Berezutsky, Alexey Vladimirovich

Alexey Berezutsky was born on June 20, 1982, he is 20 minutes younger than his brother Vasily. Mother worked as an accountant , and father as a physical education teacher ^[3] . For some time, the Berezutskys hesitated between football and water polo , but in the end, from the age of eight they started playing at the Smena football school , where Vladimir Lopandin was the twin's trainer ^[4] . According to him, both Berezutsky already at an early age stood out among their peers with physical data, character and discipline ^[5] . At the age of 15, the Berezutskys were close to leaving the football section because they did not see any prospects after the Smena departure from the top division of the SDYUSHOR championship and became seriously interested in basketball , but at the invitation of Vladimir Kobzev they ended up in the Torpedo-ZiL school ^[6] . A year and a half before graduation, Boris Ignatiev began to attract brothers to training with the first team ^[7] .

Torpedo ZIL and Chernomorets

The first match at the adult level Alexey played on October 23, 2000 in Tomsk , leaving the starting lineup of Torpedo-ZIL against the local Tomi in the first league match. The game took place in severe weather conditions (air temperature was −7 degrees) and ended in a goalless draw ^[8] . After spending another match for the “car factory” before the end of the season, Berezutsky was leased to the club of the top division “ Chernomorets ” ^[9] . For the whole career of Alexei, this was the only team in which his brother Vasily did not play ^[10] .

Alexey played the first match for the new team on March 18, 2001, replacing Spartak Moscow in the championship game ^[11] . Already on April 7, Berezutsky opened the scoring for his goals for Chernomorets, scoring a goal against Rostelmash and thus bringing a point to the piggy bank of the Novorossiysk team ^[12] . Having played another 14 matches for the “sailors”, in July 2001 Berezutsky was bought by Moscow CSKA ^[13] .

CSKA

Following Alexei, his brother Vasily moved to CSKA. Alexey missed the start of the 2002 season due to an ankle joint injury ^{[7] [14]} and made his debut for the “Army men” only on May 8, 2002, having entered the field in the first team against the Moscow Torpedo ^[15] . The first season, Berezutsky had to compete for a place in the roster with the more experienced Deividas Šemberas , Vyacheslav Daev and Denis Evsikov ^[16] , and in the 2002 season Alexey played only 16 matches, 15 of which he started in the starting lineup. After Daev left for “ Shinnik ” in early 2003 ^[17], Alexey got a solid place in the starting lineup ^[18] : he played in all matches of the 2003 season from the first minutes ^[19] and became the champion of Russia in CSKA. During the season, Berezutsky was criticized for not always a clean game and positional errors ^[20] , but some journalists even chose him as a team of the season in the Premier League ^[21] . The next season, CSKA left Evsikov, and now, together with Alexei, Šemberas and Sergey Ignashevich, who came from Lokomotiv , acted on the defensive ^[22] . During the championship, Berezutsky progressed and as a result was first named among the 33 best football players of the Russian championship , becoming the second among left-backs after Dmitry Sennikov , who won the league title with Lokomotiv ^{[23] [24]} .

2005 was the most successful in the history of the army club, which won the championship , the cup of Russia and the UEFA Cup . Alexey was a key player in CSKA in the season, constantly appearing in the first team ^[25] . On May 18, Berezutsky scored his first goal for CSKA, in the 56th minute having closed the canopy of Daniel Carvalho and equalizing the score in the UEFA Cup final against Sporting . Later, the gates of the Lisbon were also struck by Yuri Zhirkov and Wagner Love , and CSKA won the European Cup for the first time in the history of Russian football ^[26] . July 30, Berezutsky scored the first goal for the “red-blue” in the Premier League, scoring him in a spectacular ^[27] match of the 18th round against Lokomotiv ^[28] . In total for the season in all tournaments he played 59 matches and scored 3 goals, and at the end of the year he first got into the list of 33 best players in the championship with the first number in his position ^[24] .

