Aleksandr Mostovoi

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Мостово́й [ɐlʲɪˈksandr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məstɐˈvoj]; born 22 August 1968) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

In this Eastern Slavic name, the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Mostovoi.
Aleksandr Mostovoi
Mostovoi in 2008
Personal information
Full name Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi
Date of birth (1968-08-22) 22 August 1968
Place of birth Lomonosov, Soviet Union
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
Krasnaya Presnya
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1986 Krasnaya Presnya 19 (7)
1986–1991 Spartak Moscow 106 (34)
1992–1994 Benfica 9 (0)
1993–1994 → Caen (loan) 15 (3)
1994–1996 Strasbourg 61 (15)
1996–2004 Celta 235 (56)
2005 Alavés 1 (1)
Total 446 (116)
National team
1990–1991 USSR 13 (3)
1992 CIS 2 (0)
1992–2004 Russia 50 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Known as El Zar from his lengthy spell at Celta de Vigo, he was often referred to as a 'genius playmaker' during his time there, in addition to a volatile temperament.[1][2]

Club career

Spartak and first abroad spell

Born in Lomonosov, Russia, Soviet Union, Mostovoi signed for country giants FC Spartak Moscow from second division club FC Presnya Moscow, quickly making an impression. In January 1992, he joined compatriots Vasili Kulkov and Sergei Yuran at S.L. Benfica; months before arriving, he was controversially awarded Portuguese citizenship through marriage, but never imposed himself in the first team.[2]

Midway through 1993–94 Mostovoi joined Ligue 1 side Stade Malherbe Caen, then left after the sole season to fellow French side RC Strasbourg, rejoining coach Daniel Jeandupeux. With the latter, he first displayed glimpses of an emerging talent.

Celta

Mostovoi's big break came when he signed for Celta de Vigo in 1996, for 325 million pesetas (about €1,950,000). He made his debut for the Galicians in a 2–0 home defeat against Real Betis, and his creative play and key goals made him a cult figure at Balaídos as the club rose to near the top of La Liga standings year after year.

Affectionately nicknamed 'The Tsar of Balaídos' by the fans, Mostovoi formed an impressive midfield society with, amongst others, compatriot Valery Karpin, and helped Celta win the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup. However, he could not help the freefall that hit the team in the 2003–04 season, relegating it to the second division after the player appeared in a career-worst (in his Celta career) 24 matches.[3]

Alavés

Having not played for over eight months, and at the age of 36, Mostovoi signed a contract with Dmitry Pietrman's Deportivo Alavés in early March 2005, initially until the end of the second level campaign.[4] His first and only game came in a league game against Cádiz CF in which he came on as a substitute, in the 78th minute – he scored the Basques' only goal (and nearly added a second) in an eventual 1–3 defeat.

Having been with the club for only 30 days, Mostovoi told the club directors of his intention to retire claiming he was suffering from back problems.[2]

International career

Mostovoi played for the Soviet national team, the CIS and Russia internationally. In another temper tantrum, he was sent home by team manager Georgi Yartsev during the latter's trip to UEFA Euro 2004, after questioning his methods.[4] He played in the Euro 96 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was also picked for the 2002 World Cup, but did not play in the latter tournament due to injury.[5]

Mostovoi's exclusion from Euro 2004's national squad happened after the 0–1 group stage loss to Spain. Supposedly, the player talked with the media after the match and gave an interview saying that Yartsev was not a good coach and did not understand anything. This was later proven false, after Mostovoi gave another interview and explained he merely said that Yartsev overworked the players during practice, so they didn't have the necessary energy to play well in matches.[6] All in all, group morale dropped after the incident, and Russia lost the second game to hosts Portugal.

In 2009, Mostovoi was part of the Russia squad that won the Legends Cup.

Personal life

Mostovoi graduated from college as an electrician, and later joined a sports academy in Moscow, which provided coaching to young players with a university education.

Married to French Stefani, with whom he later had two children.

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[7]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Krasnaya Presnya1986Soviet Second League19710–207
Spartak Moscow1987Soviet Top League1864043269
19882734240355
19891132020153
199023935403014
1991271321733617
Total 1063415821614248
Benfica1992–93Primeira Liga900030120
1993–9400000000
Total 900030120
Caen (loan)1993–94Ligue 11530000153
Strasbourg1994–95Ligue 12964100337
1995–9632931624112
Total 611572627419
Celta1996–97La Liga3156100376
1997–983483100379
1998–993361072418
1999–002661072348
2000–0130962724313
2001–02301000133113
2002–032760041317
2003–042462082348
Total 23556194341228872
Alavés2004–05Segunda División11000011
Career total 44611642146420552150

International
Alexander Mostovoi: International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 November 1990Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala0–10–3Friendly
230 May 1991Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Cyprus1–04–0Euro 1992 qualifying
328 August 1991Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Norway0–10–1Euro 1992 qualifying
16 October 1993King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia2–4Friendly
26 October 1993King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia2–4Friendly
36 September 1995Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands0–12–5Euro 1996 qualifying
49 February 1996Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland Republic of Ireland0–10–2Friendly
525 May 1996Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Qatar2–5Friendly
619 June 1996Anfield, Liverpool, England Czech Republic2–13–3UEFA Euro 1996
710 October 1998Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia France2–22–3Euro 2000 qualifying
819 May 1999Arsenal Stadium (Tula), Tula, Russia Belarus1–1Friendly
928 March 2001Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia Faroe Islands1–01–02002 World Cup qualification
1010 September 2003Lokomotiv Stadium (Moscow), Moscow, Russia  Switzerland4–14–1Euro 2004 qualifying

Honours

Club

Spartak Moscow

Benfica

Strasbourg

Celta

Country

Soviet Union

Russia

References
  1. Lotina fights for Vigo job, but CV lacks imagination; Scotsman, 28 November 2002
  2. Qué fue de... Mostovoi, el 'Zar de Balaídos' (What happened to... Mostovoi, the 'Tsar from Balaídos') Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Diario AS, 23 January 2009 (in Spanish)
  3. "Alexander Mostovoi" (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Celta. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. Mostovoi makes a comeback; UEFA.com, 12 March 2005
  5. Aleksandr Mostovoi – International Appearances; at RSSSF
  6. Zlatan lovers; UEFA.com, 19 June 2004
  7. Aleksandr Mostovoi at FootballDatabase.eu
  8. "Strasbourg-Wacker 1995". uefa.com. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
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