Football fans across the world have already started counting the days and are currently waiting for the 29th of May to come as soon as possible because it is the day when Premier League heavyweights Chelsea and Manchester City will battle each other for European glory in Portugal. All eyes are currently on that massive fixture as it is one that will see one of the two clubs end up being crowned as the Champions of Europe.
Former Chelsea midfield star Yuri Zhirkov has been looking back on his playing career recently and while he has some positives to pick from it, he also has some regrets to look back to as well. Signed by Chelsea from the Russian Super League some years ago, Zhirkov was expected to be a hit at Stamford Bridge after his brilliant performances for Russia at the Euros 2006. He was also a star player for his club side and had a hand in a run of fine performances and good results they were able to record, and he immediately became a highly sought-after player.
Back in the summer transfer window of 2009, in June particularly, there was a loud wave of excitement all around Stamford Bridge after several media outlets reported that Chelsea were getting so close to signing Yuri Zhirkov. The manager at Chelsea as at then, Guus Hiddink was the man in charge of orchestrating the transfer and was doing so after helping the Blues win the FA Cup.
Every club has one time or another, made one or even more transfers that would eventually turn sour and the player would not live up to the hype that would have probably surrounded him before sealing the switch. For Chelsea, one of those transfers is Russian star Yuri Zhirkov who was signed from Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow back in the summer transfer window of 2009.
Russian national team veteran Yuri Zhirkov has been a worthy servant for his country for the better part of the last two decades. The 37-year-old Russian international plays his club football in the colours of defending champions Zenit St. Petersburg in the top flight of club football in Russia. Yuri Zhirkov was at Dynamo Moscow in the same Russian Premier League before he left to sign for Zenit St. Petersburg in 2016. Yuri Zhirkov had been at Anzhi Makhachkala FC of Russia until 2013 when he signed for Dynamo Moscow. The ex-Chelsea player was a Dynamo Moscow player for three years from 2013 to 2016. Yuri Zhirkov is a utility player who can function well either as a left-back or as a left winger. He has been playing for the Russian national team for 16 years and counting since his debut in 2005. Since his first game for his country, Yuri Zhirkov has scored two times in century of games. His Russia debut came during the defeat to Italy in the Italian city of Cagliari. Zhirkov and Russia were on the receiving end of a 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of the Italians.
Many Chelsea fans have been wondering why a certain player in the person of Yuri Zhirkov failed to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge despite joining the club as an interesting and exciting player. Following his move from Russian side CSKA Moscow to Chelsea, he was looking like a player who would take the Premier League by storm given the caliber of player he already was during his stay in Russia.
Yuri Zhirkov is a name that many Chelsea fans may not find familiar given the circumstances that surrounded the Russian’s time at Stamford Bridge. His failed career with the Blues coupled with his initial disinterest to sign for Chelsea are enough reasons for the Blues’ fans to either not cement his name in their memory or to forget him without a hurry.
The assistant manager of the Croatia men’s national Football team Ivica has revealed in a recent story he shared that his former teammate Yuri Zhirkov was not fascinated by Chelsea’s approach to sign him years ago. The list of Russian players who have moved to the Premier League is not a long one; neither is the one containing players of Russian descent who have left the Russian Premier League and have gone abroad.
Veteran Zenit St. Petersburg defender Yuri Zhirkov was initially reluctant to sign for Chelsea as it’s the case with a lot of Russian footballers who receive approach form foreign clubs. In the end, Yuri Zhirkov signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2009. Chelsea were said to have paid £18m ($29m) to sign him from his then Russian club CSKA Moscow. In an interview towards the end of last year, ex-Croatian international striker and former CSKA Moscow teammate revealed how Yuri Zhirkov was not excited about the Chelsea offer when the opposite was the case for his teammates who were happy that a big club like Chelsea want to sign him.
Veteran Russian defender Yuri Zhirkov is still going strong at the age of 37 in the colours of Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League. He made his 17th appearance of the current season forZenit St. Petersburg during the recent league win over title rivals Spartak Moscow. Yuri Zhirkov became a Zenit St.