In the 2006 season, CSKA again made the “golden double”, winning the championship and cup of Russia . Berezutsky already in the opening match of the club season for the Super Bowl for the first time in his career was removed from the field , having received in the 90th minute a second yellow card ^[29] . Despite the victory with a score of 3: 2, after this match, the defense of the “army” was criticized for the unreliable game ^[30] . On May 27, during a friendly match between the national teams of Russia and Spain, Alexei suffered damage to the ligaments of the ankle joint. It took the defender a week to recover ^[31] , but because of a break in the championship for the national team matches, he did not miss a single CSKA game. At the end of the season, he again entered the list of 33 best RFPL players under the first number ^[24] . The following season was less successful for the player and his team: CSKA lost the championship title, taking 3rd place at the end of the championship, Alexei suffered an ankle injury ^[32] and a broken rib ^[33] , and the defense of “red-blue” was criticized for the great the number of errors ^[34] . Despite this, Berezutsky was named the best left-back of the championship for the third time in a row ^[24] . At the end of the 2008 season, in which CSKA won the Russian Cup and silver medals of the championship , and Alexey Berezutsky was included in the list of the best players of the championship under the second number in his position, the head coach Valery Gazzayev left the team, who had brought Berezutsky to the club. The change in the coaching staff was not slow to affect: the new head coach Ziko ceased to trust Alexey with a place in the starting lineup ^[35] , and for the championship the defender took part in only 16 games. For CSKA, the season was also unsuccessful: the team changed the head coach twice and took only 5th place in the championship. In December 2009, Berezutsky and his defense partner, Sergei Ignashevich, were threatened with a two-year disqualification for consuming a prohibited drug, Sudafed, but the UEFA KDK justified both players, because the dose of the drug did not exceed the permissible norm ^[36] .

The next two seasons ( 2010 and 2011/2012 ) Berezutsky held at a high level, twice becoming the silver medalist of the championship and twice entering the list of 33 best players (under the second and third numbers), despite the fact that Leonid Slutsky transferred him to the position right back ^[37] . However, in the 2012/2013 season, Alexey played only 10 matches in all tournaments, which caused outrage among some journalists ^[38] . Some reporters during the season noted that Alexey lost his playing qualities due to his age and can no longer match the level of the Premier League, and predicted that CSKA would not be able to return to leading roles in the championship ^[39] . Despite such assumptions, the army team won the title of champion and the Cup of Russia . The following year, Berezutsky finally became a substitute player ^[40] , having played only 20 matches for the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 championships. In the 2015/2016 season, Aleksey, however, regained the position of a key player in the team by playing 21 matches in the Premier League, and on July 28, 2015 held the 50th match in the Champions League , becoming the first player in the army to reach this milestone ^{[41 ]} . On April 24, 2016, he scored the winning goal against Dynamo Moscow, although he was included only because of his brother Vasily’s illness. This match was for Alexei 300th for CSKA in the championships of Russia, and the goal scored was the first since 2010 ^[42] . At the end of the season, CSKA and Berezutsky himself became six-time champions of Russia ^[43] . In the 2016/17 season, CSKA changed the coach, and the new mentor of the “army” began to use the scheme with three central defenders ^[44] . Berezutsky began to appear more often in the starting lineup, played 18 matches in the Premier League. True, at the end of the season Alexei began to pursue injuries, in some games he was forced to be replaced ^[45] . In June 2017, he extended the contract with the “red-blue” for 1 year ^[46] . July 21, 2018, together with his brother Vasily announced the completion of a sports career.

As part of the Russian national team under 16, Alexei Berezutsky played at the 1999 European Championship in the Czech Republic. The team at that tournament did not overcome the group stage, taking 3rd place and gaining only one victory over the Croatian team . Alexey played only two games for the Russian youth team : the first - on August 21, 2002 in a friendly match against Sweden , ending 3-1 in favor of the Russians ^[47] , the second - on September 7 of the same year in the match of the qualifying tournament for the Athens Olympics against Ireland , won 2-0. In the second match, Alex brought the team to the field in the status of captain ^[48] .

He made his debut for the Russian national team on February 12, 2003 in the match of the “ Tournament of four ” against Cyprus , replacing him in the 89th minute ^[49] . The next day, in the final of the tournament, he entered the field from the first minutes against the Romanian national team and showed confident football ^[50] . The first official match for the national team, Alex held March 29, 2003 in Shkodra against Albania . The debut was unsuccessful: the Albanians won with a score of 3: 1, the Russian team was severely criticized ^{[51] [52]} , and two goals were scored after a mistake by Alexei ^[53] . After that, CSKA defender for some time left the national team and did not take part in the first matches of the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in Germany , however, the crushing defeat from Portugal made the coaching staff change their approach to staffing the team: on November 17, 2004, Berezutsky was in a victory match against Estonia returned to the squad ^[54] , and the following year held all the qualifying games for the World Cup. The team, however, could not qualify for the final part of the tournament. During the selection for the European Championship in 2008, Alexey retained the role of a key defender and played 11 matches, and on March 26, 2008 he withdrew the national team for the match against Romania as captain ^[55] . However, on April 16, the player was forced to undergo surgery on the inguinal rings ^[56] , as a result of which in the final part of the tournament Alexey remained in reserve, losing to the best-fit Sergey Ignashevich and Denis Kolodin . Nevertheless, like the whole team, he received the bronze medal of the European Championship ^{[57] [58]} following the results of the tournament.

