Alexey Igonin is a famous Russian football defender and midfielder. Spent most of his career in the St. Petersburg “Zenith” and Ramensky “Saturn”. He played for the national team of Russia.
First steps in football
Alexey Igonin was born in Leningrad on March 18, 1976. At an early age, his father sent him to the Zenit football school, in which he took his first steps to the sport of the highest achievements. Even then, for the most part, I decided on the future position on the football field. Alexei was more inclined to destruction than creation. Therefore, he played as a defender and defensive midfielder throughout his career.
Alexei Igonin began his career in futsal. In 1993, at the age of 17, he made his debut in the club "Polesie", representing the Northern capital. Spent 2 years in this team, but in the end made a choice in favor of big football.
Career at Zenith
In 1995, Alexei Igonin entered the location of St. Petersburg “Zenith”. The team by that time was already in its third season in the First League of the Russian Championship.
It was not possible to gain a foothold immediately in the base, so from time to time Igonin was involved in games for the second Zenit team. In 1995, the year Petersburgers finally managed to successfully perform. In 42 matches they won 24 victories and, having scored 77 points, took third place, losing only to the Kaliningrad “Baltika” and the Togliatti “Lada”. In that season, the “bronze" of the first league allowed the next season to play in the elite division.
In 1996, Alexei Igonin already became a full-fledged base player, constantly stepping on the field in Major League matches. “Zenith” in the first for himself after returning to the elite season played unstable. However, the club managed to gain a foothold in the middle of the standings. Having won 13 matches out of 34, the team scored 43 points and took 10th place.
First trophy
The first victory at the club level came to Igonin in 1999. “Zenith” that season successfully performed in the Cup of the country. Although at first everything was not easy. In the 1/16 finals, Saratov “Falcon” went to the rivals. However, it was not possible to cope with the first league team in regular time, the meeting ended in a draw 2: 2. And only in the shoot-out penalty shootout did the brilliant game of Roman Berezovsky bring a landslide victory 4: 1.
Sochi “Pearl” was defeated in the 1/8 finals at a party - 4: 1, and in the quarter finals of the house Rostselmash was beaten - 2: 0.
In the match for reaching the final of the Zenit Cup he met with CSKA. The fate of the meeting was decided by the only goal scored by Gennady Popovich in the end.
In the final, Alexei Igonin appeared on the field in the starting lineup. “Zenith” opposed the Moscow “Dynamo”. The football players left for the break, leading in the score 0: 1. However, in the second half, “Zenith” broke the game - a double of Panov and a goal by Maksimyuk brought the St. Petersburg trophy.
Euro Cup battles and first medals
Thanks to this victory the next year, Zenit won the right to participate in European competitions. In the UEFA Cup, the team started from the 1st round. In rivals she got the Italian “Bologna”.
The wards of Anatoly Davydov failed to cope with the excitement in the first home game. Igonin Alexey Andreevich did not demonstrate the best game either. The result is 0: 3. In the second leg on the Apennine Peninsula, Zenit tried to correct the mistakes, but achieved only a productive draw 2: 2.
But after a couple of years, the St. Petersburg team finally won the medals of the Russian football championship. In 2001, they took third place. Above are only the metropolitan Spartak and Lokomotiv.
Another success was achieved in the composition of “Zenith” in 2003, Alexei Igonin. The footballer became the silver medalist of the Russian championship. St. Petersburg in the fight for the championship lost 3 points to CSKA Moscow, which did not concede the first line in the table even once throughout the championship.
In 2003, Igonin completed his performance for Zenit. For 9 seasons, he spent 155 matches in the St. Petersburg team, noting 6 goals scored.
In the Russian team
In 1998, Igonin was involved in the Russian national football team. He was invited to the team by Anatoly Byshovets.
On October 14, Igonin made his debut immediately in an official match against Iceland. It was a qualifying meeting for the European Championship. He replaced already in the 13th minute instead of injured Andrei Tikhonov. That game was not easy, everything went to a goalless draw. However, at 89 minutes, defender Yuri Kovtun cut the ball into his own net. The Russian team suffered a sensational defeat - 0: 1.
On November 18, Igonin held a friendly match with the Brazilians in the main squad, in which the Russians suffered a crushing defeat - 1: 5. Igonin was no longer called to the national team, the head coach Byshovets after that defeat was dismissed.
Makhachkala period
After the “Zenith” Igonin played for the Odessa “Chernomorets”, Ramensky “Saturn”, in 2011 he became a player of FC “Anji”. However, in none of these teams did he achieve serious success. Although he spent 6 seasons in a team near Moscow, already as a veteran he organized a game in midfield and on the defensive.
In total, the shirt “Saturn” Alex played 142 matches, scoring 1 goal. FC Anji became his last club in the career of a professional player. Makhachkala residents that season in the Premier League steadily stayed in the middle of the tournament table, ending up in 8th place. True, Igonin himself did not play a big role in the team this season, having appeared on the field only 5 times.
In 2012, Igonin completed his career as a professional football player. From 2002 to 2003 he was the captain of St. Petersburg "Zenith". During his career, he several times got into the list of the best football players in the country. In 1998 and 2007, he was included in the list of 33 best players in the national championship, in 2000 he took second place among right-wing midfielders, and in 1998 - third among left-backs, according to Sport Express.
Happy family man Alexei Igonin. His wife Natasha gave birth to his son Yaroslav.