Daniil Fomin and Dmitry Skopintsev continue to go toe-to-toe. Footballers born on the same day joined our club in 2020, and this autumn they entered the top ten players who have played the most matches for Dynamo in Russian history. Below we recall them all.
10. Igor Semshov (2006-2008, 2010-2013) – 191 matches, 41 goals
The central midfielder moved to Dynamo in 2006 in the status of a living legend of Torpedo and a player of the Russian national team. In the first season he proved his level and was one of the few who were able to bring him to the asset. Largely due to their association with Dmitry Khokhlov and Danny, Dynamo will reach the medals in two years, but the Torpedo team will leave the Top Division for the first time and will spend only two seasons in it over the next 20 years.
Having won the bronze medal of the RPL and the European Championship in 2008, as well as the title of "Gentleman of the Year", he left for Zenit for a year (where there was also only bronze), after which he continued to shine in Petrovsky Park with his extraordinary technique, vision of the field and a cool shot, eventually reaching the Club of 100 Russian scorers. He scored his last goals for Dynamo in an enchanting derby at Luzhniki, completing the defeat of Spartak (5:1).
After leaving Dynamo, he played another season in Samara and finished his career in 2014. Later he was a member of the coaching staff of Tula Arsenal and Khimki, and in 2023 he headed Chaika. He has been acting as an expert for the last two years.
9. Dmitry Skopintsev (2020 – present) – 194 matches, 8 goals
A native of Voronezh, he spent three years at the Dynamo Academy and after 6.5 years of wandering returned to his hometown club in January 2020. A bright dribbler with a powerful shot and an impressive selection of the most beautiful goals played with all blue and white coaches, spending at least 26 matches in each season.
This allowed him to break into our top ten and get close to the grandmaster mark of 200 matches, which only 34 players have overcome in the entire history of Dynamo.
8. Yuri Kovtun (1993-1998) – 194 matches, 6 goals
One of the toughest and most impassable defenders of the 90s and early 2000s started his career in Rostov-on-Don, and in 1993 he ended up at Dynamo, booking a left-back position for six years. Together with the blue and white, he won the Russian Cup, silver and two bronze medals of the championship, after which he moved to Spartak, becoming a three-time national champion with him. In 2007 he finished his professional career in Alanya.
Kovtun returned to Dynamo before the 2016/17 season and helped Yuri Kalitvintsev return the team to the RPL. Later he worked in the Urals, Arsenal, Rodina, Aktobe and Torpedo in the coaching staff of Dmitry Parfenov, who in December headed the Volgograd Rotor.
7. Sergey Nekrasov (1993-1999) – 195 matches, 16 goals
In the same years, another flanker, the namesake of the classic of Russian literature, worked at Dynamo. Sergey came to Dynamo school at the age of 8, was a striker all his youth career, and already at the core he became a real all-rounder: he played both on the right, and on the left, and in the center, and in defense, and in midfield.
The fans appreciated him for his hard work and fighting character. In the winter of 1999, he was injured, did not recover and reached the semifinals of the Russian Cup in Volgograd. Having played 120 minutes in his 196th match for Dynamo, he helped the team reach the finals with an assist and ended his career at a high level. After playing for some time in the lower divisions, I finished with football. Nekrasov has repeatedly won with Dynamo veterans at the Never-Fading Stars tournament, and recently worked in the non-departmental security of the Moscow government.
6. Daniil Fomin (2020 – present) – 198 matches, 37 goals
The pupil of Krasnodar spent only one match at the heart of his native club, but he came to court in Nizhny Novgorod and Ufa. From there, Daniil moved to Dynamo in the summer of 2020 and has been an integral part of the central zone of our team ever since. The importance of Fomin for the modern Dynamo is difficult to overestimate – 60 points on the "goal + pass" system speak for themselves.
After Anton Shunin left, Daniil became the most experienced in the team (in terms of the number of matches played) and has already spent more than 70 games as captain of the blue and white. Who knows, perhaps in the coming years he is destined to reach the impressive figures of the Dynamo goalkeeper, who has spent his entire career in our club.
