| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov | ||
| Date of birth | 27 November 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Kingisepp, Russian SFSR | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Zenit St. Petersburg | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2006 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 156 | (64) |
| 2007–2008 | Sevilla | 26 | (8) |
| 2008–2009 | Dynamo Moscow | 51 | (20) |
| 2010– | Zenit St. Petersburg | 50 | (29) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002– | Russia | 57 | (17) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov (Russian: Александр Анатольевич Кержаков, Alexandr Anatoljevič Keržakov; born 27 November 1982 in Kingisepp) is a Russian international association football striker currently playing for Russian Premier League club Zenit St. Petersburg.[1]
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Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kerzhakov graduated from Smena football school in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1999. He spent the 2000 season at amateur club FC Svetogorets Svetogorsk helping them win the Northwest regional league by scoring 18 goals.
In 2001 Kerzhakov transferred to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, debuting in March and scoring his first goal in June against Spartak Moscow. In his first season, Kerzhakov was the second choice striker behind Hennadiy Popovych. However later in 2001, he helped Zenit finish third in the Russian Premier League and runners up in 2003. In 2002, Kerzhakov quickly developed a striking parternship with Andrei Arshavin which earned them both call ups to the Russian national team.
In 2003, Czech manager Vlastimil Petržela, promoted Kerzhakov as first choice striker which allowed him to become the top scorer of the Russian Premier League in 2004. While under Petržela, Kerzhakov was given a starting position in all four group games of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup and went on to score a hat trick in a 5–1 victory over AEK Athens. The following season, Kerzhakov was in the starting line up once again in Zenit's second straight UEFA Cup campaign. He helped Zenit qualify for the round of 32 by overcoming Vitória, Beşiktaş, Bolton, and scoring a double against Sevilla. In the knockout stages, Kerzhakov scored against Rosenborg and Olympique de Marseille as Zenit reached the quarterfinals to face Sevilla.[2] Kerzhakov gave his best performance by scoring a goal in the away leg but could not save Zenit as they lost out 5–2 on aggregate.
During the summer of 2006, Dick Advocaat was appointed manager and relegated Kerzhakov to the bench. As a result, Kerzhakov prepared to leave Zenit.
On 28 December 2006, Kerzhakov transferred to Sevilla, signing a five and a half year contract worth €5 million, as part of the deal of the partnership of the clubs.[3] Under then manager Juande Ramos, Kerzhakov was third choice striker behind Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté. He played his first match on 14 January 2007 and scored his first goal on 28 January 2007 in a 4–2 victory against Levante UD. He scored the winning goal against Tottenham in a 4–3 victory in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals on 5 April 2007. Kerzhakov later contributed to Sevilla's victorious run in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup season.
After Juande Ramos resigned at Sevilla to manage Tottenham Hotspur in October 2007, Kerzhakov's playing time decreased under caretaker manager Manuel Jiménez. He made only four appearances, being the fifth striker behind Luís Fabiano, Frédéric Kanouté, Javier Chevantón, and Arouna Koné. It was speculated that Kerzhakov would quit Sevilla following interest from Tottenham, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain FC. However, according to Russian newspaper Sport-Express, on 30 January 2008, Kerzhakov stated he will stay at Sevilla to help in the La Liga and UEFA Champions League campaigns.[4]
In February 2008 it was announced that Kerzhakov has signed a three-year contract with Russian side Dinamo Moscow.[5] Kerzhakov quickly established himself as a first choice striker with Tsvetan Genkov and Cícero. He scored his first goal for Dinamo with a powerful strike from outside of the penalty area against FC Moscow.
On 14 March 2009, Kerzhakov started the 2009 Russian Premier League season by scoring a goal in the ninetieth minute against FC Moscow.
In Dynamo Moscow Kerzhakov played mostly a striker, but it was not a rare scene to see him switched to a role of a right midfielder when the team needed.
On 16 January 2010 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg signed the striker from FC Dynamo Moscow,[6] the Russian international has already played for Zenit from 2001 to 2006 and has scored 95 goals in 205 games for them.[7] On 28 April 2010 in victory against CSKA Moscow he scored first goal after return.
