MOSCOW, June 23 Former Russian national team footballer Igor Smolnikov started to work in the sports department of Ural, according to the Telegram channel of the Yekaterinburg club.
The ex-defender will be responsible for forming the team for the new season.
Smolnikov is a graduate of Lokomotiv Moscow. He also represented the capital's Torpedo, Ural, Rostov, Krasnodar, Zenit St. Petersburg and Arsenal Tula. As part of Zenit, Smolnikov became the Russian champion three times, won the country's Cup and Super Cup twice each.
He played 30 matches for the Russian national team, in which he gave two assists. He has three games to his name at the 2016 European Championship and one match at the 2018 World Cup at home. In August 2023, Smolnikov announced his retirement from his sports career.
Ural left the Russian Premier League (RPL) at the end of last season.