Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi (Russian:Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Мостово́й[ɐlʲɪkˈsandrvlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕməstɐˈvoj]; born 22 August 1968) is a Russian former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder.

Aleksandr Mostovoi

Mostovoi in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi
Date of birth	(1968-08-22)22 August 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth	Lomonosov,Soviet Union
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Krasnaya Presnya
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1986	Krasnaya Presnya	19	(7)
1986–1991	Spartak Moscow	106	(34)
1992–1994	Benfica	9	(0)
1993–1994	→Caen (loan)	15	(3)
1994–1996	Strasbourg	61	(15)
1996–2004	Celta	235	(56)
2005	Alavés	1	(1)
Total		446	(116)
International career
1990–1991	USSR	13	(3)
1992	CIS	2	(0)
1992–2004	Russia	50	(10)
Medal record Men'sfootball Representing Soviet Union UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 1990
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Known asO Zar de Balaídos ("TheTsar ofBalaídos") from his lengthy spell atCelta de Vigo, he was often referred to as a 'genius playmaker' during his time there, in addition to a volatile temperament.^[1][2] He also played professionally in his own country, Portugal and France.

Mostovoi earned 50caps forRussia in a 12-year international career, being chosen for twoWorld Cups and as manyEuropean Championships. He previously represented theSoviet Union and theCIS.

Born inLomonosov, Russia,Soviet Union, Mostovoi signed for national giantsFC Spartak Moscow fromsecond division clubFC Presnya Moscow, quickly making an impression. In January 1992, he joined compatriotsVasili Kulkov andSergei Yuran atS.L. Benfica; months before arriving, he was controversially awardedPortuguese citizenship through marriage, but never imposed himself in the first team.^[2]

Midway through1993–94 Mostovoi joinedLigue 1 sideStade Malherbe Caen, then left after the sole season to fellow French sideRC Strasbourg, rejoining coachDaniel Jeandupeux. With the latter, he first displayed glimpses of an emerging talent.

Mostovoi's big break came when he signed forCelta de Vigo in 1996, for 325 millionpesetas (about€1.95 million). He made his debut for theGalicians in a 2–0 home defeat againstReal Betis, and his creative play and key goals made him a cult figure atBalaídos as the club rose to near the top ofLa Liga standings year after year.

Affectionately nicknamed 'The Tsar of Balaídos' by the fans, Mostovoi formed an impressive midfield society with, amongst others, compatriotValery Karpin, and helped Celta win the2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup; the final was a 4–3 aggregate win over his hometown clubFC Zenit Saint Petersburg.^[3] However, he could not help the freefall that hit the team in the2003–04 season, relegating it to thesecond division after the player appeared in a career-worst (in his Celta career) 24 matches.^[4] His top-flight tally of 235 games for Celta was a club record untilHugo Mallo broke it in 2021.^[5]

Having not played for over eight months, and at the age of 36, Mostovoi signed a contract withDmitry Pietrman'sDeportivo Alavés in early March 2005, initially until the end of thesecond level campaign.^[6] His first and only game came in a league game againstCádiz CF in which he came on as a substitute, in the 78th minute – he scored theBasques' 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.^[2]

Mostovoi played for theSoviet national team, theCIS andRussia internationally. In another temper tantrum, he was sent home by team managerGeorgi Yartsev during the latter's trip toUEFA Euro 2004, after questioning his methods.^[6] He played in theEuro 1996 and the1994 FIFA World Cup and was also picked for the2002 World Cup, but did not play in the latter tournament due to injury.^[7]

Mostovoi's exclusion from Euro 2004's national squad happened after the 0–1 group stage loss toSpain. 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.^[8] All in all, group morale dropped after the incident, and Russia lost the second game to hostsPortugal.

In 2009, Mostovoi was part of the Russia squad thatwon theLegends Cup.

A talentedattacking midfielder, Mostovoi was known for his technical ability as well as his temperamental character. A quick, agile, creative, and mobile advancedplaymaker, Mostovoi was also tactically versatile, and capable of playing in severalmidfield andoffensive 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 anddribbling 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.^[9]

After retiring as a player, in 2005 Mostovoi was persuaded by the thenRussian Tennis Federation presidentShamil Tarpishchev to play for theRussia national beach soccer team.^[10]

Mostovoi has repeatedly stated his desire and willingness to lead a football club as a manager. However, Mostovoi does not have the necessaryUEFA 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.^[11][12]

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.^{[citation needed]}

After losing the2001 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.^[13]

He was in a relationship with Stéphanie, whom he met inStrasbourg. The couple have two children, Alexander (born 1996) and Emma.^[14][15] His son of the same name, known by the hypocorismSacha, trialled withS.L. Benfica B in 2016.^[16]

Spartak Moscow

• Soviet Top League:1987,1989

Benfica

• Taça de Portugal:1992–93

Strasbourg

• UEFA Intertoto Cup:1995^[17]

Celta

• UEFA Intertoto Cup:2000
• Copa del Rey runner-up:2000-01

Soviet Union

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship:1990

Russia

• Legends Cup:2009

• ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 2001^[18]

• Izvestia profile(in Russian)
• RussiaTeam biography and profile(in Russian)
• Stats at LegionerKulichki(in Russian)
• Aleksandr Mostovoi at BDFutbol
• Aleksandr Mostovoi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Aleksandr Mostovoi –FIFA competition record (archived)