| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sergei Bogdanovich Semak | ||
| Date of birth | 27 February 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Sychanske, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Zenit St. Petersburg | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Luhansk Football Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992 | Presnya Moscow | 19 | (4) |
| 1992 | Karelia Petrozavodsk | 3 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Asmaral Moscow | 21 | (3) |
| 1993–1994 | Asmaral-d Moscow | 26 | (5) |
| 1994 | CSKA-d Moscow | 2 | (1) |
| 1994–2004 | CSKA Moscow | 289 | (69) |
| 2005–2006 | Paris Saint-Germain | 26 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Moscow | 64 | (13) |
| 2008–2010 | Rubin Kazan | 61 | (12) |
| 2010– | Zenit St. Petersburg | 22 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997– | Russia | 65 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:48, 27 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Sergei Bogdanovich Semak (Russian: Сергей Богданович Семак; Ukrainian: Сергій Богданович Семак; born 27 February 1976 in Sychanske, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian international football midfielder of Ukrainian origins.[1][2][3]
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Semak was born in the selo Sychanskoye in the Voroshilovgradskaya Oblast into a peasant family of modest economical background. He was an excellent student and had an ideal behavior. When he was a child his teachers would argue as to whether he would become a mathematician or a football player.[4]
He left Ukraine shortly before the USSR fall, but his parents stayed there. He would become a Russian naturalized citizen, but until today he uses to visit his bornland; he had declared that he misses Ukraine.[1][2][3]
His older brother Andrei Semak and younger brother Nikolai Semak are also professional footballers.
He started training football at the Luhansk football school.
In 1992 he signed in FC Presnya Moscow who played in the Russian Top Division. After 19 matches (where he scored 4 goals) he was sold to FC Karelia Petrozavodsk, but in 1993 returned to FC Presnya Moscow (which changed its name to Asmaral Moscow).
In 1994 he was noted and signed by PFC CSKA Moscow. He became the clubs captain and leader. With the club he won the Russian Premier League in 2003, the Russian Cup in 2002 and 2005. He left the club after it finished third in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2004–05 and did not move on to the knockout stage.
In 2005 he moved to Paris Saint-Germain FC, France, but failed to settle, scoring just one goal. After just one season he returned to Russia.
In 2006 he signed for FC Moscow, where he stayed until 2008 when he moved to Rubin Kazan. In Rubin Semak was moved from the position of attacking midfielder to the position of a defensive midfielder.
In Rubin he became the captain and leader of the team, and led it to its first two championship titles in 2008 and 2009.
In August 2010, he transferred to FC Zenit St. Petersburg.[5]
Semak made his international debut in 1997 and took part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Having lost his place in the national team with the arrival of Guus Hiddink in 2006, Semak missed out on Russia's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, but was recalled to the national team, just prior to the Euro 2008 finals. Semak captained the Russia national team in their first Euro 2008 warm-up friendly against Kazakhstan, and during the rest of the campaign.
Sergei Semak had a good performance in the crucial match against Greece and provided an assist for the only goal Russia scored with a skilled bicycle kick pass from a wide angle. Another notable performance in Euro 2008 came in the quarter-finals during which he was playing his 50th game for his country, when his precise left-wing cross was volleyed in by Roman Pavlyuchenko against the Netherlands.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 June 2001 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying |
| 2. | 16 October 2002 | Central Stadium, Volgograd, Russia | Albania | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2004 Euro Qualifying |
| 3. | 16 October 2002 | Central Stadium, Volgograd, Russia | Albania | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2004 Euro Qualifying |
| 4. | 20 August 2003 | Moscow, Russia | Israel | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
UEFA Cup-2004/2005
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Aleksei Berezutski |
Russia national football team captain 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Andrei Arshavin |
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