On 16 September 2010, he scored a hat-trick in the first half against R.S.C. Anderlecht in the UEFA Europa League at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. His first was a powerful header delivered in just the 8th minute, then followed with two impressive strikes to complete the hat-trick just before the halftime whistle.[8] He scored another hat-trick just nine days later in the Russian Premier League against Saturn Moscow to lead Zenit to a 6–1 victory.[9]
Aleksandr Kerzhakov began playing for Russian national U21 team in 2001. He made his senior debut for Russia in a friendly against Estonia on 27 March 2002.
Kerzhakov was selected by Oleg Romantsev for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was on the bench for Russia's first two games against Tunisia and Japan, but substituted Valery Karpin against Belgium.
Kerzhakov went on to score his first goal for Russia in a friendly 1–1 draw against Sweden on 21 August 2002.
Under Valery Gazzaev's successor, Georgi Yartsev, Kerzhakov was called up for the Euro 2004 qualifiers and scored two goals. In the final tournament, Kerzhakov was one of four strikers in the squad along with Dmitri Bulykin, Dmitri Kirichenko, and Dmitri Sychev. He was on the bench for Russia's games against Spain and Greece, but four days later played a full game against Portugal.
After Euro 2004, Kerzhakov was in Russian squad for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Yartsev promoted Kerzhakov to the starting line up along with Dmitri Sychev. With Yartsev's successor Yuri Semin, Kerzhakov's starting position was further strengthened after Bulykin and Kirichenko were dropped from the squad and the recall of Andrei Arshavin.
Under Guus Hiddink, Kerzhakov was the first choice striker ahead of Dmitri Sychev and Andrei Arshavin. However, he was later dropped after limited appearances for Zenit in late 2006. Upon moving to Spain, Hiddink overlooked Kerzhakov for a friendly against the Netherlands in February, 2007, but recalled him in March against Estonia following impressive performances for Sevilla. Kerzhakov went on to score both goals in the 2–0 victory over Estonia. On 2 June 2007, Kerzhakov notched a hat-trick as Russia routed Andorra 4–0. He contributed further to Russia's Euro 2008 campaign by scoring a goal in a 3–0 victory over Macedonia on 8 September 2007. During Euro 2008 qualifying campaign Kerzhakov was the top scorer for Russia with 5 goals.
On 14 May 2008 Kerzhakov was not included in Hiddink's provisional 25 man squad for Euro 2008. There was speculation that Kerzhakov was to replace the injured Pavel Pogrebnyak but was eventually left out of the squad.[10]
Kerzhakov was recalled to the Russian squad on 26 May 2009 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Finland.[11] He started the game and ending up being the main factor in the Russian victory by scoring 2 goals. On 18 November 2009, Kerzhakov came on as a half-time substitute for Roman Pavlyuchenko, but was sent off in the 66th minute of the 2nd leg of Russia's 2010 World Cup playoff against Slovenia after what was interpreted by referee Terje Hauge to be a deliberate kick at Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovič. Slovenia managed to hold on to a 1:0 win and Russia were eliminated on the away goals rule after an aggregate score of 2:2.
Aleksandr is married and has a young daughter. His younger brother, Mikhail, is a professional footballer as well.
In 2002, Kerzhakov authored his autobiography titled Before and after 16. (Russian: До 16 и старше)
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Super Cup | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| FC Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2001 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 8 | 8 |
| 2002 | 29 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 16 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 27 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 16 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 29 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 30 | 6 | |
| 2005 | 25 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 19 | 11 | |
| 2006 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 1 | |
| All | 159 | 64 | 28 | 23 | 16 | 4 | 23 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 205 | 95 | 32 | |
| Sevilla FC | 2006/07 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 | 3 |
| 2007/08 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 0 | |
| All | 26 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 11 | 3 | |
| FC Dinamo Moscow | 2008 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 3 |
| 2009 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 15 | 3 | |
| All | 51 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 23 | 6 | |
| FC Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2010 | 28 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 16 | 1 |
| 2011 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 17 | 5 | |
| All | 50 | 29 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 33 | 6 | |
| Career Total | All | 286 | 120 | 38 | 37 | 19 | 8 | 41 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 367 | 161 | 43 |
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