himself together. The man remembered very well that he promised his father to become a good person, to change. And he tried to keep this word.
The film ends with the coach and his team winning on the international stage, and Varya jumping in the stands for joy. I would like to imagine the story of these two people and imagine that in the near future they will have a happy marriage, children, a happy family life and an equally successful career.
Interesting Facts
In 2008, Yuri Zhirkov was nominated for the Golden Ball award. But, in addition to the rosy events, there were also unpleasant stories in his life. So, the football player was in two car accidents. The first happened in Tambov in 2005. Yuri was driving at high speed. He was cut off, and the athlete landed right in the post. Zhirkov's life was saved by airbags. The second accident occurred in 2008 in Kaliningrad. The football player was not injured in the incident. Another interesting fact: due to a quarrel with Leonid Slutsky, he was not included in the Russian national team’s application for Euro 2016.
Career in the Russian national team
Before receiving an invitation to the first team, such an athlete as Yuri Zhirkov had to play for the youth team for a year. The footballer was first called up to the national team in 2005. Since then he has been a permanent starter. As in the club, he occupies the left-back position. The Zenit player managed to play at the European Championship in 2008, at the World Championship in 2014, and also at the continental championship in 2012.
He has sixty-seven matches for the national team. He managed to score against the opponent only once. In a word, this is a very promising athlete.
Zhirkov's club career
Yuri made a huge contribution to all the victories CSKA won over these five years. He became the champion of Russia twice, raised the Russian Cup four times and won the Russian Super Cup four times. The culmination of this stage of the club's career was the victory in the UEFA Cup in 2005. Zhirkov was directly involved in the actions of his team throughout the tournament, and in the final it was he who brought the Army team ahead, scoring a goal in the 65th minute of the match.
The love of the fans speaks well about Yuri’s role in the club. He was twice awarded the Golden Horseshoe Award, which is awarded to football players based on voting by the team’s fans. Thanks to his successful play, Zhirkov became a transfer target for many European giants, in particular Bayern and Barcelona. However, London's Chelsea were able to offer the most favorable conditions. The transfer amounted to a record 18 million euros for Russian football.
His career at Chelsea did not work out from the very beginning, because Zhirkov received an injury that left him out of the game for a long month, and he was able to fully recover only in November 2009. In the camp of “aristocrats”, Yuri met serious competition. England international Ashley Cole spent his best years on the left flank of defense, and Florent Malouda shone in midfield.
In this regard, Zhirkov received little playing time, often coming on as a substitute or playing in unimportant matches. Despite this, Yuri became the champion of England with Chelsea, and also won the FA Cup and Super Cup.
With the club from Dagestan, Yuri Zhirkov was able to win bronze medals in the Russian Championship and participate in the Europa League. The situation changed dramatically after Kerimov announced that the club was changing course. Anzhi began to get rid of expensive players, and Yuri Zhirkov was among them. Together with two teammates, he ended up in Dynamo Moscow, and already in the first meeting he was able to score a goal.
Yuri Zhirkov now
In 2020, Yuri Zhirkov left Dynamo and signed a contract with the St. Petersburg football club Zenit. The contract was drawn up for a period of two years. Together with Yuri, Alexander Kokorin also joined the team. Already in the first season, Zhirkov appeared on the field 13 times in Premier League matches, two of which were in EuroCup competitions. The athlete managed to gain a foothold in the main team.
A year later, the number of tournaments increased to 29, with Yuri Zhirkov scoring a goal once. Both seasons, the St. Petersburg team did not leave the top three of the Russian championship, remaining consistently in third place. In the 2017/2018 RFPL season, Zhirkov brought another goal to the club.
Yuri Zhirkov as a member of Zenit
In the Russian national team, Yuri had a conflict with Leonid Slutsky, which is why the footballer missed the 2016 European Championship match, which took place in France. The head coach of the national team was not satisfied with the player’s free interpretation of the team’s tactical guidelines during the game. In addition, an Achilles tendon injury did not allow the football player to fully express himself. But over the year, Zhirkov managed to take part in five friendly matches. In the tournament against the Stade de France team, Yuri brought the team a goal.
In 2020, the athlete played for the Russian national team in three Confederation Cup games and five friendly matches. In 2020, Zhirkov has played in two matches so far against Brazil and France.
Yuri Zhirkov
At the end of June 2020, Yuri Zhirkov’s contract with the St. Petersburg club is coming to an end. After his term expires, the footballer can continue cooperation with Zenit, however, Zhirkov’s salary will decrease. Under the terms of the current agreement, the football player receives € 2 million. FC Krasnodar is also interested in the veteran, which is ready to offer Zhirkov a two-year cooperation. Under the terms of the proposed deal, which was discussed at the beginning of the year, the teams would exchange players. Zhirkov will be replaced by forward Fedor Smolov from Krasnodar to Zenit. But Yuri has not yet given a final answer, and at the end of 2020 the footballer mentioned that he would not mind staying in St. Petersburg.
The final part of the 2018 World Cup started in Russia in June. Cherchesov's team won the opening match against Saudi Arabia with a score of 5-0, followed by a victory over Egypt (3-1). Despite the loss to Uruguay, the Russians secured access to the 1/8 finals, which has not happened for many years.
Igor Akinfeev - the hero of the Spain-Russia match
Russia's opponents in the 1/8 were titled - the Spanish national team. The Spaniards applied pressure throughout the match, but the defense of the Russian team stood to death. The Russia-Spain meeting ended in a series of post-match penalties, in which Igor Akinfeev's skill turned out to be an order of magnitude higher than David De Gea's. Unfortunately, Yuri Zhirkov entered the field with a sore leg and suffered a hip injury. This was the end of his participation in the World Cup.
In the quarter finals of the World Cup, Mario Fernandez's header took the Russians into the penalty shootout, where Croatia was stronger. Despite the Russian national team's departure from the 2018 World Cup, for the first time in a long time, fans and the entire football world recognized Cherchesov's team as the best in recent decades.
