He used to be the most prolific goalscorer in the history of Russian football from 2013 to 2025, with the number of goals scored in competitive games standing at 233. He is described as a forward who likes to "drop deep to link with the midfield, expecting players to break beyond him" for whom he creates space.[1]
A full international since 2002, Kerzhakov earned 90caps for Russia and played at twoWorld Cups and twoEuropean Championships. In 2014, he surpassed the record held byVladimir Beschastnykh for most goals for the Russian national team.
In 2003, Czech managerVlastimil Petržela used Kerzhakov as a first choice striker and he became the top scorer of the Russian Premier Leaguethe following season. While under Petržela, Kerzhakov started in all four group games of the2004–05 UEFA Cup and went on to score a hat trick in a 5–1 victory overAEK Athens. The following season, he was in the starting line up once again in Zenit's second straightUEFA Cup campaign. Zenit qualified for the round of 32 by overcomingVitória,Beşiktaş,Bolton, andSevilla. In the knockout stages, Kerzhakov scored againstRosenborg andOlympique de Marseille as Zenit reached the quarterfinals to face Sevilla.[2] Kerzhakov gave his best performance by scoring a goal in the away leg but could not save his team as they lost out 5–2 on aggregate.[citation needed]
With decreased playing timed following the appointment ofDick Advocaat at Zenit, Kerzhakov transferred to Sevilla in December 2006, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract worth €5 million, as part of the deal of the partnership of the clubs.[3]
Under then managerJuande Ramos, Kerzhakov featured alongsideLuís Fabiano andFrédéric Kanouté.[4] He played his first match on 14 January 2007 and scored his first goal on 28 January 2007 in a 4–2 victory againstLevante UD. He scored the winning goal against Tottenham in a 4–3 victory in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on 5 April 2007. Kerzhakov later contributed to Sevilla's victorious run in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup season.[5]
In February 2008, after being left out of Sevilla's Champions League tie againstFenerbahçe, Kerzhakov signed a three-year contract with Russian sideDinamo Moscow.[8] Kerzhakov established himself as a first choice striker withTsvetan Genkov andCícero, scoring his first goal againstFC Moscow. He finished the2008 season as the top scorer in the squad with seven goals, helping the club finish in third place and earn a play off spot in the qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League.[citation needed]
In January 2010, Kerzhakov rescinded the last year of his contract with Dynamo and returned to his first professional clubZenit St. Petersburg. Under incoming manager Luciano Spalletti, Kerzhakov became the first choice striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation and managed twenty six appearances.[9] He scored his first goal against CSKA Moscow in April 2010 and followed up with two hat tricks againstR.S.C. Anderlecht in theUEFA Europa League andSaturn Moscow in thedomestic league.[10][11]
The following season began with a disappointing loss to FC Twente in the round of 16 of the Europa League. However, Kerzhakov went on to score 23 goals in 32 appearances in the Russian Premier League, finishing as the second highest goal scorer behind CSKA Moscow'sSeydou Doumbia. Zenit finished first in the regular season and then won thechampionship group in the spring of 2012 to claim their second league title in two years.[citation needed]
During the 2012–13 season, Kerzhakov was a first choice striker in Spalletti's 4-2-3-1 formation, netting 11 goals in the league, including braces againstAmkar Perm,Mordovia Saransk, andSpartak Vladikavkaz. He participated in the UEFA Champions League, scoring his only goal outside the Russian Premier League against Anderlecht. After Zenit failed to make the knockout stage, Kerzhakov played in the UEFA Europa League but failed to score as his club lost toF.C. Basel in the round of 16. With Spalletti purchasingSalomón Rondón midway through the 2013–14 season, Kerzhakov's playing time decreased amid reports of a strained relationship with the Italian manager.[12]
After the arrival ofAndre Villas-Boas in March 2014, Kerzhakov in five of the last nine matches of the season as Zenit finished in second place behind CSKA Moscow. The following season, Zenit won the league with Kerzhakov playing in 14 matches and scoring three goals. He also played in the club's Champions League campaign, coming on as a substitute in three of the group stage matches. Kerzhakov started the2014–15 season with a brace in an 8–1 victory over Torpedo Moscow as Zenit won the first eight matches in the league.[13] Villas-Boas used Kerzhakov as a substitute with speculations of a rift between the two.[14] Villas Boas excluded Kerzhakov from the squad during the2015–16 season, with the striker making no appearances in the league or European tournaments before being loaned out toFC Zurich.[15]
At Zurich, Sami Hyypiä used Kerzhakov as a striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. He would go on to score five goals in seventeen appearances in a campaign that ended in the club's relegation from the Swiss Super League.[16]
Kerzhakov returned to Zenit for the2016–17 season underMircea Lucescu.[17] Lucescu used Kerzhakov as a substitute striker, only starting him in the first match of the season. Kerzhakov officially retired on 13 July 2017 and was appointed the coordinator of Zenit's youth and academy teams.[18]
Following Euro 2004, Kerzhakov featured regularly under Yartsev during the2006 World Cup qualifiers and scored a goal againstLiechtenstein in March 2005.[22][23] Yartsev's successorYuri Semin, continued to select Kerzhakov as he went on to score three goals including a double against Liechtenstein as Russia failed to qualify forfinal tournament.[24]
