.jpg) Pogrebnyak with Tosno in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-11-08)8 November 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–2002 | Spartak Moscow | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2005 | Spartak Moscow | 18 | (2) |
| 2003 | →Baltika Kaliningrad (loan) | 40 | (15) |
| 2004 | →Khimki (loan) | 12 | (6) |
| 2005 | →Shinnik Yaroslavl (loan) | 23 | (4) |
| 2006 | Tom Tomsk | 26 | (13) |
| 2007–2009 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 58 | (22) |
| 2009–2012 | VfB Stuttgart | 68 | (15) |
| 2012 | Fulham | 12 | (6) |
| 2012–2015 | Reading | 93 | (26) |
| 2015–2018 | Dynamo Moscow | 25 | (1) |
| 2018 | Tosno | 6 | (3) |
| 2018–2021 | Ural Yekaterinburg | 45 | (10) |
| Total | 426 | (123) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Russia U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2006–2012 | Russia | 33 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak (Russian:Па́вел Ви́кторович Погребня́к[ˈpavʲɪlˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕpəɡrʲɪbˈnʲak]; born 8 November 1983) is a Russian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
Born in Moscow, Pogrebnyak began his career atSpartak Moscow, making his professional debut in 2002. Over the next three years, he spent time away on loan atBaltika Kaliningrad,Khimki andShinnik Yaroslavl before joiningTom Tomsk in 2006. After a season with them, he moved to top Russian sideZenit St. Petersburg. There he spent three seasons and had his greatest spell of success, winning theRussian Premier League, theRussian Super Cup, theUEFA Europa League and theUEFA Super Cup. In 2009, he joined German sideVfB Stuttgart. After two and a half seasons, he moved to EnglishPremier League sideFulham in January 2012, and then to Reading six months later.
He is nicknamedThe Pog,[1]Pogreb ("TheCellar")[2] or VelikiyPo ("Po the Great"),[3] the latter popularized by his former Zenit teammateAndrei Arshavin.[4] He is a "powerful player who holds the ball up well."[5]
Pogrebnyak started playing football at the age of six for theSpartak Moscow football school. In 2001, he made his debut for the Spartak reserve team and one year later he was selected for the first team squad. Between 2001 and 2003, he scored eight goals in 23 appearances.
In 2003, Pogrebnyak played 40 matches and scored 15 goals while on loan withBaltika Kaliningrad. He played 16 times and scored two goals for Spartak Moscow the next season. The same season he also scored six goals forFC Khimki in 12 appearances. In 2005, Pogrebnyak played forShinnik Yaroslavl and scored four goals in 23 matches. Pogrebnyak made his true breakthrough during the2006 season withTom Tomsk scoring 13 goals in 26 matches and became one of the favorites amongst the local fans.
Pogrebnyak was signed in the off-season byZenit St. Petersburg. In 2007, he scored 13 goals as Zenit won thenational league. Zenit won the2008 Russian Super Cup 2–1 overLokomotiv Moscow, with Pogrebnyak scoring the winner in the 82nd minute.
Along withLuca Toni, Pogrebnyak was joint top-scorer in the2007–08 UEFA Cup season, scoring ten goals and helping Zenit reach the final to be played at theCity of Manchester Stadium. However, Pogrebnyak was to miss the final because of suspension following a third tournamentbooking in the semifinal's second leg win overBayern Munich. In thefinal, Zenit still triumphed over runners-upRangers to add their first European silverware.[6] In the2008 UEFA Super Cup he scored one of the Zenit's two goals in the 2–1 over English championsManchester United.
On 28 January 2009, Zenit officials declared that they were on the verge of accepting a bid fromBlackburn Rovers which would see the player move to the English side during the January transfer window, but the transfer did not take place.[7]
On 1 August 2009, he agreed to joinVfB Stuttgart.[8] Pogrebnyak made hisBundesliga debut seven days later by playing all 90 minutes in the opening day 2–0 defeat to the defending championsWolfsburg. He scored his first goal in his second game, on 15 August 2009, in Stuttgart's 4–2 win overFreiburg, in which he also won apenalty.[9]
He ended his first season in German football scoring eight goals (six in the league). He then started the2010–11 season scoring four goals in the first four games including his firsthat-trick in Stuttgart's historic 7–0 win againstBorussia Mönchengladbach.[citation needed]
On 31 January 2012, Pogrebnyak moved toPremier League sideFulham[10] and signed a contract until the end of the season.[11] He then scored on his debut in the 2–1 win overStoke City on 11 February 2012.[12] In the following game he scored again, this time against London rivalsQueens Park Rangers giving Fulham a 1–0 win.[13] He then scored a perfecthat-trick in his next game, in a 5–0 win againstWolves on 4 March, meaning he had scored five goals in his first three games for Fulham.[14] This made him the quickest player to reach five goals in Premier League history. On 21 April 2012, he returned from an ankle injury to score in a 2–1 win againstWigan Athletic atCraven Cottage.[15] He was released by Fulham on 1 July after failing to reach terms to extend his contract. Pogrebnyak announced that whatever happens over his contract he will remain in England.
