On Friday, the contract with Dynamo was signed by the striker of the Russian national team Ivan Sergeev, whose football path can hardly be called trivial. Read about it in our material.
Like the first summer newcomer of the blue and white Maxim Osipenko, Ivan was born in the hockey city of Cherepovets. Initially, he wanted to choose a stick and skates, but fate decreed otherwise, and at the age of 6, his father sent him to the football section to a familiar coach Oleg Druzhko. Finally, Sergeev fell ill with football after watching the 2002 World Cup, in the final of which the Brazilian striker Ronaldo was enchanting.
However, in Cherepovets Ivan was used as a central midfielder. At the age of 16, he began playing for an adult team for the KFK championship, and after graduating from school he went to Moscow, where he was taken to Strogino. It was there that he retrained as a central striker and played in the Second League for four seasons.
This period of formation included two international experiences – one with a plus sign, the other with a minus sign. In 2016, Ivan went on loan to Riga to the long-term coach of the youth national teams of Russia Dmitry Khomukha. But the contract with him was quickly terminated, and then Sergeyev returned to Russia. That's just the documents for it were not sent in time, and Strogino could not add it to the application – so Ivan was left without competitive practice for six months.
But in 2017, Sergeev played for the Russian national team for the first time – at the Universiade in Taipei. Ivan proved himself great, playing in a pair with Dynamo player Nikolai Obolsky, scored 6 goals at the tournament and still fondly remembers the first international experience.
— We came across a strong group: Italy, Brazil and the USA. We passed the group stage, but then, unfortunately, we took off from Uruguay and took sixth place. The emotions were the most positive. Although this is the Universiade, but you come out in the form of the national team and defend the honor of the country. I remembered that tournament for the rest of my life," Sergeyev recalled in an interview with Sport-Express.
Returning inspired to Moscow, Ivan scored 16 goals in 16 matches of the first half of the season and went on promotion to Tambov by Andrei Talalaev, who was fighting for entry into the Premier League. But in the play-off matches Tambov lost to Amkar, Talalev left, and Sergeev again had to look for a new team.
Igor Kolyvanov, who trained Torpedo, believed in him, and Sergeev repaid him with 16 goals, which helped the team reach the FNL. The following season, black and white were seriously determined to return to the RPL, they were in fourth place, but COVID broke out, the championship was completed ahead of schedule, and the play-off matches were canceled. In the summer, the leadership changed at Torpedo, and Ivan went to Samara, where Igor Osinkin began to assemble his team.
— The main thing for me is to follow my dream. "Wings" set as their goal to enter the RPL. I really want to play in the Premier League, ideally to get into the national team, and then go abroad. At the beginning of the season, Torpedo did not have any tasks, so I left. I'm not chasing money, but I'm going after a dream," Sergeyev said then.
The striker was rewarded in full for this attitude – the 2020/21 season was a breakthrough for him, and the entire football community finally found out about him. 43 goals in 46 matches, 5 hat-tricks, a record for goals (40) in one season of the second most important league of Russia, the title of the best player of the FNL, the final of the Cup of Russia (lost to Lokomotiv) and most importantly – a ticket to the Premier League.
Sergeev always remembers his achievements with modesty, highlighting first of all the merits of his teammates and Osinkin's ability to work with both young and older players. The former coach of the Wings also, when asked about the most progressive players under his command, singled out, in addition to Sergei Pinyaev, it was Sergeev.
Ivan's dream came true on July 25, 2021, when, at the age of 26 (even a year later than Osipenko), he played his debut match in the RPL against Akhmat, and two weeks later scored his first goal in the elite division against Arsenal Tula. Further – more: in November, Sergeev received his first call–up to the Russian national team, and in winter - an offer from Zenit St. Petersburg.
So he even managed to feel the atmosphere of the European Cup, having played in two Europa League matches against Betis. Having distinguished himself in the spring part of the championship 4 times, Ivan helped the team to get another championship and became only the eighth player in the history of Russian football with trophies in all three professional leagues of the country. At the same time, he collected three gold medals faster than his predecessors – in just four seasons!
As part of Zenit, he won 7 trophies, becoming a three-time champion of Russia, a three-time winner of the Super Cup of the country and the winner of the Cup of Russia, twice entered the list of the 33 best players of the season, scored in 93 matches (of which only 49 at the start) 30 goals, including the golden goal of Spartak in May 2023.- Go.
In order to get more playing practice, Ivan returned to Krylia Sovetov in September 2024 and in April broke Sergei Kornilenko's record, becoming the team's top scorer in Russian history (60 goals).
In the spring part of the last championship, only Dmitry Vorobyov and Yaroslav Gladyshev scored more than him, with whom they first entered the field together as part of the Russian national team in June. Yaroslav scored two of his four goals against Belarus from Sergeyev's passes. We wish Ivan to find the same mutual understanding with other Dynamo players and continue to delight the fans with beautiful goals!
