Valery Yesipov is a Soviet and Russian footballer. He played in the positions of midfielder and striker. He was part of the Volgograd "Rotor" in the golden years of this club.
Kursk Nugget
Valery Yesipov was born in 1971 in the town of Shchigry in the Kursk region. Here he began to take his first steps in big football. Initially, he played for the Smena youth team, which was based in the regional capital.
At 17, he moved to the main team of the region - “Vanguard”. He played three seasons here, from 1988 to 1991, while the USSR Championship was still there. Total spent for “Vanguard” 110 matches, in which he scored 27 goals.
On the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Valery Vyacheslavovich Esipov moved to the Voronezh Fakel. At that time, the team played in the First Union League. Esipov was just starting to gain a foothold in the club. Only 6 times appeared on the field, however, was noted for good performance - scored three times. At the end of the season, “Torch” was 13th. But as a result of the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Russian football championship the following year ended up in the Premier League, as many teams located higher went to compete in their national championships.
16 seasons in the championship of Russia
Valery Yesipov - holder of a unique record. He took part in all the first 16 Russian football championships.
He began in 1992 in the Voronezh "Torch". The team fought for survival and could not keep a residence permit in the elite. To save her, one point was not enough. Esipov spent only half the season on the team, was a rare guest on the field and went to Dynamo Kyiv. In Ukraine, the midfielder’s affairs also did not work out - he entered the field only 6 times.
In late 1992, Valery Yesipov moved to the Volgograd "Rotor". This club became the main one in his sports career. 12 seasons in the city on the Volga. During this time, he became one of the symbols of the Volgograd "Rotor" along with Oleg Veretennikov, Vladimir Niedergaus and Plato Zakharchuk.
In total for “Rotor” Valery Vyacheslavovich Esipov spent 349 matches, scoring 83 goals. He is the champion in the number of games for the club in the championships of Russia. Most of all, “Rotor” was played only by Alexander Guzenko, Vladimir Morokhin and Vladimir Vasyaev, who played in the championship of the USSR.
In the list of top scorers of the Esipov team in 6th place.
A step away from the championship
Twice Esipov and “Rotor” were a step away from winning the gold of the championship of Russia. The first time back in 1993. The team started confidently, but after the 4th round Moscow Spartak took the lead and did not concede it to anyone until the very end of the championship. Volgograd residents won silver medals, 11 points behind the winner. This is despite the fact that for the victory that season they gave 2 points, and not 3, as now. They managed to get the second place only by additional indicators, because the Rotor scored points equally with the Dynamo Moscow.
Volgograd managed to repeat the silver success in 1997. The fight for the championship has developed more stubborn. For the first time, “Rotor” rose to the first line after the 6th round. Then alternately leading “Rostselmash”, Moscow “Dynamo” and “Spartak”. After the 26th game, Volgograd went around Dynamo and regained first place. Then, thanks to Veretennikov’s double, Nizhny Novgorod Lokomotiv was beaten on a visit, and the White-Blue unexpectedly lost to Tyumen on the road. However, leadership did not last long, beating “Torch”, “Rotor” played in a goalless draw with Moscow “Dynamo” and missed the first line of “red and white”. “Spartacus” became the champion again.
At the end of his career, Esipov spent several seasons in Saturn near Moscow. He completed his professional career in 2007.
In the national team
The Russian team debuted in 1994, Valery Yesipov. A football player entered the field on August 7 in a match against the World team. The midfielder started the game in the starting lineup, in the middle of the second half he was replaced by Radimov. The Russians then won 2: 1.
After 10 days, Esipov played the first half in a friendly match against Austria. He was not marked by effective actions, the Russians won 3-0.
The “Rotor” player was regularly called up to the national team until 2003, but went on the field only 3 more times, having failed to gain a foothold in the national team.
As a trainer
In 2008, Esipov switched to coaching. The first team was his native Kursk “Vanguard”. In the first season, they managed to win in the Center zone of the Second Division and achieve a ticket to the First League. Esipov was recognized as the best coach of the zone. In 2010, Valery left the post of chief and entered the coaching staff of the Volgograd “Rotor”.
In 2012, Esipov headed the Murmansk North. The team recently returned to the Professional Football League and, largely thanks to the coach, managed to gain a foothold there, and even take the 9th place in the West zone of the Second Division by the results of the 2012-13 season.
Since 2015 he became a coach of the Tambov team. The football club won a landslide victory in the “Center” zone, securing first place for 4 rounds before the finish. Now playing in the National Football League. In August, Esipov left the team after it sank dangerously close to the relegation zone.