Russian national football team sensationally beat the Spaniards and for the first time in history reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The country walked until morning. Everyone believed that now Stanislav Cherchesov's team could get to the decisive match at Luzhniki. Thanks to Captain Igor Akinfeev. The illustrious goalkeeper again showed extra class in the penalty shootout and made the nation happy with a stunning save with his foot.
- 2008 Russian Cup Final. Opponent — Amkar;
- Russian Cup semi-final against Dynamo in the 2008/09 season;
- Epic Russian Cup semi-final against Spartak in May 2011;
- Russian Cup final in 2013 against Anzhi in hot Grozny;
- World Cup 2018. 1/8 finals with the Spaniards;
- 2018 World Cup quarter-finals. Opponent — Croatia;
- Russian Cup Superfinal — 2023 against Krasnodar.
Six times out of seven the legend left the football lottery winner. At the same time, becoming the main character of the match.
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"If there was a Hall of Fame in Russian football, then Akinfeev would take a place in the front row there, there's nothing to say. Before we started working with him in the national team, I appreciated him exclusively from the outside. And then he managed to verify the uniqueness personally. From both professional and human points of view. (SE)
Stanislav Cherchesov
Former head coach of the Russian national team
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The only defeat. From whom?
In the quarter-finals of the World Cup, the newly minted heroes reached the future finalists of the Croatian tournament. «Checkers» were considered favorites. However, the Fisht home arena in Sochi and the euphoria after the miracle in Moscow inspired the national team to a new achievement.
The way to the semi-finals was very close. Denis Cheryshev opened the scoring, and Mario Fernandez saved the Russians a few minutes before the end of extra time. Again a series of penalties, in which Akinfeev coped with the blow of Mateo Kovacic.
However, Fernandez hit close to the post, and Fedor Smolov somehow decided at the wrong time to shoot with a “panenka” … It was all over. A feeling of disappointment gripped the crew and its captain. Croats were able to pass, just a little bit unlucky. The goalkeeper will say that he was haunted by absolute emptiness.
< Akinfeev Gate
It is amazing that five years ago, as in 2011 and 2023, Akinfeev defended the left gate of Luzhniki. All three series were left for CSKA/the Russian team and remembered for the cool saves.
- May 11, 2011
CSKA and Spartak staged a real thriller in pursuit of the Russian Cup. First, the “army team” took the lead, then twice recouped. A stunningly intense match ended with a score of 3:3.The drama unfolded during the penalty shootout. Everyone beat unmistakably, with the exception of Dmitry Kombarov. Akinfeev darted into the left corner like a cat and hit the ball, giving the Red-Blues a ticket to the final.
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The Spaniards failed that World Cup. Affected by the change of coach the day before the start of the World Cup. Julen Lopetegui has been sacked after agreeing to join Real Madrid behind his back. The post was taken by Fernando Hierro, who did not have time to quickly rebuild the team. We were not worried about the problems of the 2010 world champions at all. Akinfeev in a face-to-face confrontation «ate» Koke and Iago Aspas, bringing down an avalanche of memes about the «leg of God» on social networks.
- June 11, 2023
It's funny that the leader of CSKA was surprised to hold a penalty shoot-out immediately after the end of regular time of the meeting against Krasnodar. But the regulations had no effect on Akinfeev's mood. The goalkeeper still grabbed the «bulls» by the horns.
Joao Batchy and Olakunle Olusegun fired into the right corner. In both cases, the experienced goalkeeper remained on top. So CSKA won the first trophy since July 2018.
How does he do it?
Akinfeev admits that there is no secret in reflecting penalties. For him, this is a matter of chance, multiplied by skills and intuition. Also, the 37-year-old goalkeeper says he has an inexplicable feeling. He is able to realize that he can do nothing. And it happens otherwise. The goalkeeper looks forward to the rescue, which eventually happens.
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"At the 2018 World Cup there was a tangle of accidents. When goalkeeping coach Gintaras Stauche and I studied how the Spaniards hit, we noticed that Aspas always hit in one direction. I jumped there, and he hit the center. If you look from behind the gate, it hit a little closer to my leg. Accident? Accident. It’s not like I’m some kind of superhero: I cheated there, swung it here, jumped there, put my foot up here … Initially, I didn’t even understand where I hit the ball. I realized only that he hit the leg. Even on the replay, you can see that he looked where the ball went. Then devastation and joy already set in. (RFU)
Igor Akinfeev
Captain of CSKA, former goalkeeper of the Russian national team
By the way, did you forget under what conditions Akinfeev's star lit up? In May 2003, Valery Gazzaev took the risk of betting on a 17-year-old boy in an away match against Krylia Sovetov (2:0). And did not lose! After all, the debutant pulled out a penalty from Andrey Karyaki himself, forcing the sports press to talk about him. ;hash=27a4f5571c92aa79&hd=2″ width=»100%» height=»100%» allow=»autoplay; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;» frameborder=»0″ allowfullscreen=»»>