On 8 July 2012, shortly afterUEFA Euro 2012, Pogrebnyak signed a four-year contract withReading on a free transfer. ManagerBrian McDermott confirmed that it had been a "long process" as the deal was subject to Pogrebnyak obtaining a work permit while the club also denied rumours that he would be earning £65,000 a week.[16][17][18] He made his debut on the opening day of the2012–13 Premier League againstStoke City and scored his first goal in Reading's next game, a 4–2 defeat toChelsea.[19][20] He scored a last-minute goal in Reading's home game againstWest Bromwich Albion in January which saw them come from 2–0 down to win 3–2 but did not score again that season, finishing with eight goals, five in the Premier League.[21][22]
Following Reading's relegation, Pogrebnyak was linked with a move away from the club but did not leave.[23][24] He scored his first goals in more than eight months after netting twice in a 3–1 win overDerby County in September 2013.[25]
On 27 August 2015, Pogrebnyak moved back to Russia, signing a three-year contract withDynamo Moscow.[26][27]
Dynamo released him on 25 January 2018, citing disciplinary reasons, such as attending a Juventus - Inter Milan game in Italy on the same day Dynamo played a league game and participating in the annual exhibitionFC Spartak Moscow academy alumni game without Dynamo's authorization.[28] Pogrebnyak said he will demand the compensation for the full length of his contract through theRussian Football Union.[29]
On 22 February 2018, he signed a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season withFC Tosno.[30] Pogrebnyak was crucial to the biggest achievement in the club's history, which came on 9 May 2018 with their victory in the2017–18 Russian Cup final.
On 29 August 2018, he signed a contract withFC Ural Yekaterinburg.[31] On 24 July 2020, Pogrebnyak was released from the club.[32] After missing the first 10 games of the2020–21 Russian Premier League season, he returned to Ural on 16 October 2020.[33] On 10 June 2021, he left Ural once again as his contract expired.[34]
Pogrebnyak debuted for theRussian national team on 16 August 2006 in afriendly match againstLatvia, where he scored his first goal.He was also initially called up as part of the Russian squad forUEFA Euro 2008, but because of a knee injury he picked up in a friendly match versusSerbia, he was replaced byOleg Ivanov before Russia began the tournament.[35] He was confirmed for the finalizedUEFA Euro 2012 squad on 25 May 2012.[36]
On 12 May 2014, Pogrebnyak was called up to the provisional 30-man RussianWorld Cup squad,[37] however four days later he was replaced byDenis Cheryshev as the squad was cut down to 25 players.[38]
Pogrebnyak is married to Maria Shatalova – Pogrebnyak[39] and they have three sons.[citation needed] In July 2023, Shatalova – Pogrebnyak filed for divorce.[40]
He is the brother ofKirill Pogrebnyak and Nikolai Pogrebnyak, they are both free agents as of June 2021.
In March 2019 Pogrebnyak was accused ofracism after saying it was "laughable" for black players to represent the Russian national team.[41]Russian Football Union fined him 250,000 rubles (approximately €3,300) and put him on probation until the end of the 2018–19 season for his statements.[42]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Spartak Moscow | 2002 | Russian Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2004 | Russian Premier League | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 3 | 1[a] | 0 | 23 | 5 | ||
| Total | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 5 | ||
| Baltika Kaliningrad (loan) | 2003 | FNL | 40 | 15 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 15 | |||
| Khimki (loan) | 2004 | FNL | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 6 | |||
| Shinnik Yaroslavl (loan) | 2005 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 25 | 5 | |||
| Tom Tomsk | 2006 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 13 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 14 | |||
| Zenit | 2007 | Russian Premier League | 24 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | 7 | 4 | — | 35 | 17 | ||
| 2008 | Russian Premier League | 19 | 6 | — | — | 14 | 8 | 2[b] | 2 | 35 | 16 | |||
| 2009 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 20 | 6 | |||
| Total | 58 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 90 | 39 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 2 | — | 40 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 26 | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | 7 | 2 | — | 36 | 12 | |||
| 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 21 | ||
| Fulham (loan) | 2011–12 | Premier League | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 6 | ||||
| Reading | 2012–13 | Premier League | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14 | Championship | 39 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 13 | |||
| 2014–15 | Championship | 26 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 6 | |||
| Total | 94 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 26 | ||
| Dynamo Moscow | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Tosno | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 382 | 111 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 464 | 142 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 2006 | 5 | 2 |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 August 2006 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Latvia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 11 October 2006 | Petrovsky Stadium,Saint Petersburg, Russia |  Estonia | 1–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 3 | 23 May 2008 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 28 May 2008 | Wacker-Arena,Burghausen, Germany |  Serbia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 10 September 2008 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Wales | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 3 September 2010 | Estadi Comunal,Andorra la Vella, Andorra |  Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 7 | 2–0 | |||||
| 8 | 10 August 2011 | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia | Serbia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Tosno
Individual
 | ||
