Aleksandr Filimonov
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| Aleksandr Filimonov | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Александр Владимирович Филимонов | |
| Date of birth | 15 October 1973 | |
| Place of birth | Chişinău, USSR | |
| Height | 193 cm | |
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | FC Moskva | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| ? –1990 | Burevestnik Yoshkar-Ola | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1990 1991 1992–1993 1994-1995 1996–2001 2001 2002-2003 2004-2006 2007- |
Stal Cheboxary Druzhba Yoshkar-Ola Fakel Voronezh Textilschik Kamyshin Spartak Moscow Dynamo Kyiv Uralan Elista FC Moskva Nea Salamis FC |
2 (0) 38 (1) 67 (0) 53 (0) 147 (0) 4 (0) 39 (0) 23 (0) ? (?) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1998–2002 | Russia | 16 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Aleksandr Filimonov is one of the best 1990's Russian football goalkeepers. His best years now are definitely over, with the Euro 2000 qualifying accidental goal from Andriy Shevchenko, but he was number 1 in Spartak Moscow from 1996 until 2001 and gained a number of caps for the Russia national football team.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
While born in Chişinău, Filimonov spent all his early years in another locations of USSR. His father was a football coach so Aleksandr was addicted to football since he was a child. The only choice he was intended to made was a position on the field. He chose to be a goalkeeper.
After finishing Burevestnik football academy in Yoshkar-Ola, at 1990 summer he moved to his first adult football team. It was Stal Cheboxary from USSR Third Division. Filimonov was only seventeen so he found him self unable to made more than two appearances during the season. As winter begin, he returned to Yoshkar-Ola and join local team Druzhba Yoshkar-Ola to take part in 1991 USSR Third Division tournament. That year, Filimonov was definitely the main goalkeeper for his new team, begin included into starting eleven thirty eight times and even scoring one goal (the only goal in his adult career).
[edit] Promising keeper
As the 1991 season neared its end, the same thing happened with the seventy-year history of the USSR. At the beginning of 1992 Filimonov joined Fakel Voronezh which unexpectedly become Russian Premier League participant right after USSR First Division mid-table obscurity. Same with the season 1991, Filimonov instantly become non-arguable first team player in Fakel and one of their best playing squad. Despite of his good goalkeeping Fakel was relegated anyway. Filimonov spent another season with Fakel in Russian First League. Then he moved to Premiere League top-half team Textilschik Kamyshin, after having twenty clean sheets during thirty seven games in 1993 and seventy one appearances for Fakel during two years.
As with previous clubs, Filimonov found no difficulty in becoming number one on the team. In 1994 Filimonov took his first European cup game in UEFA Cup with Textilschik, and he perform good against FC Nantes and Bekescsaba. During two Textilschik seasons Filimonov became one of the most promising Russian keepers. At Jun 6, 1995 he debuted for Russian U23 national team vs. San Marino and made three U23 caps during 1995 fall.
[edit] Spartak
In 1996 several things happened at the same time to give Filimonov a chance to test himself at the best level Russian football in 90's had. His contract with Textilschik came to an end, and team from Kamyshin couldn't give an extension due to unclear financial situation. At the same time, Spartak Moscow was looking for a new keeper after their experienced goalie Stanislav Cherchessov left Russian Premier League for FC Wacker Innsbruck. Spartak'd already Ruslan Nigmatullin signed but looked for another keeper to increase team depth.
That's how Filimonov joined the team he had his best football moments with.
At the beginning of the season 1996 Filimonov found that he had only bench place as he wasn't signed for UEFA Champions League so Nigmatullin is current team keeper. But during the season Filimonov become first team keeper again (as it was with Druzhba, Fakel and Textilschik). The main reason for Georgi Yartsev to replace Nigmatullin with Filimonov was difference in their consistency. While Nigmatullin couldn't show all of his best every game during the season, that was no problem for Filimonov to do.
Since then, Filimonov was a permanent squad participant on Spartak until the summer of 2001. He won 6 Russian Premier League titles with Spartak Moscow, took part in numerous Champions League games and finally become a Russia national football team player.
