Introduction:
Igor Akinfeev is the most recognisable name on the Russian teamsheet. An imposing figure, the 30 year old goalkeeper has been a permanent fixture for his country and club – Russian Premier League champions CSKA Moscow – for the best part of a decade.
Despite his illustrious career, in which he has won five league titles and the UEFA cup, there is a belief that Akinfeev never fully developed his potential. Once courted by Europe’s top clubs, a combination of untimely injuries and a lack of desire to test himself on pastures new meant that Akinfeev never moved on from his boyhood club. Yet he remains, on his day, a top performer. A successful Russian showing in France will need Akinfeev playing at his best.
Strengths and weaknesses:
His loyalty and success in the shirt of CSKA have seen Akinfeev develop into a club legend, an icon. Similar to the relationship once enjoyed between Liverpool Steven Gerrard, Akinfeev has the ability to drag his team to the finish line. Such an example was the last game of the season when CSKA needed to win at Rubin Kazan. Despite leading 1-0 through Alan Dzagoev, The Muscovites were nervy and a number of superb saves from Akinfeev prevented a Rubin equaliser and the title going to Rostov. After the game, his relieved team mates spoke of his “miraculous” performance. When playing well, he is almost unbeatable. That he is regularly referred to as “our captain” underlines the status he enjoys at the Russian champions.
Question marks, though, have been raised over his consistency. Two summers ago in Brazil, Russia failed to progress from the World Cup group stages and Akinfeev took a large portion of the blame. Despite a strong showing in Russia’s 1-0 loss to Belgium in the second game, a dreadful mistake in the opener against South Korea meant that his side drew 1-1. In the final game, against Algeria, Akinfeev came for and missed a cross, which was headed in as Russia exited the tournament with another 1-1 draw. The incident caused controversy as a laser was being shone at Akinfeev’s face prior to the goal.
The 2015/16 season:
Having not missed a second of the league campaign, the captain of the RFPL winners can look back on a fruitful season. Since 1992, no goalkeeper has played every minute more than three times. Akinfeev has now done it on four occasions.
He said that the title win was one of the most difficult that he has experienced and he played a crucial role in keeping CSKA at the summit. Akinfeev, as mentioned above, made a number of fine saves throughout the season but was part of a team which sometimes struggled on the biggest stage. CSKA lost 4-1 against Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Cup final and finished bottom of a tough Champions League group. His error against Wolfsburg in the Champions League ended CSKA’s hopes of a third-place finish. Having dramatically lost form in November and December, going on a seven-game winless run, CSKA recovered and, with Akinfeev performing superbly, were at their imperious best to snatch the title back from Zenit.
