The next newcomer of Dynamo is the midfielder of the Russian national team Anton Miranchuk, whose career twists and turns you can read in our article.
Anton and his twin brother Alexey were born on October 17, 1995, in the small town of Slavyansk-na-Kubani in the Krasnodar Region. The parents of the active children tried to send them first to a dance section, then to wrestling, but football eventually won. Their first coach, Alexander Voronkov, created a sports class at a local school and took the brothers into it.
— They were always aggressive in a sporting sense, daring, even angry. Sometimes they even fought with each other a little like children, when they had a disagreement about something. I separated them. They would fight and then immediately hug like brothers. And I also liked them because they were going towards their goal — purposeful children, there are few like them now, — Voronkov recalled.
At one of the regional tournaments, the Miranchuks were noticed by a representative of the capital's Spartak, Boris Streltsov, who invited them to a tryout in Moscow. In the end, the brothers' mother dropped everything and took them to the Spartak boarding school, where she was offered a job as a teacher - so the twins were not left without supervision.
They studied there for 2.5 years, after which they were expelled, in particular, due to an alleged lack of physics. Years later, Anton admitted that he never understood what the "Spartak spirit" was, except that he called Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" his favorite film.
The Miranchuks did not have to return home. It was at this time that Streltsov transferred to the Lokomotiv school and immediately invited the 15-year-old brothers there. Having found themselves in the right environment, they began to progress quickly and soon made it to the main team. Alexey, being the eldest (he was born 10 minutes earlier), debuted in the RPL in April 2013, and Anton caught up with him in October at a Cup match with Volgograd Rotor, two weeks after his 18th birthday.
But then their paths diverged a little - Alexey secured a place in the main team, and Anton was constantly involved in training for the next two years, was included in the match roster, but received playing practice in the youth team. In his own words, at that time he was somehow lacking in football impudence.
Everything changed after a loan to the Estonian Levadia. There, for the first time away from his family, he matured and showed himself well on the field: in a year he scored "15+10", debuted in the European Cups, helped the club win silver medals of the championship and received a call-up to the Russian youth team, which was then coached by Nikolai Pisarev.
— There are footballers who work hard, have speed, strength, endurance, and there are those like the Miranchuk brothers, they have a subtle sense of the game. They were very good at turning the game into an attack, that is, they had a very extraordinary technique and thinking. That's why I paid attention to them, — said Nikolai Nikolaevich.
He returned to the team to Yuri Semin, who had placed his bet on the brotherly duo in the midfield. It is noteworthy that only then did the brothers move out of the boarding school, after Igor Denisov asked the management to find them a rental apartment.
The 2017/18 season was Anton's first full season in the team: he scored his first goal against Sheriff in the Europa League, and scored his first double against Dynamo in the 26th round. After that victory, Lokomotiv broke away from its closest pursuer by 6 points and soon won the Russian championship for the first time in 14 years. Then came the debut in the Russian national team and inclusion in the final roster for the home World Cup.
The following season was the most productive in Anton's career - 16 goals in 39 games, his first goal in the Champions League and the title of top scorer of the team's victorious Russian Cup. It is not surprising that, based on its results, he was included in the list of 33 best football players of the season in the RPL and was recognized by fans as the best player of Lokomotiv (by the way, Alexey has never received this award).
In September 2020, the older brother went to Italy, and soon Anton's bad streak began. In a year and a half, due to health problems, he played a little more than a dozen matches, however, including another victorious final of the Russian Cup, and missed the European Championship.
— It is especially painful that I missed a year and a half: from January 2021 to May 2022. Over the years, I understand: "Why did I listen to the doctor at that time, why did I think that everything would go away on its own?" I just did not understand what was happening, what awaited me. I had to play through the pain - it was simply killing me. I could not show my best qualities and worsened my health. Then, thank God, the doctors discovered that it was an inguinal hernia, not something super complicated, — Miranchuk recalled this period in an interview with Sport24.
After recovery, Anton spent another two years as the leader of the team, but the former chemistry was no longer there. Lokomotiv was far from competing for medals, and the parties announced their separation in the summer of 2024. As part of Lokomotiv, the midfielder played 217 matches, scored 51 goals (shared 6th place in the club's history), became the champion of Russia, the winner of the Super Cup and three Russian Cups.
Miranchuk spent last season in the Swiss Sion, but having joined the team mid-season, it was difficult for him to adapt to the new team and the championship. As a result, in 25 matches he scored two goals and made three assists, and Sion found himself far from the European Cup zone. Miranchuk played most of the time as an attacking midfielder, but when necessary he also played on the left in attack.
— I didn’t have a pre-season, and in Europe it’s only in the summer. In the winter, there was just a week-long Christmas break. I completely missed the time when everyone was getting their base together, and that’s why I couldn’t play 90 minutes. I’m only now improving my understanding with my teammates. Plus, our coach has started speaking more French, and I’ve started speaking more English, — Anton said in July when he came with Sion to St. Petersburg for a friendly match with Zenit.
The Swiss lost 2:5, Miranchuk scored one of the goals, and a month and a half later he returned to his homeland to sign a contract with the white-blues. In the Russian national team under Valery Karpin, Anton scored 4 goals in 12 matches. We expect no less productivity now in Dynamo!
