Igor Akinfeev

A profile by Blanco7

Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev



Date of Birth: - 8th of April 1986



Height: - 6 ft 1in.



Position: - Goalkeeper



Nationality: - Russian



Current Club: - CSKA Moscow



Estimated Market Value: - £15 to £17 million pounds.



Linked with: - Chelsea

-Arsenal





(In regards to the Link to Arsenal this was when they had turbulent goalkeeping issues, but with the emergence of Wojciech Szczesny their interest in Akinfeev has faded.)



Club Career: -



CSKA Moscow

-In 1990 when Igor was just four years old his father sent him to the CSKA sports school. From then on Igor has been a goalkeeper.



-In 2002 Akinfeev won the Russian Junior Championship and in the same year he graduated from the CSKA Football Academy aged 17 years old.



-Igor has been CSKA'S first choice goalkeeper since the tender age of 17 and from the year he started which is 2003, he has gone on to make 223 appearances for his home-town club.



-Throughout his club career Igor Akinfeev has won various prestigious accolades such as a Uefa Cup, Three Russian Premier League titles, and five russian cups.



- He also won the 2006 Zvezda Trophy which is presented to the best footballer from the Soviet Union. An honoured Akinfeev said "It is the most remarkable personal prize in my career, as I could not even dream about it in childood".



-In Akinfeev's club career with CSKA, he has conceded 267 goals in 332 appearances.



International Career: -

- Igor Akinfeev made his international debut for Russia on the 28th of April 2004 against Norway. The Russian's lost this game 3-2.



- Akinfeev was included in the Russian Euro 2004 squad as a third choice goalkeeper.



- Akinfeev was included in the travelling party to Euro 2012 in the Russian squad but was 2nd choice goalkeeper behind Zenit St Petersburg 33 year old goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, and didn't play a single minute of Russia's Euro 2012 campaign.



Club Statistics:-



CSKA Moscow :

2005/2006 season - 25 appearances, - 9 Clean Sheets.

2006/2007 season - 10 appearances, - 4 Clean Sheets.

2007/2008 season - 29 appearances, - 11 Clean Sheets.

2008/2009 season - 30 appearances, - 10 Clean Sheets.

2009/2010 season - 28 appearances, - 10 Clean Sheets.

2010/2011 season - 28 appearances, - 11 Clean Sheets

2012/2013 season - 2 appearances, - 1 Clean Sheet.











General Comments:



In my opinion Akinfeev is one of the top goalkeepers in the game today. He has all of the natural attributes of a top class goalkeeper. Some of his major difficulties are conceding goals through his legs and this became apparent in the 2009/2010 season for CSKA. However, Akinfeev has worked tremendously well on trying to improve his technique by altering his goalkeeping positions and this proved successful as he conceded far less goals. Akinfeev's judgement has been called into question also. Akinfeev is also only 6ft 1in and although he is not the tallest of goalkeepers he makes up for it with his exceptional strengths.



Moving onto his undoubted strengths. Igor Akinfeev has flawless shot stopping ability as is seen in footage of Russia's 2-1 win over Slovenia with Akinfeev's 90th minute phenomenal save. Akinfeev is also a renowned leader. He is the captain of CSKA Moscow and has great communication skills. Akinfeev has pace in abundance and uses this to his advantage.



Akinfeev's situation with is a strange one indeed. For such a talented goalkeeper it is startling that he is still on CSKA's ranks. In my opinion he should have been Van Der Sar's replacement at Manchester United when he retired but for whatever reason Sir Alex Ferguson opted for the youthful David De Gea. Akinfeev in my opinion is as good as they come and he is definitely up there with the likes of Casillas, Reina, Hart, Lloris, and Neuer. He will eventually become the subject of serious interest from a top team.









Summary of Akinfeev: -





Strength's : Shot Stopping, Pace, Communicational presence, Age (26), reflexes and agility.



Weaknesses : Conceding goals between his legs, judgement and his lack of physical presence in the box.





The Business End Of The Profile: -



Akinfeev could stay at CSKA for the rest of his playing days just like Malafeev at Zenit. However, I believe that if he went to a top team such as Barcelona, he would flourish. There is absolutely no rumour of a move for Akinfeev as of yet but, if Lyon were to lose Lloris to Tottenham or if Reina were to leave Liverpool, then both clubs would be foolish not to consider Akinfeev.

This is my very first player profile and I be interested to here your views on it and Akinfeev also.



Thanks for reading Blanco7's profile on Igor Akinfeev.







{Ed022's Note - Very good profile and a very good read. Thanks Blanco7.}