Berezutsky played in only two matches in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in South Africa , although he was called to all without exception, and in butt games against Slovenia (as a result of which the team did not make it to the World Cup) Guus Hiddink did not take it at all ^[58] . In the qualification for the 2012 European Championship for the national team, the place for Berezutsky was not reserved, and he played only 6 matches, which did not prevent Alexei from replacing his brother Vasily in the final part of the Euro , who was injured in the adducting hip muscle ^[59] . Russia could not leave the group, but, according to journalists, Berezutsky had a good tournament and worthily replaced his brother ^[60] . After Euro 2012, Alexei Berezutsky, having lost his playing practice at CSKA, was not called up under the banner of the national team for more than three years (including missing the 2014 championship ) and returned to the national team only on September 5, 2015 in the match of the Euro 2016 qualifying tournament against the Swedes . Before the European Championships, Alexey took part in five more matches of the national team, but he played only one time in the final tournament , again replacing Vasily during the break of the failed match against the national team of Wales , as a result of which the media “awarded” the national team with the little-known nickname “tulusers” ^[61] .

March 8, 2018, Alexei Berezutsky, following the example of his brother, officially announced the completion of a career in the team ^[62] .

Alexey’s wife is Jamil; She is an economist specializing in international trade. Aleksey and Dzhamilya have known each other since school, in 2005 they became the parents of Alena’s daughter, and in 2012, their son ^[63] . Twin brother Vasily is also the defender of CSKA and the Russian team. The brothers maintain very good relations and even live next to each other ^[64] ; over their entire career, they played in different clubs only during the short rental period of Alexei “Chernomorets”. On April 1, 2011, the Football Club program released a comic story about the actually non-existent third brother Ivan Berezutsky, who allegedly does not like football and works as a bartender . The role of Ivan in the transfer was played by just Alexey ^[65] . Distinctive features of the character of Alexei called calm and prudence. Hobbies - computers and modern music ^[66] .

On December 3, 2009, the program “ Man and the Law ” released a story about the violation by the players of the Russian national team , including the Berezutsky brothers, of the sports regime in the competitive period ^[67] . The plot showed an interview with a hookah restaurant, where the players were resting, and an employee of the Marriott hotel , recorded on a hidden camera in which they talked about the immoral behavior of the players before the match with the Slovenian team ^[68] . The plot caused such a stir that even the State Duma of Russia decided to check the veracity of the information ^[69] , and the Berezutsky brothers sued the program for libel ^{[70] [71]} . The court, however, did not satisfy the lawsuit ^[72] .

Aleksey is a universal player who can play in any position on the defensive, but his main role remains the central and left back ^[37] . The strengths of the player include good physical data, heading, endurance and tenacity in the selection, of the shortcomings - the technique of working with the ball ^{[10] [73]} . At the beginning of his career, Berezutsky was often criticized for positional errors, but in later years, having gained experience in matches of the national team and the Champions League, he began to play much more reliably ^[74] . The ability to act on interception and perform long passes allows Alexei to play in the position of a defensive midfielder ^[75] . His twin brother Vasily is Alexey’s direct competitor for a place in the lineup, and many believe that Aleksey, who gets a lesser place in the lineup, is always ready to replace his brother very qualitatively if necessary ^{[42] [76]} .

Club

As of May 15, 2018

Team

As of June 22, 2016.

Total: 58 matches / 0 goals scored; 28 wins, 18 draws, 12 losses ^[2] .

Statistics taken from sportbox.ru

Team

•   Champion of Russia (6) : 2003 , 2005 , 2006 , 2012/13 , 2013/14 , 2015/16
•   Silver medalist of the Russian Championship (7) : 2002 , 2004 , 2008 , 2010 , 2014/15 , 2016/17 , 2017/18 .
•   Russian Championship bronze medalist (2): 2007 , 2011/12 .
• Winner of the Russian Cup (7): 2001/02 , 2004/05 , 2005/06 , 2007/08 , 2008/09 , 2010/11 , 2012/13 .
• Winner of the Russian Super Cup (6): 2004 , 2006 , 2007 , 2009 , 2013 , 2014 .
• UEFA Cup Winner: 2004/05
•   Bronze medalist of the European Championship 2008

Personal

• He was awarded the Order of Friendship (2006) ^[77] .
• The lists of 33 best players of the championship of Russia (7): No. 1 ( 2005 , 2006 , 2007 ); No. 2 ( 2004 , 2008 , 2011/12 ); No. 3 ( 2010 ).
• Club member Igor Net .
• Crystal Atom in the television game What? Where? When? "( May 22, 2016 ).

• Detailed profile on soccerway.com/
• Profile on the Russian Football Team website
• Player profile on CSKA official website