[edit] International career
Filimonov gained the first cap for Russia on March 25, 1998 in a friendly match with France. Playing 4 friendly games in 1998, he was not treated as the main national keeper while Boris Ignatyev and Anatoly Byshovets managed sbornaya. Things had changed when his club manager Oleg Romantsev from Spartak Moscow came to the national team. Filimonov was the keeper of the Russian squad during the Euro 2000 qualifying round, where the team had an impressive series, including a 3-2 victory against France at Stade de France.
The key moment and turning point of Filimonov's whole career was the October 1999 game vs. Ukraine. 3 points gained in this game would have made Russia qualify for the Euro 2000 final. This fact, mixed with a post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine rivalry, made this clash into the Match Of Year. That was the only time during last 15 years that Luzhniki Stadium was at its full capacity. Even people who never knew what football is watched the game on TV. The only thing they needed was the win over Ukraine.
During the game the Russian team dominated on the field, but several moments were wasted. It was the 75th minute already when Russia scored at last with Valery Karpin's free kick. If score had remained that way until the end of the game, Russia would have qualified for Euro 2000, leaving Ukraine behind.
During the 88th minute Ukraine achieved a free kick possibility far from the goal at the left edge of the field. Andriy Shevchenko stepped to the ball and drifts to the penalty area. As Shevchenko definitely did not mean to place a shot on the goal, it went right at the hands of Filimonov because of poor crossing. Unfortunately for Filimonov, he wasn't ready to take this shot and the Ukrainian team found themselves scoring an accidental goal after a moment of confusion.
Not surprisingly, Filimonov became a common Russian anti-hero at the moment. Despite of all the encouragement his team-mates, coaches and other football-related staff tried to give him, Filimonov seems not to be the goalie he was before that game.
Aleksandr achieved another 4 caps for Russia after 1999 but only in friendlies. He never was the Russian team keeper in any official game anymore.
He was the sub keeper of the Russian team for the World Cup 2002 but didn't made an appearance while his old Spartak Moscow team placed fellow Ruslan Nigmatullin (moved to Lokomotiv Moscow and then to Hellas Verona after Spartak) was selected to play for all 3 mathces.
[edit] After the Shevchenko goal
Filimonov remained Spartak Moscow's keeper until August 2001. He was a part of the marvellous team that had beaten Arsenal 4 goals to 1 and qualified for the Champions League second round in 2000 but it was obvious that his best days were over. He couldn't overcome the consequences of the goal he conceded in 1999, so it was no surprise when Maksym Levytsky was able to gain his place in Spartak.
During the summer of 2001 there were different rumours about Filimonov moving from Spartak Moscow but the actual transfer become even more exciting than any fiction writer could imagine. Filimonov was transferred out to Dynamo Kiev while they lost Oleksandr Shovkovsky to a serious injury.
So Filimonov took a chance to prove to everyone (or maybe to himself) that he was still the man he was in 1999. Unfortunately, he lost it. His level of playing for Dynamo Kiev was below Champions League standards, and at the end of 2001 he became a sub, losing his place on the field to Vitali Reva. Immediately after the contract period ended, he moved to Uralan Elista.
After spending two seasons in Uralan Aleksandr is back in Moscow. He was bought by FC Moskva and defended their goal during the first half of the 2004 season. It was said that a revival of Filimonov could happen at last, but in 2005 Filimonov become only the third FC Moskva goalkeeper to achieve no appearance during a season.
At January 2007, Filimonov joined Cyprus side Nea Salamina.
[edit] Honours
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Russian Premier League
1998 Russian Cup
[edit] External links
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Russia squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Nigmatullin | 2 Kovtun | 3 Nikiforov | 4 Smertin | 5 Solomatin | 6 Semshov | 7 Onopko | 8 Karpin | 9 Titov | 10 Mostovoi | 11 Beschastnykh | 12 Cherchesov | 13 Dayev | 14 Chugainov | 15 Alenichev | 16 Kerzhakov | 17 Semak | 18 Sennikov | 19 Pimenov | 20 Izmailov | 21 Khokhlov | 22 Sychev | 23 Filimonov | Coach: Romantsev |
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