UnderGuus Hiddink, Kerzhakov continued his role as the first choice striker but was dropped after limited appearances forZenit in late 2006.[25] Upon moving to Sevilla, Hiddink overlooked Kerzhakov for a friendly against theNetherlands in February 2007.[26] Being recalled for aUEFA Euro 2008 qualifier againstEstonia and scored both goals in a 2–0 victory.[27] In June 2007, Kerzhakov scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory overAndorra.[28] He made a further contribution to Russia'sEuro 2008 qualification campaign by scoring a goal in a 3–0 victory overNorth Macedonia in September 2007.[29] Despite being the top scorer for Russia with five goals, Kerzhakov failed to make Hiddink's 23-man squad forthe tournament finals.[30]
After an 18-month exclusion, Kerzhakov was recalled in May 2009 for the2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier againstFinland in Helsinki.[31] He started the game and scored two goals as Russia defeated Finland 3–0 and went on to play for the remainder of the campaign.[32] During the playoff againstSlovenia, Kerzhakov was on the bench for first leg but came on at half-time forRoman Pavlyuchenko in the second leg. In the 66th minute, he received a straight red card fromTerje Hauge for a deliberate kick at Slovenian goalkeeperSamir Handanović. Slovenia emerged victorious with a 1–0 win and eliminated Russia after an aggregate 2–2 draw on away goals.[33]
Kerzhakov training for Russia on 3 September 2014, ahead of the game when he broke the record for most goals for Russia
Kerzhakov's red card against Slovenia resulted in a suspension for two qualifiers of theEuro 2012 campaign.[34] Upon being recalled byDick Advocaat, Kerzhakov scored in the victories over Ireland and Macedonia.[35][36] He did not score again for the rest of the qualification campaign but managed to make three additional appearances as Russia toppedGroup B to qualify directly for the final tournament. Advocaat included him in thefinal tournament squad, but he scored no goals as Russia failed to progress from their group.[37]
After Euro 2012, formerEngland managerFabio Capello utilized Kerzhakov as the first choice striker after dropping Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko, andPavel Pogrebnyak. Kerzhakov appeared in all ten of Russia'squalification matches and finished as the team's top goalscorer with five goals, including the winning goal in a 1–0 defeat ofPortugal.[38]
Making Capello's squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup, Kerzhakov appeared as a 71st-minute substitute forYuri Zhirkov and scored the team's equalising goal three minutes later in the opening match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw withSouth Korea. The goal was his 26th for Russia, equalingVladimir Beschastnykh's record for the national team.[39] Kerzhakov came on as a late substitute forAleksandr Samedov in Russia's 0–1 defeat to Belgium.[40] He started in the final group match against Algeria before being substituted forMaksim Kanunnikov in a 1–1 draw as Russia were eliminated in the first round.[41]
On 3 September 2014, he became the top scorer for the Russian national team after netting two goals in a 4–0 friendly win overAzerbaijan.[42]
Kerzhakov continued to appear in Capello's squads for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification campaign. He was on the bench against Sweden and Austria while being substituted at half-time against Liechtenstein and Moldova.[43][44] Kerzhakov went on to appear as a second-half substitute in the 0–1 home defeat to Austria in what was Capello's last match at Russia coach.[45] Capello's successor, Leonid Slutsky, omitted Kerzhakov from the remaining qualification matches as well as the final tournament.[46] He made his final appearance for the national team in a friendly against Lithuania on 26 March 2016.[47]
On 15 March 2018, theRussian Football Union announced signing a contract with Kerzhakov to manage theRussia national under-17 football team until the end of 2019.[48] The team becameRussia national under-18 football team in September 2018 as the players aged and thenRussia national under-19 football team.[citation needed] On 24 September 2020, he was hired as manager by theFNL clubFC Tom Tomsk.[49] He left Tom at the end of the 2020–21 season.[50][51] On 17 June 2021, he signed withFC Nizhny Novgorod, which was recently promoted into theRussian Premier League.[52] The club avoided relegation at the end of the 2021–22 season, and on 16 June 2022 Kerzhakov left Nizhny Novgorod.[53] He moved to with his family toDubai but did not have a job there.[54] On 8 February 2023, Kerzhakov was hired as a manager by Cypriot clubKarmiotissa.[55] He left Karmiotissa after one victory in six games under his management on 1 April 2023,[56] moving back to Dubai.[54] In May 2024, he became the manager ofKairat, a club in theKazakhstan Premier League. On 3 September that year, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement, and Kerzhakov left the club. Under his leadership, Kairat played 12 matches. In these games, the team won six times, drew three times, and lost three times.[57]
His younger brother,Mikhail, is a professional footballer who also plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg as a goalkeeper.[citation needed] In 2002, Kerzhakov authored his autobiography titledUp to 16 and older. (Russian:До 16 и старше)[citation needed]
In April 2023, Kerzhakov said that he opposed theinvasion of Ukraine, and has left Russia since then.[58]
In 2017, he became an ambassador of socialFootball for Friendship international children's forum.[62] In 2018, he took part in the Football for Friendship programme where he presented the cup to the winners of the final match of the programme's championship.[62]
^"Aleksandr Kerzhakov".National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved6 September 2018.
^According to theUEFA reportArchived 14 January 2016 at theWayback Machine, this goal was scored by player V. Bystrov. In Russia, the UEFA report has no legal force, and is not recognized, and the goal is credited to player A. Kerzhakov. He scored 2 goals.
.jpg)
.jpg)
