Aleksandr Mostovoi

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox football biography Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi (Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 22 August 1968) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Known as O Zar de Balaídos ("The Tsar of Balaídos") 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.<ref>Lotina fights for Vigo job, but CV lacks imagination; Scotsman, 28 November 2002</ref><ref name="AS">Qué fue de... Mostovoi, el 'Zar de Balaídos' (What happened to... Mostovoi, the 'Tsar of Balaídos') Template:Webarchive; Diario AS, 23 January 2009 Template:In lang</ref> He also played professionally in his own country, Portugal and France.

Mostovoi earned 50 caps for Russia in a 12-year international career, being chosen for two World Cups and as many European Championships. He previously represented the Soviet Union and the CIS.

Club career

Spartak and first abroad spell

Born in Lomonosov, Russia, Soviet Union, Mostovoi signed for national 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.<ref name="AS"/>

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 €1.95 million). 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; the final was a 4–3 aggregate win over his hometown club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His top-flight tally of 235 games for Celta was a club record until Hugo Mallo broke it in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="COMEBACK">Mostovoi makes a comebackTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore; UEFA.com, 12 March 2005</ref> 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.<ref name="AS"/>

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.<ref name="COMEBACK"/> He played in the Euro 1996 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.<ref>Aleksandr Mostovoi – International Appearances; at RSSSF</ref>

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.<ref>Zlatan lovers; UEFA.com, 19 June 2004</ref> 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.

Style of play

A talented attacking midfielder, Mostovoi was known for his technical ability as well as his temperamental character. A quick, agile, creative, and mobile advanced playmaker, Mostovoi was also tactically versatile, and capable of playing in several midfield and offensive positions. His preferred position was in a free role as a classic number 10, but he was also used in central midfield and as a winger on occasion. Mostovoi was renowned in particular for his first touch and speed on the ball, as well as his timing, interpretation of space and dribbling skills, which enabled him to get past defenders; he was also highly regarded for his vision and precise passing. Capable of both scoring and assisting goals, he had a penchant for scoring goals from distance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Retirement

After retiring as a player, in 2005 Mostovoi was persuaded by the then Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev to play for the Russia national beach soccer team.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Mostovoi has repeatedly stated his desire and willingness to lead a football club as a manager. However, Mostovoi does not have the necessary UEFA coaching licences, which he does not want to obtain. Since 2011, he has expressed various versions of this decision: from doubts about obtaining new knowledge in coaching courses to corrupt schemes to obtain this licence by other specialists.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Mostovoi (right) and musician Igor Butman at a celebrity ice hockey match in 2017

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.Template:Citation needed

After losing the 2001 Copa del Rey Final, a group of Celta supporters raised four million pesetas to commission a statue of Mostovoi. The player approved and Maxín Picallo was chosen as the sculptor, but the project was never finished; he believed that his dip in form in 2003 affected enthusiasm in the endeavour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was in a relationship with Stéphanie, whom he met in Strasbourg. The couple have two children, Alexander (born 1996) and Emma.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His son of the same name, known by the hypocorism Sacha, trialled with S.L. Benfica B in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionTemplate:Citation needed
Club Season League National cupTemplate:Efn Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Krasnaya Presnya 1986 Soviet Second League 19 7 1 0 – 20 7
Spartak Moscow 1987 Soviet Top League 18 6 4 0 4Template:Efn 3 26 9
1988 27 3 4 2 4Template:Efn 0 35 5
1989 11 3 2 0 2Template:Efn 0 15 3
1990 23 9 3 5 4Template:Efn 0 30 14
1991 27 13 2 1 7Template:Efn 3 36 17
Total 106 34 15 8 21 6 142 48
Benfica 1992–93 Primeira Liga 9 0 3 2 3Template:Efn 0 15 2
1993–94 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 9 0 4 2 3 0 16 2
Caen (loan) 1993–94 Division 1 15 3 0 0 – 15 3
Strasbourg 1994–95 Division 1 29 6 4 1 – 33 7
1995–96 32 9 3 1 6Template:Efn 2 41 12
Total 61 15 7 2 6 2 74 19
Celta 1996–97 La Liga 31 5 6 1 – 37 6
1997–98 34 8 3 1 – 37 9
1998–99 33 6 1 0 7Template:Efn 3 41 9
1999–2000 26 6 1 0 7Template:Efn 2 34 8
2000–01 30 9 6 2 9Template:Efn 2 45 13
2001–02 30 10 0 0 1Template:Efn1 3 31 13
2002–03 27 5 0 0 4Template:Efn 1 31 6
2003–04 24 6 2 0 8Template:Efn 2 34 8
Total 235 55 19 4 36 13 290 72
Alavés 2004–05 Segunda División 1 1 0 0 – 1 1
Career total 446 116 42 14 64 20 552 150

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International

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Honours

Club

Spartak Moscow

Benfica

Strasbourg

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Celta

Country

Soviet Union

Russia

Individual

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References

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