5. Alexander Kokorin (2008-2015) – 203 matches, 50 goals
The only forward on our list and by far the most controversial participant in it. At the age of 17, he broke into the main squad, falling in love with the fans with his youthful enthusiasm, unconventional actions and important goals. However, he could not realize his talent to the end and played with fluctuations. In July 2013, he moved to Anzhi, but having never played for the Dagestan club, he returned to Dynamo.
He changed fifty goals in the derby against Spartak in October 2015, and in May of the following year, with his goal for Zenit, he buried Dynamo's hopes of retaining a residence permit in the RPL. He won all the Russian trophies with the St. Petersburg club, scored in European competitions, and then spent almost a year in prison. He reanimated his career in Sochi and Spartak, earning a transfer to Fiorentina, where he received a nomination in the Golden Urn anti-award, and a season later became the champion of Cyprus with Aris and was recognized as the best player of the season. The 34-year-old striker is still playing there, but has not played since the end of August due to injury.
4. Vladimir Granat (2007-2014) – 219 matches, 4 goals
Vladimir was born in Ulan-Ude, where he started playing football, in 2005 he moved from Irkutsk to Moscow and settled in Petrovsky Park for almost 10 years. Since 2007, he has become an integral part of the four defenders, mainly coming out on the left flank, but could also play reliably in the center. He spent the last year in the team as a captain. Scored only 4 goals, but they all turned out to be victorious.
After leaving Dynamo, he spent a season at Spartak and Rostov, then played three seasons for Rubin. I got into the Russian national team's bid for the home World Cup and even took part in the legendary match with Spain. At the end of his career, he played for amateur clubs, in particular, in the Media League. Since 2024 he has been a member of the Strogino coaching staff.
3. Leandro Fernandez (2006-2014) – 235 matches, 16 goals
Next to Garnet, one of the most beloved foreigners in the history of our club has been performing all this time. Leo came to Russia in the status of the America's Cup silver medalist and Olympic champion, showing his level from the very first matches. Soon he became the real leader of the team, restraining the forwards of the opponent of any level. Despite his not very tall stature, he played superbly with his head and due to his jumping ability not only won riding duels in defense, but also often scored after the standards.
Modest and a fan favorite – according to the results of a survey conducted for the centenary of the club, Leandro entered the symbolic Dynamo team of all time. Even after the end of his career, he does not forget about the main club of his career and periodically comes to Russia. At home, he is engaged in various football projects, in particular, the construction of sports grounds.
2. Alexander Tochilin (1995-2008) – 281 matches, 7 goals
Bright in every sense, the defender made his way into professional football thanks to Konstantin Beskov, who invited him to Asmaral, and then took him with him to Dynamo. Already in his sixth match, he won the Russian Cup, after which he was devoted to blue and white colors for 14 seasons. He tied two eras – bronze in 1997 and 2008, finishing his career with a sympathetic match, after which the Dynamo stadium went on a long reconstruction.
After that, Tochilin worked for several years at the Academy of Blue and White, and in 2015 headed the St. Petersburg Dynamo, moving with him to Sochi. For several years, Tochilin led the team from the Second Division to the Premier League, where it debuted in 2019. Later there were "Olympus-Dolgoprudny" and "Kuban", as well as a return to Sochi, with which Alexander broke up in December 2023. This week, together with veterans of the blue and white, he won the tournament "Unquenchable Stars".
1. Anton Shunin (2007-2024) – 366 matches, 125 dry
Another person is an epoch and the only goalkeeper in our ranking. The graduate of the Lev Yashin club Academy remained in the club system for 30 years: he won three bronze medals of the Russian championship, did not leave the team after relegation to the FNL, becoming its captain for many years.
366 matches for the club – only Alexander Novikov has more, 180 of them as captain – only Viktor Tsarev has more, 125 of them for zero – only Lev Yashin has more. Honesty and dedication, hard work and perseverance – all this is about Anton Shunin. Dynamo remained the only club in his career. After graduation, Anton graduated from the RFU Sports Management program and is now starting a new stage in his life.
