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The Russian Goalkeepers in Top Five European Leagues

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A few Russian goalkeepers have had rare experience playing in major European leagues, including well-known figures.

Russian football might be stepping into their dark age. Their clubs and national teams have been unable to compete in major competitions. Yet, their talents somehow still manage to emerge and attract top teams in the European top five. Last summer, Matvey Safonov was the latest player who plied his trade abroad. He left FC Krasnodar to join French powerhouse, PSG for a five-year deal. The Russian international shot stopper is expected to provide competition for the first choice, Gianluigi Donnarumma. In fact, the 25-year-old goalie has featured in three games so far, including the last two domestic fixtures. Le Parisien boss, Luis Enrique, appears to rotate the man between the sticks. Safonov made his debut with his new team in the Champions League opener versus Girona.

Safonov’s move to Ligue 1 is probably rather unexpected. Yet such talent deserves a chance to improve himself and play abroad. He might be aiming to follow the footsteps of his seniors, who once had been competing in the top level with major European leagues, instead of just playing in his home soil like his predecessors, Igor Akinfeev. Hopefully, things would change in the future and the bans from UEFA and FIFA could be lifted. Here are Safonov’s probable inspiring seniors who had spells in Spanish, English, German, and Portugal's top division.

Dmitri Kharine (Chelsea)

The former Olympian in Seoul 1988 was the first and only Russian goalkeeper who played for a Premier League side. He joined Chelsea in the winter transfer window of the 1992/93 season. The Blues were not an elite side at that time, and his move did not really help their campaign as they only finished 14th. In the following two seasons, Kharine had not contributed to their success as Glen Hoddle’s men sat 11th in the final standings. However, CIS and Russia’s shotstopper in EURO 1992 and 1996 plus the 1994 FIFA World Cup had been doing well in the cup competition, as he helped Chelsea reach the FA Cup final in 1994 and the Winners Cup semifinal in 1995.

The former CSKA Moscow man did stay in Stamford Bridge till 1999 but was no longer the first choice starting from 1996/97 under Ruud Gullit. It was the season when they began winning the silverware from the FA Cup in 1997, Winners Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998. Kharine made only 48 clean sheets in 138 appearances with Chelsea. Nevertheless, he has made his mark as the first Russian goalkeepers in Premier League history. 

Rinat Dasayev (Sevilla)

He was known as the second-best goalkeeper in the USSR's history after Lev Yashin. Dasayev was already 31 years old when he opted to join La Liga side Sevilla after bringing his nation to the summit in EURO 1988. He made 24 appearances in his first season, with a fairly impressive debut against Real Madrid. The former Spartak Moscow man helped his team share spoils with the eventual La Liga winner. Sevilla only finished eighth in the 1988/89 final standings and missed out on the European competition.

In the following season, Dasayev became the mainstay and contributed to improving his team’s position by sitting sixth. Sevilla was also unbeaten in both fixtures against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona, who won the league title at the end of their campaign. Overall, he made 20 clean sheets in 63 games for the Andalusian side. It was his last club of his career as the Astrakhan-born goalie retired due to suffering depression in 1991. He did not receive a contract extension, and his wife and daughter abandoned him.

Stanislav Cherchesov (Dynamo Dresden)

The former Russia boss in the 2018 World Cup plied his trade to the Bundesliga in 1993 by joining Dynamo Dresden. Despite finishing 13th in the standings, Cherchesov helped their unbeaten run in 10 games in the middle of the season with some notable results, such as holding Bayern in a 1-1 stalemate and dismantling Dortmund 3-0 in the process.

Unfortunately, his second season saw the degrading form of his team. They were at the bottom of the table and relegated to the second tier in summer 1995. The current Kazakhstan manager only made 14 clean sheets in 69 matches with the German side. After a loan spell in Spartak, he moved to Austria in summer 1996 by signing for Tirol Innsbruck, where he stayed for six years.

Sergey Ovchinnikov (Benfica and FC Porto)

The Russian goalkeeper in EURO 2004 had stints in Portuguese Premiera Liga with two big sides, Benfica and FC Porto. He first joined Benfica in 1997, but only as the second fiddle and getting a nod on rotation as Graeme Souness still relied on Belgian’s Michael Preud’Homme. Ovchinnikov only appeared in 22 games with eight clean sheets.

The former Lokomotiv Moscow side was then sold to the midtable side, Alverca, in 1999 before switching sides to FC Porto in 2000. He cemented his place in the first season but lost his spot in the following one. The goalie with 35 international caps then returned to his former side, Lokomotiv, before ending his career at Dynamo Moscow in 2006. During his spells in Portugal, he only delivered the Portuguese Cup twice with Porto but failed to win a single one in Benfica.


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